Scrooge retailers have been accused of targeting hard-up shoppers with Christmas deals charging up to 119 per cent APR.
Stores and online traders have festive loans and store cards with eye-watering interest rates.
Rent-to-own chain BrightHouse has deals on toys, TVs and electricals with interest rates as high as 69.9 per cent a year.
So a £384.64 Apple iPad is £561.60 if spread over two years.
Perfect Home has a PS4 bundle at £399 – but it rises to £810.16 over two years at 119.9 per cent interest. Online fashion retailer Very.co.uk has a “pay later” rate of 39.9 per cent, so a North Face Himalayan windstopper at £439 costs £539.55 over 12 months.
Littlewoods, whose online ads are fronted by Love Island winner Amber Gill, has a leather biker jacket for £350 but it will cost £440.82 over 12 months at a rate of 44.9 per cent.
Critics accused retailers of luring shoppers into deals that could put them in debt for months or years to come – while TUC analysis shows the average UK family owes £15,385.
Damon Gibbons, of the Centre for Responsible Credit thinktank, urged tighter controls and said: “People pay through the nose in the months and years ahead.”
Sue Anderson, of free advice charity StepChange Debt, said: “High rates risk exacerbating financial stress that people may be experiencing.
"It’s entirely possible people could find more affordable credit elsewhere, rather than the retailer’s credit.”
BrightHouse, Littlewoods and Very.co.uk had no comment. Perfect Home did not respond to requests for comment.
