High street lenders are issuing credit cards without sufficient credit checks, according to comparison website uSwitch.

Their survey found that in the past 12 months 84 per cent of successful credit card applicants – 4.8 million – were not asked for basic proof of income, such as a wage slip, to support the figures stated in application forms.

The study also highlighted that almost 200,000 consumers lied about their incomes on application forms, illustrating the lengths that people will go to obtain credit.

Simeon Linstead at uSwitch says: “In a deteriorating economy, affordability checks should be the No 1 priority. Further checks could be costly for lenders and could lead to a decline in the number of accepted applications, but they would be a small price to pay if it helps to curb bad debt write-offs and personal indebtedness.”

Chiltern’s Nathan Gladwell says: “As the credit crunch makes it harder for credit to be obtained many people may be tempted to lie on credit application forms, but their ability to repay may be seriously jeopardised as they may already be overstretched.

“Lenders refuse applicants credit for a reason – usually that they expect the borrower won’t be able to repay – so rather than committing fraud by lying to secure credit, other options such as informal debt management should be explored to ensure unsecured debts can be repaid.”