A new poll by the UK’s leading voucher codes and discount website has found that paying for cosmetic surgery with borrowed money is a growing trend, with more than 3 in 5 of those who have already had a procedure admitting it was paid for through a loan or with a credit card.
The research was carried out by www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk after seeing a number of searches for cosmetic surgery-related offers. This prompted the site into conducting a poll of 1,388 people that had already had surgery or were considering it, to look into attitudes surrounding funding procedures.
Of those that had already had work done, 62%, had used a credit card or loan to fund their procedure, whilst only 29% had saved their own money for their surgery.
MyVoucherCodes.co.uk found that the remaining respondents had been able to undergo a cosmetic procedure thanks to money given to them by friends, family or partners.
People considering surgery were also included in the poll and more than half, 54%, said they would take out a loan or use a credit card in order to get their procedure. Only 19% were saving for their procedure, whilst 23% hadn’t thought about how they would pay for their surgery yet.
Of those that had cosmetic surgery done using a credit card or loan, the most common procedures bought with borrowed cash were;
1. Breast Implants – 22%
2. Cosmetic dentistry – 19%
3. Liposuction – 14%
4. Botox – 9%
5. Nose job – 5%
Other procedures people admitted paying for with borrow cash were Gastric bands, tummy tucks and ear correction.
Speaking about the findings from the study, Farhad Farhadi, personal finance expert at http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented;
“Credit cards and loans are so easily available to people today, even given the financial climate, that it’s no wonder people are using them to pay for cosmetic surgery. When consumers look to buy items that are out of their price range, such as cars, appliances or indeed surgery, it’s all too tempting for them to get a quick cash fix with a credit card or loan.
“Care needs to be taken when borrowing money; you first need to decide if you can afford to pay it back and then ask yourself if it’s your only option. I think too many people dismiss paying for things that they want by saving up for it in the first place.”
Christiana Clogg, founder of the UK’s only cosmetic treatment review website http://www.goodsurgeonguide.co.uk commented;
“I think the fact it’s so easy for consumers to obtain loans and credit cards makes a lot of people rush into making a decision about cosmetic surgery. It’s surprising that so many procedures are bought with borrowed money, but we encourage all people considering surgery to take their time before having any work done. Research needs to be done into the surgeon and the clinic, to check everything is reputable before just handing over the money and putting your life in their hands.”
LINK http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk
ENDS
For further information please contact Shannon Haigh, of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on 01452 348 211, shannon@10yetis.co.uk
EDITORS NOTES
Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.
http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year
Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.
MyVoucherCodes is the UKs most popular discount site.
