Fewer consumers carry credit card debt, report finds

A new Consumer Reports survey shows that median consumer credit card debt has dropped by $1,100 since 2009, to $3,793. 

Of the people who carry a balance, 23 percent owe more than $10,000, which is down from 30 percent last year. 

Nearly a quarter of respondents (23 percent) said they were motivated to pay off their credit cards faster by the Minimum Payment Warning on their bills mandated by the Credit Card Act of 2009. The warning shows cardholders how long it will take to retire their debt and the total amount of interest they must pay if they made only the minimum payment each month. 

Still, 19 percent said it will take longer than two years to pay off their current balances and 20 percent don't know how long it will take. Another 18 percent of respondents said they would be unable to handle expenses for six months without their credit cards.

Forty-seven percent of respondents also complained about how credit card companies can still cancel accounts without warning, slash borrowing limits, and impose annual fees, issues not covered by the 2009 Act.