loan help and advise please

hellyxcx · 20 September 2017 at 3:09PM

Hi everyone,

Can someone please advise me, I have an overdraft and two credit cards I wish to pay off and repay one monthly payment i.e a loan. My debts in total add up to £3,350 - not a lot I know!!

I have an overdraft with Halifax who have decided to charge £2 per day from October

, this is what I'm most worried about as I'm currently living out my overdraft each payday

my credit card is also with Halifax and my 2nd card is with capital one.

I'm considering a loan with santander, of around £3,500 over 36 months and to pay off all 3 debts in one go and repay santander via monthly payments of £100 ish each month which I can do.

Can anyone please advise if I should do this or any other suggestions - Balance transfer cards are a no go - my credit rating is medium, and as I want £3,500 there is not many available to me.

ANY help will be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks

StopIt · 20 September 2017 at 3:41PM

Considering the Interest from Halifax, changing to a loan may be better, and they may offer you one too considering that was their stated policy for those in large overdrafts.

However, without a full picture we can't advise. Ignore your credit score, but are there anything like defaults, late payments and CCJs on your file?

Also, if you could post a full SOA, it may be possible to maximise your income and minimise your outgoings to get debt free quicker.

hellyxcx · 20 September 2017 at 3:48PM

I don't have any CCJs etc and pay all my bills on time, but have nothing left after them and struggle most months.

My overdraft with Halifax is £1,500, a credit card of £1,000 and a further credit card of £1,750 I'm desperate to clear and just make one monthly payment without going to any debt management routes etc.

My monthly payments are buttons after interest and I feel like I just cant clear them and starting worry about my overdraft as of October. Currently Iv been paying my £40 charges each month but this looks to be going to some months £72 doubling, I just cant do it all and Feel a loan to pay all of them off will stop the separate interest rates and I will pay one monthly sum back to the loan and be able to breathe.

I will look at SOA tonight.

Thank you

EssexHebridean · 20 September 2017 at 3:51PM

Definitely do an SOA and live with the budget you will create by doing so for a few months. I suspect when you note everything down that you are spending in a month, two things will become apparent - the first is that there will be a monthly surplus shown, which you have NO idea where it goes. The second is that if you post the SOA into this thread, we'll be able to take a look and find a fair few places that you might be able to make savings, which will allow you to pay the debt off faster.

Bear in mind that there are a HUGE number of folk on here who will tell you that consolidation doesn't work - mainly because it simply shifts the problem, it doesn't fix the cause. Get the groundwork in place first - then you can work from a stable financial position and get a clearer picture of your best way forwards.

forgotmyname · 20 September 2017 at 4:24PM

Duplicated thread started in the loans section.

EssexHebridean · 20 September 2017 at 4:46PM

forgotmyname wrote: »

Duplicated thread started in the loans section.

And now being dealt with in DFW as we're best placed to advise OP on the entire picture over here. I've posted in the thread on the loans board confirming that we "have it" as it were.

hellyxcx · 20 September 2017 at 5:02PM

I have a book and write down my expenses each month and tick off as I pay my bills. This helps me budget a lot but I need to get rid of the interest fees I'm paying as there crippling me. I'm really considering consolidating it all I'm unsure if I'll even be accepted for a loan but praying so... I'm going to do the loan check on here tonight and consider my routes from there ....

Grumpelstiltskin · 20 September 2017 at 5:10PM

Helly forget looking for a loan at the moment.

Please complete your SOA as you have been advised to do then you can see the full details of where your money is going.

When you put your SOA up you will get advice on what to do.

National_Debtline · 20 September 2017 at 5:11PM

Hi hellyxcx

While consolidation works for some, it’s not for everyone. Creditors have stricter lending criteria than they did previously and will ask more questions about your ability to repay the new loan. Generally they will take into account the repayments on the existing debts even if you intend to use the loan to pay them off, that’s because they can’t guarantee that’s what you’ll end up using the loan for.

As already mentioned, a SOA is a good place to start to get an idea of where your money is going. If it shows your debts are not affordable there will be other debt options you can consider, like asking your creditors to freeze interest and set up a payment plan. You can get specialist advice from one of the free debt advice agencies on those options. Good luck with everything.

Susie
@natdebtline

EssexHebridean · 21 September 2017 at 10:29AM

hellyxcx wrote: »

I have a book and write down my expenses each month and tick off as I pay my bills. This helps me budget a lot but I need to get rid of the interest fees I'm paying as there crippling me. I'm really considering consolidating it all I'm unsure if I'll even be accepted for a loan but praying so... I'm going to do the loan check on here tonight and consider my routes from there ....

Stop. You posted on here asking for advice - now it's time to accept that yes, we DO know what we're talking about! Follow the steps that have been suggested to you before you do anything at all about applying for further credit - all the people who are telling you that consolidation is likely not the way forwards are correct - but even if it is, you need to get some basics in place first. Writing down your expenses is great but if you've not got a budget in place to start with that's essentially shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Are you still using the credit cards?

Dobbibill · 23 September 2017 at 10:36PM

By applying for a loan you are asking lenders to up your available credit from £3500 to £7000 overnight. They have no guarantee from you that you will use it to pay off your debts. You cannot guarantee you will not need credit before the loan is paid off - ill health from work, loss of job, change of hours... the list is endless.

Unless you address the cause of the debt, you will be back in a year with £10k in debt and finding it even harder to manage day to day.

Get the SOA posted - EssexHebridean has told you, we do know what we are talking about, please stop and think things through and listen to the advice.

You cannot borrow your way out of debt - consolidation is just moving it around.

loan help and advise please

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