Credit card debt

Hunny10 · 10 March 2018 at 10:01AM

Looking for some advice please I have 5 credit cards amounting to £20000 I am paying them off monthly by either paying minimum or just over but the 0% interests will be up soon and I can't afford to pay the interest, I have no available credit on the cards to move the money about and dont think I'll get accepted for more credit cards to move the balance I am considering a loan to consolidate but don't know if that will get accepted are credit card companies able to help in regard to the interest charges? I'm worried about what will happen when my cards come off the 0%. I have considered a debt management company but can I do this when owning my home?? And do they charge?? I don't want to file for bankruptcy

System · 10 March 2018 at 11:01AM

Avoid companies that charge for DMPs . You need to check out Stepchange website they are free. You could do your own self managed DMP.

Loan consolidation is not a good way of going about things . You need to do an SOA and put it on your thread.

Other more knowledgeable people will come along and help you.

Hunny10 · 10 March 2018 at 11:17AM

Can I do a dmp whilst owning my home? Was looking at consolidating because I can repay the loan as that's less than I currently pay on the cards the problem will be when the 0% ends I can't afford those repayments
Is it worth contacting the credit card companies and discussing the interest are they able to freeze the interest to help?

StokieBecks · 10 March 2018 at 11:34AM

You are highly unlikely to find anyone who will offer you a loan for 20k ...consolidation rarely works as once the cards are cleared the temptation is still there to spend on them.

You have to address you spending habits and change the way you manage your money.

As Cumbria lass posted you need to do a statement of affairs that lists your incomings and outgoings and then posters will be able to advise where you can cut down and what your options are.

have you got anything to show for 20k of credit card debt? Is it general day to day living you are putting on there? Or luxuries? Anything you can sell to make a dent in the debts.

Make a list of each card, the balance and the 0% interest end date and what the interest percentage is once the 0% ends alongside the. Incomings and outgoings.

Keep a spending diary for a few months. Account for every single penny to see where it is all going

sourcrates · 10 March 2018 at 12:57PM

Hi,

Please lose any thought of been able to borrow your way out of debt, it just creates more problems than it solves, you need to change your mindset from borrowing more money, to actually repaying what you have already borrowed.

As long as you have some disposable income, when all essential bills are paid, you can have a DMP.

A DMP, or Debt Management Plan, is an informal agreement between you and your creditors, to repay what you owe, at an affordable rate, you do not need any 3rd party help to make this arrangement, you can, for example, do it yourself if you wish, it is very easy, however, if your new to debt management, we usually advise you to contact one of the debt charities such as stepchange or payplan, as they can set the whole thing up for you, at no cost.

It also helps, as you suggest above, to write to your creditors yourself, and ask for an interest freeze, tell them you are entering debt management and ask them to freeze all interest and charges.

They are not obliged to do this, but are supposed to treat you fairly, so in cases where interest is not frozen, most people fire in a complaint at this point, and usually they succeed.

Just be aware there are many private companies out there on the web who claim they can do this, that, and the other, basically work miracles or so it seems, all for a sky high fee, you should avoid all such companies like the plague , as they only want your money.

In fact avoid any company that charges for a DMP, there is no further benefit if you pay for a plan, or if the debt charities set up one for you for free, you will just of wasted a whole lot more money unnecessarily.

Hunny10 · 10 March 2018 at 2:11PM

I have contacted the credit card companies to ask for help when the 0% finishes The repayments atm are manageable I am no longer using these cards so my outgoings are not higher than my income inc paying the cards but when they come off 0% the interest will hit me hard I currently o at about £500 pm on relaying the cards I completed a debt management form and it says I’m paying £950 pm and that they’d seek for me to pay £590 a month that’s more now than I’m currently repaying I’m so confused

[Deleted User] · 10 March 2018 at 2:23PM

When do the 0% deals expire, and what will the APRs go up to?

Have you run those figures through the Snowball Calculator?

Credit card debt

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