PLEASE HELP! Major Capital One Dilemma....

spankle2000

:money: My partner has a Capital One CC with about a £2,150 debt on it that seems to continue growing no matter how much we pay it off. They always trick us with payment dates so that the money arrives late and they fine us even more. We pay back £100-150 per month. I have got £1,600 in an ISA and am about to receive a £500 grant to help pay for my education but we are both thinking that if we pay all of that to Capital One then we may save much more money in the long run, even though we will have very little cash to fall back on should anything go wrong. Ideas on a postcard please! Thanks.

Magentasue

Is your credit rating good enough to transfer the debt on to a 0% card? If so, I would go for that and set up a standing order or direct debit to pay at least the minimum amount in good time.

Ember999

spankle2000 wrote:

:money: My partner has a Capital One CC with about a £2,150 debt on it that seems to continue growing no matter how much we pay it off. They always trick us with payment dates so that the money arrives late and they fine us even more. We pay back £100-150 per month. I have got £1,600 in an ISA and am about to receive a £500 grant to help pay for my education but we are both thinking that if we pay all of that to Capital One then we may save much more money in the long run, even though we will have very little cash to fall back on should anything go wrong. Ideas on a postcard please! Thanks.

Could you change the size of the text? It's way too big and difficult to read!

spankle2000

I will ask him about cc rating - I think he has already been doing the "shuffle", maybe it is time to switch cards again. Thanks for your help!

Ember999

I would pay all that money off the capital one card and thus remove all the interest payments that are going on each month. The £500 that you are getting that would be used for education can be saved up if you are careful with your budget. I would rather be 'debt free' and out of Capital One's pocket. Or like another poster has said, you could transfer the balance to another 0% card and pay it off before you start getting charged interest.
Good Luck with whatever you decide.

aliasojo

With respect, how can a company 'trick you' with payment dates?

I'm not sure what you mean by this but perhaps no matter whether you shift your existing debt to a 0% card or not, it sounds as though you may be wise to fully read the T&C's so you are very aware of what is expected of you (and when).

It's always best not to leave payments until the very last minute, in any case.

I also don't see the point in having an ISA when you are being hammered with interest and late payment charges. Personally I would use this money towards the debt, unless you can get a 0% card that is.

Robert_Sterling

Trick the credit card company by paying off the credit card as quickly as you can and then use a prepaid card in future.

daveboy

aliasojo wrote:

With respect, how can a company 'trick you' with payment dates?

It's what is commonly known as blaming the card company for the debt rather than admitting that someone spent more than they could really afford.

Quite common on MSE.

dc

Give them the Isa, it will be cheaper than the interest you will get next March. You can get another Isa when conditions improve.

Don't spend on the Cap1, try another method or go to bed for a month.

Set up a direct debit for the minimum payment with Cap1, then as they are responsible for collection, there cannot be any more late payment fees.

Pay what you can of the remaining £550, and that will help you to budget. When paid off, ditch Cap1 and get a cheaper credit card.

Put the £500 in a high interest 4.5%ish apr internet account attatched to a cash card, like Halifax or Nationwide that pays daily interest on even £1, use the net to shift your money to get at the cash.

Final thought in the words of the song, "do you trust "him"? gentle "Maiden"? ( apologies for wrong assumptions in advance)

kangarookate

Talking of Capital One...I was 'specially chosen'(!) this morning to receive a book of Capital One credit card cheques! I've never heard of anything so silly before not least because you are charged 1.5% of the value of the cheque or £2 whichever is greater whenever you use one. Is that a credit card company scam or what?! These cheques are no different to your free bank account cheques. Has anyone else heard of these or have I been really out of the loop?

Don't use them!

aliasojo

I have only ever used my Capital One card as a mule over the last few years.

I used the (free) cheques to withdraw cash from my card and then BT to whichever 0% card I had at the time.

I used to get these cheques sent to me every few months.

They've obviously finally toughened up though as the last lot I got sent to me had a fee attached.

Needless to say they went in the bin.