Off the rails a little

keenlearner

Hi Guys,
I was hoping for some advice on my current situation.

I've always been very careful to keep my spending limited to my income. If I didn't have it in cash then I didn't buy it.

This always served me well until recently when I realised I couldn't get credit for anything. To cut a long story short we decided to get a credit card to help build up our credit history. After being turned down for three cards I was able to get one from a company called Vanquis at around 43% APR. At the time this wasn't a problem because the balance was being paid off in full each month.

Recently I've been off work ill (self-employed so I didn't get paid) and we've gone too deep into our credit card to pay off the balance in full. This has left us with around £3000 on the card and I'm worried sick. Wish I'd never have applied.

I accept this is 100% my fault and I'm not trying to get out of paying. I just can’t believe we’ve been so stupid.

I can put about £500 a month off it within my existing budget, which will leave us enough to cover the essentials.

YorkshireBoy

You talk as though there are two of you? How about the other applying for a mainstream 0% BT card and transferring the debt?

Be sure to maximise your chances though by ensuring you're both on the Electoral Roll. Are you?

How about your own bank? After all, they're the ones who know most about your personal circumstances. Even a small (£1.5K) limit will help...especially since you're paying a very high rate now.

NickX

I agree with YorkshireBoy.

43% APR is a horrendous rate to be paying. If at all possible you need to get a 0% deal and transfer the balance over. There is usually a fee of around 3% to make the transfer.

If you are successful then you must ensure that you make the Minimum Payments before their Due Dates otherwise there is a possibility that you will lose the 0% promotion.

Also make sure you know the precise promotion End Date and ensure that you have a plan to handle the debt before then, i.e. either pay if off if possible, or get a further 0% deal in place to move the debt on to.

Good Luck and Best Wishes for 2009.

PROLIANT

Vanquis offer a payment break program with their Visa, if you fall sick or become un-employed they will help you out but you must tell them, they will freeze all interest on the card until you get back on your feet...and they will not back date the interest either so doesn’t worry.
Give them a call; explain the situation even if the card is frozen for a month or two this will help you out.

jamalfatty

PROLIANT wrote: »

Vanquis offer a payment break program with their Visa, if you fall sick or become un-employed they will help you out but you must tell them, they will freeze all interest on the card until you get back on your feet...and they will not back date the interest either so doesn’t worry.
Give them a call; explain the situation even if the card is frozen for a month or two this will help you out.

Isnt this their version of PPI though? So OP would have needed to have already have it on account, they dont mention either way but this on top of 43% would have been horrendous!

PROLIANT

jamalfatty wrote: »

Isnt this their version of PPI though? So OP would have needed to have already have it on account, they dont mention either way but this on top of 43% would have been horrendous!

Then don't take on a card with that kind of APR!

keenlearner

Thanks for all the replies.

We have played with the budget and can manage around £866 a month so this shouldn;t take too long to pay off. Once it is I'll be cutting up the cards and closing the accounts.

Ideally we would have liked to transfer these to a 0% interest card but I keep getting turned down. Not sure whay as my salary is good, my credit history is good, and I'm on the electrol role.

robin_banks

Self employed is the answer methinks

keenlearner

A year ago I was self-employed but I've been in perm employment for some time now. Strange one really..

Applied for a 0% transfer deal last night and was accepted. Which is great news for bringing down my outstanding balances.