RBS mint card - Settlement Figure

ashyt

Hey guys new here and my this is my first post

I have a student loan coming in and I'm planning to use this to pay off my credit card of around £3000 and free myself from the crazy interest that's getting added on and the high monthly payments. However my college finance department have advised me to call up and ask about a settlement figure, he said they might settle for a little less than the £3000??

Does anyone have any experience of doing this?

Moggles_2

No experience personally, but your credit rating would take a hammering and that could affect your finances for a long time.

While you're meeting the minimum payments, your credit worthiness remains unaffected, so I wouldn't rush to do this.

Provided that you can afford to pay off the card, I would do so. You never know when you might need to apply for new credit facilities.

ashyt

ahhh so doing something like this would affect your rating?

normanmark

It will definitely affect your rating. If you don't mind your rating taking a hammering for the future then do it. However if you're looking for credit in the future, then i'd advise to just pay back the full amount that you've borrowed.

ashyt

thanks guys, the settlement figure idea sounded too good to be true and it makes sense that any reduced amount to pay would affect you in some other way

I will be able to pay the amount in full so I will just go ahead with that.

poppy_f1

normally they wont settle for less than the balance unless you are in arrears but by then they will have stiffed you on charges anyway

exel1966

Did you explain your predicament in full to your college financial department ?

If you did I'm amazed that they would offer such bad advice to a student. God help anyone who has taken onboard their advice without questioning it !

Colin_London

That was awful advice from the 'college finance department'. Whoever gave it should be for the boot......

Was it your SU 'finance advice centre' - it's the sort of 'advice' I'd expect from someone who has tried it on themselves to get out of a fix, without having had to live with the consequences of what they have done.

Having such black marks against your credit record could severely hamper you for years to come.

By the way, Student Loans are probably the cheapest form of loan you'll ever get, so a sensible way to get rid of the credit card bill, but you've got to look at your expenditure. In the current situation if you are graduating in the next two years or so the prospects for a good job immediately after uni are rather poor, so don't go too far overboard with debt.

At least with Student Loans you don't have to start repayments until you are earning.

ashyt

To be honest it was a quick call and not very detailed - I knew to look into it.

I am a mature student in my late twenties with credit card debt and an overdraft. I am in a course I love and need a loan as I am studying full time.

I do not want a load of student debt but I have debts that cost me every month and whilst my loan money would help me so much with day to day living i'm seeing this as an opportunity to pay off debts that started off low when I was younger and have accumulated with interest over a long time. As a young-ish! person who got into silly store cards and then eventually credit cards i've learned from my mistakes! I know student loans are still debt but i'm looking forward to having it in one manageable place.