Debt Advice... .

David333

Hello,

I've been lurking for a while and have come to the decision that it's important to get rid of my debt. The current situation I'm in is I earn about £10,000 a year. I have:-

£1,150 of debt on a HSBC credit card at 17.472% interest;
£2,500 with Capital One at 15.9%;
£1,000 on a Nationwide credit card at 14.9%;
and £700 on an Egg card at 0% for the moment.

I also have a £1000 interest free overdraft. Okay, I've been trying to pay off about £300 a month, which at the moment is coming off my HSBC card. Then I shall switch to my Capital One and onwards... .

I would love to get all of my debts on interest free cards but am not sure how to do this. I've only just applied for the Egg card and they've only given me a £750 credit limit. I applied for a Mint card the same day but they rejected me. My credit rating (I've checked on Experian) seems fine. I was late for three payments on my Nationwide card by about a day or so (stupidly didn't have direct debit set up), which was about six months ago. I assume that that will affect it but hopefully not by too much... .

Anyway, does anyone have any advice as to whether I could apply for another card now, and if so, would it be best for me to go for the Halifax 1 card (0% for a year supposedly), or the Lloyds TSB Advance card (5.5% on life of balance)? If they'll only give me a £500 credit limit, the latter won't be much use... . Any advice please...?

simonleblank

Hi David, you should list ALL of your monthly income and outgoings so that the guru's can offer helpfull advice.

magentadreamer

I think your problem is that about half your annual income is debt at the moment and that might be putting off lenders plus the odd late payment. Are all the cards maxed to the limit? Or are the limits higher showing even more debt potential to a lender?

If you've already been rejected for a Mint card you might well be rejected again. Once you've cleared and closed the HSBC card you might want to apply for another card to BT at 0%.

Are you also able to BT any of the HSBC card to the other lower apr cards?

David333

magentadreamer wrote:

I think your problem is that about half your annual income is debt at the moment and that might be putting off lenders plus the odd late payment. Are all the cards maxed to the limit? Or are the limits higher showing even more debt potential to a lender?

If you've already been rejected for a Mint card you might well be rejected again. Once you've cleared and closed the HSBC card you might want to apply for another card to BT at 0%.

Are you also able to BT any of the HSBC card to the other lower apr cards?

My HSBC card has a limit of £2500 but the rest are pretty much maxed. I've already Balance Transferred as much as possible to the other cards... .

magentadreamer

All I can really suggest is doing what you're doing now hitting the HSBC card till it's cleared the heading onto the Cap one card. If youpost a SOA you might find loads of advice on how to cut back on things and free up a bit more money to chuck at the cards.

David333

magentadreamer wrote:

All I can really suggest is doing what you're doing now hitting the HSBC card till it's cleared the heading onto the Cap one card. If youpost a SOA you might find loads of advice on how to cut back on things and free up a bit more money to chuck at the cards.

Thank you anyway. What's a SOA? And you don't think that I should apply for a 0% interest/life of balance card anywhere until my HSBC credit card is killed...?

Foxy106

The trouble with doing too many applications so close together affects your credit score file, making you look desperate for credit. Best to leave it for a while, 6 months maybe?

SOA means Statement Of Affairs, list of all your income, and all outgoing. Then maybe the experts here can help you see where you can cut back and trim.

roswell

Call HSBC and get your limit changed to just above the amount outstanding to pay, Setup DD to pay minimum one each card you have, chuck the £300 at the highest and each time you pay off £300 get the limit reduced, This way your exposure will be less and you will stand more chance of getting another card. Even £500 @ 0% is better than £500@ 17.5 %

roswell

OOPs if try get a life of balance by phone and advise them the amount you want to transfer to them they may be leniant and offer you that, after all they will get 5% ish on the full amount :-)

David333

Thank you for all of your replies above. It's really been a help just to see other people's advice... . I've been hitting the HSBC cedit card and got it down to about £850 now. The others are pretty static, so my debt is as follows:-

£800 of debt on a HSBC credit card at 17.472% interest;
£2,500 with Capital One at 15.9%;
£1,000 on a Nationwide credit card at 14.9%;
and £700 on an Egg card at 0% for the moment.

I've just received £450, and was going to throw it at my HSBC card. I just wondered whether it might make more sense to put it on my Capital One card. I quite like the idea of getting HSBC paid off, but at the same time, would it save me money putting it on Capital One (I don't know enough about how interest is calculated!)...?

David333

Oh, and have saved about £10 in £2 coins. Every little helps