Experian report.....very confused......

wannabedebtfree_2

I have just checked my Experian report as I am really struggling every month trying to pay stupid amounts of interest on credit cards that seem to have no intention of reducing, so I check my experian report........its not too bad, just one 1 in the past year (bloomin' natwest overdraft charges), but for god knows what reason I have a 3:eek: from about 2 1/2 years ago, I don't think its right but I don't have time to figure it out........

Anyway, I basically wanted to see if its going to be possible to get a consolidation loan (I thought about this about 18 months ago and was advised against it by people on here) and now my debt has spiralled to almost double what it was and I am paying out about 55% of my total monthly income on debt......not much fun with a house and family to keep, so I paid the extra on Experian to get my credit score.....its 999:T according to Experian which is 'excellent' on their scoring system, but what I want to know is........is that a good indication of how likely I am to get a personal loan in the current climate??? I want to get this sorted by the end of the week as I am getting more and more stressed by the whole situation, I have butterflies/churning stomach constantly and spend my whole day worrying about money.............I am cheesed off and I don't want to make matters worse by applying for stuff I will get refused for............HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

TotallyBroke

wannabedebtfree wrote: »

I have just checked my Experian report as I am really struggling every month trying to pay stupid amounts of interest on credit cards that seem to have no intention of reducing, so I check my experian report........its not too bad, just one 1 (one what? missed payment, default, credit card) in the past year (bloomin' natwest overdraft charges), but for god knows what reason I have a 3:eek: ( 3 whats? defaults same as above) from about 2 1/2 years ago, I don't think its right but I don't have time to figure it out........

Anyway, I basically wanted to see if its going to be possible to get a consolidation loan (I thought about this about 18 months ago and was advised against it by people on here) and now my debt has spiralled to almost double what it was and I am paying out about 55% of my total monthly income on debt......not much fun with a house and family to keep, so I paid the extra on Experian to get my credit score.....its 999:T according to Experian which is 'excellent' on their scoring system, but what I want to know is........is that a good indication of how likely I am to get a personal loan in the current climate??? I want to get this sorted by the end of the week as I am getting more and more stressed by the whole situation, I have butterflies/churning stomach constantly and spend my whole day worrying about money.............I am cheesed off and I don't want to make matters worse by applying for stuff I will get refused for............HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

Do not get a consolidation loan. You'll pay more in the long run and could if you are not disciplined find yourself owing a lot more.
Please explain what the whats are and we can help you further.
Your credit rating seems to be very good. So you could do a balance transfer onto a 0% bt card. Then depending on your family soa you can find the money to pay this off over the 0% time so that it does cost you anymore money.

nesssie1702

How much do you owe and how much are you paying out each month?

The only way a loan would work is if you're disciplined enough to cut up the cards and not incur any more debt.

If you are getting stressed out by your finanacial situation, maybe you should take some time out and make an appointment to see the Money advisor at your local CAB?

LilacPixie

consolodation loans rarely if ever work.

I don't know who you bank with, I bank with natwest/RBS. I had a 'FINANCIAL REVIEW' with them 2 weeks ago ( a mystery shop) and they were trying to persuade me to take out a 'consolodation loan' with them to may off my loan outstanding with GE Money. The APR they were quoting was 16.9%. That is with no defaults, no CCj's, no missed payments ( missed one 4 almost 5 years ago) and 3 searches in the last 6 months. Experian also says i have top class rating.

What is it you want to consolodate??

wannabedebtfree_2

I have 3 credit cards with a combined balance of £11,000ish and about £4000 on my partners card.

The interest rates are between 21-29% and I am paying minimum monthly payments on each that total over £600 per month, I cannot squeeze another single penny and in fact paying this much means we have about £30 a week to feed 4 of us and pay any other bills that come in that I don't currently pay monthly (i.e. quarterly water etc etc) the interest that is added in total to these credit cards each month is adding up to about £300, meaning it will take me about 60 months to pay off, yet a £15k 5 year loan will cost me £300ish per month, which means I won't have all the current stress of getting my £938 wages on one day of the month and then having £338ish to last the month and pay everything else (I get £84 a week tax credits, £31 child benefit and partner earns £75 per week).

I made this mistake 18 month ago, being talked out of a loan, and I am literally almost double what I owed 2 years ago, because trying to find such huge amounts of money every month trying my hardest to pay it off quickly meant that at times I have left myself with no room to breathe, so when the car needed sorting, (service and sump gasket = £450) and then it needed 4 new tyres (£220) within a few months of each other and my tv broke down (£300), and then my sofa collapsed (£300 - got the cheapest replacement I possibly could) I had no choice but to get things on my credit cards, so I really have tried hard, we don't live frivalously, and I am sick of the kids not telling me about school trips cos they know we can't afford them, I just think saving myself £300 per month makes sense, but then maybe I am wrong. I have tried soooooo hard to pay as much as possible, which at points has meant desperation, I have had no choice but to buy food on credit card if a bill comes in, I've even had to resort to paying the rent on it a few times just to get them off my back, I just don't know what to do..........

The 1's (just checked there are 2 of them in the past year) are late payments, both overdraft charges taking me over my overdraft......and the 3 is a late payment but I don't know what for, I am going to investigate it)

dvs

wannabedebtfree wrote: »

...so I paid the extra on Experian to get my credit score.....its 999:T according to Experian which is 'excellent' on their scoring system, but what I want to know is........is that a good indication of how likely I am to get a personal loan in the current climate???

The Experian Credit score means next to nothing in the real world. Companies used to base lending very much on repayment history and affordability. Nowadays, lenders look for how much credit you've got, how much of your available credit you're using, the type of credit, how much you are repaying etc.

ghostmadlittlemiss

I'm sure someone else has mentioned this, but if your credit rating is that good, why not try switching some of the debt to a 0% card?
Kayleigh

wannabedebtfree_2

I have done this in the past, (switched to 0%), but as my debt is now £15k+ I could only move a small amount at a time and I don't know if I can keep this up, I have gone through all the statements for December and have added it up:

Income: £1757
Credit card payments: £696
Interest charged on credit cards: £256

I CANNOT afford £600+ per month for much longer, I am constantly in tears, I haven't even used my credit cards for months and yet even though I am paying silly amounts (I try to pay just over the minimum) they don't appear to be moving............I am at my wits end...........

wannabedebtfree_2

dvs wrote: »

The Experian Credit score means next to nothing in the real world. Companies used to base lending very much on repayment history and affordability. Nowadays, lenders look for how much credit you've got, how much of your available credit you're using, the type of credit, how much you are repaying etc.

Thats basically what I wanted to know, I don't want to start applying for credit cards to switch to, or loans if I am just going to make things worse.....

TotallyBroke

wannabedebtfree wrote: »

I have 3 credit cards with a combined balance of £11,000ish and about £4000 on my partners card.

The interest rates are between 21-29% and I am paying minimum monthly payments on each that total over £600 per month, I cannot squeeze another single penny and in fact paying this much means we have about £30 a week to feed 4 of us and pay any other bills that come in that I don't currently pay monthly (i.e. quarterly water etc etc) the interest that is added in total to these credit cards each month is adding up to about £300, meaning it will take me about 60 months to pay off, yet a £15k 5 year loan will cost me £300ish per month, which means I won't have all the current stress of getting my £938 wages on one day of the month and then having £338ish to last the month and pay everything else (I get £84 a week tax credits, £31 child benefit and partner earns £75 per week).

I made this mistake 18 month ago, being talked out of a loan, and I am literally almost double what I owed 2 years ago, because trying to find such huge amounts of money every month trying my hardest to pay it off quickly meant that at times I have left myself with no room to breathe, so when the car needed sorting, (service and sump gasket = £450) and then it needed 4 new tyres (£220) within a few months These would've happened even if you had the loan. But what would've happened was you got the loan and made payments, then got the car repairs on a card and then struggled to pay both and so the cycle goes round of each other and my tv broke down (£300), and then my sofa collapsed (£300 - got the cheapest replacement I possibly could) I had no choice but to get things on my credit cards, You could have got these replaced on your house insurance or picked up a replacement from freecycle so I really have tried hard, we don't live frivalously, and I am sick of the kids not telling me about school trips cos they know we can't afford them, I just think saving myself £300 per month makes sense, but then maybe I am wrong. I have tried soooooo hard to pay as much as possible, which at points has meant desperation, I have had no choice but to buy food on credit card if a bill comes in, I've even had to resort to paying the rent on it a few times just to get them off my back, I just don't know what to do..........

The 1's (just checked there are 2 of them in the past year) are late payments, both overdraft charges taking me over my overdraft......and the 3 is a late payment but I don't know what for, I am going to investigate it) late payments are a pain but not too major

I've written some bits in blue.. It is hard back 7 years ago I used my Barclaycard to purchase something (can't even remember what?) I have only just paid that off because I was only paying minimum payments and robbing Peter to pay Paul. I dread to think what I have given them in interest in the seven years. Last year I had the Barclaycard debt, loans to companies and to family. I would never have got in so much debt if I had my lightbulb moment 8/9 years ago.

Don't overpay small amounts on all your debts, focus on paying minimum payments on them all and then overpaying the one with the highest debt.
If you can do a soa using https://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html if you would like I can also pm you a spreadsheet that I use to work out what needs to be paid out each month and when.

GeorgeUK

I agree, a SOA would let us see what you are paying, if there are any savings to be made from that and if there is anything else we can do to decrease the amount of interest you are paying.

The only reason i was able to make all my payments was because i managed to get some 0% cards. You can have about 3 credit checks in a 6 month period before your credit score is affected.

The minimum monthly payments on a virgin card is 3% 1st month and £25 from 2nd - 16th months. If you don't have an MBNA card then this may be a good option.

I'd also look into reclaiming bank charges and credit card charges that you have had.