MY DEBT: I cannot sleep at night . . .

SurefireMJ2040

Hi, I wonder if any of you can give me just a bit of advice on my current debt situation. I find it difficult to sleep at night and I really would like to get this debt cleared asap.

I currently owe:

£1,450 - NatWest Visa Credit Card
£1,250 - Barclaycard Credit Card
£300 - Laptop Loan
£250 - Overdraft

Total = £3,250

I cannot apply for other credit card because they are just rejecting me.

I am currently unemployed, but I am a student at University (Final year, 3 months left). Other than that I have NO OTHER income.

I am doing everything I can to get a part time job to cope with the repayments but I haven't had any luck so far.

If and when I get a job, should I just apply for a loan for that amount and pay them all off, so that I then only have one loan payment to make each month?

Also, I have been looking at loans and is there any penalties for paying them off early???

Your help is very appreciated.

tinkerbelluk

I'm sure someone will be along soon to help you more with the long term debts - but in the short term have you spoken to your Student Finance Centre who may be able to offer you some hardship assistance for the normal day to day living costs?

lynzpower

do you have student loans as well?

have you tried your local gumtree.com for jobs too?

Dont get another loan and consolidate, i was in your situation, and did that and IM still paying it off 6 years later (albeit the loans to my parents now to avoid as much interest) .

Have you called the CC co and told them your struggling to pay? Theres bound to be better advice coming along soon here but sometimes the cc co will freeze the interest.

also post your statement of affairs on here so we can have a look at what else is going out

good luck xx

in*the*red_6

Have you tried contacting your credit card providers and explaining your situation? They may be more helpful than you think and arrange to reduce your payments to them for a period of time. You're only a few months away from your finals so it really is them you should be concentrating on and not these worries! As you are soon to graduate and then hopefully find full-time employment you should be able to convince them you will resume the higher payments in a few months. Even if you don't find the graduate job of your dreams straight away, you can still take something full-time temporarily and you should be able to clear the debt quickly.

Mental_Mentor

SurefireMJ2040 wrote:

I cannot apply for other credit card because they are just rejecting me.

I would advise you check out your credit report on Experian and Equifax you can do this online. There may be something on there that is preventing you getting a card. I did this earlier and found that the reason I was being turned dow was that I had £30k worth of available credit on old cards that I had switched and not closed properly.

Spent a couple of days writing to close accounts. You then have to wait a few months to let it all go through. Hopefully then you'll be able to transfer a
balance to a 0% deal

Good luck

lynzpower

ooh, any chance of moving back to the parents or somewhere cheaper once you finish? or are you living at home already?

Kruger

Have you tried applying for a proper student account and overdraft with your bank, yhey usually offer upto £1750 for a third year student, might have to start at £1000 but got to be worth a try, and when you graduate they'll usually keep it going for a year at 0%.

jitsuguy

Hi Surefire,

You should be able to get assistance in the form of a hardship grant from the university. Plus you can at the same time as applying for the garnt apply for a further £500 from the Student Loans Company (this does have to be paid back). Plus check to see if you're union has any help with finding part time jobs.

us,thecat&thedebt

if you have no income then tbh im not suprised you cant get anymore credit...

speak to the companies concerned..

were u working when u took out the debt?

post your soa and people should be able to help you cut out non essientials ect...

dont panic your in the right place ((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))

bank_of_slate

Hi Surefire

Welcome to MSE.
I agree with the above poster who said keep your creditors well informed!
They are far more likely to understand if they know your situation.
try the above suggestions re Uni hardship funds or can a family member help you out for the time being?
You only have 3 months left of the course so throw all your energy into your studies, don't let your work suffer through worrying about the debts!
keep posting on here for advice!
...Linda xx

loubie_lou

Hiya

When you get a full time job I wouldn't really recommend that you get a loan to consolidate your existing debts - it won't be really going anywhere will it?

Your debt is quite small compared to others and i'm sure with a bit of budgeting you could clear it quite quickly. If you use the snowball calculator by visiting:
http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx you can see how long it will take to pay off your current debts.

IN THE MEANTIME: Don't apply for anymore credit as the banks/CC companies will keep rejecting you (too many searches are not good you see!). I would also suggest you go and see the student advisor people (or whatever their called these days!) and see if they can help you.

You should also call you debtors and explain to them you are struggling to pay and i'm sure they'll freeze interest and lower payments till you are on your feet again!

Try not to worry about the debts as i'm sure your at a crucial stage of your degree!

HTH