No sure what to do now

Lilith1980

Hi all

I currently have the folowing credit cards:-

Virgin (Just increased to 34.9%) - balance of £8,800 - minimum payment of £240 per month

Halifax - 0% deal is almost over and is switching to 17.9% - balance of £1,200 - not sure of the new minimum payment

I phoned Halifax to see if they had any other 0% deals and they said I would need to switch my balance away from Halifax and back again which seemed pointless so I thought I'd apply for another 0% card and keep it there until the 0% period was finished.

I applied to the Post Office but was declined so I wanted to know if I have any other options? Should I apply for a consolidation loan for both cards or are the chances high that I will be declined for this too? I can afford the minimum payment on the Virgin Card but not much more to be honest, the latest rate increase has meant I am paying £40 more per month which has tightened things up somewhat.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

ThinkingOfLinking

If Virgin are charging you such a high level of APR, I'd say chances are your credit rating is sub-prime so you'll either be declined for other credit or you'll be charged similarly high rates of interest. Check out your credit file for free through Experian or Equifax, and visit your bank to see if you can get a good deal on a consolidation loan through them. Don't actually APPLY for anything this second because lots of applications looks bad on your credit file and makes others less likely to want to lend to you as you seem desparate (which I know you probably are, IYSWIM).