Credit Card Hell

thomascradberry

Hi there guys,

Despite being in a well paid full time job the credit crunch has taken it's toll.
I've always had quite a few credit card balances racked up over years as a student, some of them were on long term low rates and a couple interest free but thanks to a few unfortunate circumstances combined with HSBC being incredibly tight (having previously been fairly lenient) I had a few payments returned over a series of months.

Consequently not only has my credit rating taken a dive but all of my promotional rates have ended and having looked at my statements some of the rates they are now charging are extortionately high - usually between 20-30% APR.

So here's the damage:

Mint £2,400.00 BOS £5,000.00 HSBC Prem £9,500.00 MBNA £6,000.00 Egg £1,500.00 Capital One £4,000.00 Barclays £800.00
So basically I'm looking for a way out as I am sick and tired of these cards, and especially now the rates have shot up they're going to bleed me dry.

Obviously I am taking steps to reduce my outgoings and I have stopped spending on cards for several months now but I need to start chipping away at these debts.

The most obvious thing would have been to get a consolidation loan at a better rate to pay them off, but with my credit rating in tatters and the current climate this may be difficult. I am lucky enough to have a fair amount of equity in a property however as this is on a BTL mortgage and my salary is low in comparison to the property value which would probably make it difficult to remortgage.

Does anyone have any experience in negotiating with credit card companies? Is there any one else I should be thinking about consulting? Anyway if anyone can give me some ideas I would very greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks,
Thomas

Simon_Preston

If I were you, being in a well paid job, I'd start to look at what luxurys I can cut back on in order to have extra cash to throw at the cards.
Whats the limit on the Barclaycard? First thing I'd do is pay that off and then phone Barclays to see if they'll offer you their 6.9% deal for existing customers.
Read up on this if you can't get any new credit.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/cut-credit-card-interest

Also worth phoning up each lender and asking them if they will reduce the interest on the card. HSBC did it instantly for me last year when I was paying far too much (they upped it to 32.9%, 3 minute phone call later and it was down to 15.9%). Sometimes threatening to close the account down helps and if you have the Barclaycard offer ready to go they might even try and match that to keep your custom.

ILW

thomascradberry wrote: »

Hi there guys,


So here's the damage:

Mint £2,400.00 BOS £5,000.00 HSBC Prem £9,500.00 MBNA £6,000.00 Egg £1,500.00 Capital One £4,000.00 Barclays £800.00
So basically I'm looking for a way out as I am sick and tired of these cards, and especially now the rates have shot up they're going to bleed me dry.


Thomas

Sorry to sound a bit unsympathetic, but the bottom lie is "you have had your fun and now it's payback time"
You need to cut back on your lifestyle now to pay fopr the past.
Or maybe just get on to one of them companies who will write it all off.

thomascradberry

No worries, I'm surprised it didn't come sooner.

Those kind of agreements would leave a really bad stain on my credit record though right?

I'm just looking for ways of reducing the rates/consolidating so I can avoid paying £500 a month in interest alone!