Big debt with a massive interest rate.

in.debt.dan

Hi all,

I currently have a credit card with virgin (it was the 0% for 15 month deal) I owe a whopping £7200, the problem is the interest free period has ran out. The APR was at 21.0% but as of January this year it jumped to 35.9%!!! Which means I pay roughly £200 interest a month!

I cant get any more credit to pay the debt of i.e - different credit cards, loans etc. I have also had 4 different addresses in the past 18 months due to my previous job,plus the credit crunch.

Could anyone advise me what to do??? I can afford the minmum repayments, however this is only just over the interest. I feel as if im trapped to this debt forever and there is no way out!

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

BeautyandtheBeast_3

!!!!!! why did it jump to 35.9%????

tyllwyd

There aren't too many options - you could try asking nicely if they will lower the interest rate, you could get credit at a better rate elsewhere (but you've already said you can't do that), or you could try to pay it off more quickly by saving every spare penny/earning more/selling stuff.

If you are in financial trouble, it couldn't hurt to talk to one of the debt advice charities to see what they suggest - it might be that a debt management plan (DMP) would be a good idea.

talana

If you can't move the debt at all or reduce the APR, then your other option is basically to free up more cash from your monthly SOA and throw as much as you can at the debt to reduce the balance asap.

Post up your SOA (see sticky at top of the board) and people will advise you further.

GeorgeUK

Do you still have the cards that you originally had and moved to the Virgin card? It may be possible to get some BT offers and as an existing customer, don't usually require a credit check. Might be worth a try.

andys15

I used to have the same problem. For no reason whatsoever they decreased my limit and then wacked up the APR to 35%. It meant that I was only paying £4 towards the actual balance, and it would have taken me over 200 years to repay.. They have basically trapped you. Only way out is either wair untill you can get more credit, dont apply for anything for 12 months. It is a horrible situation to be in, but in the meantime just pay off the minimum until you can arrange something else(family, friend). You are there kind of customer, and it should be illegal what they are doing. Talk about kicking someone when youre down, and virgin are the worst at it.

BeautyandtheBeast_3

why on earth would they whack it up? it says 16.9%!!

gfplux

Hello in.debt.dan,

If you can not get any more credit then as has been said by talana you need to work on your free cash.
Make out your SOA (link - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html ) Try not to guess at the figures, dig out the paperwork! However remember a partial completed one is better than none. It is in fact one of the most important things you will do to start on the road to recovery. If you want a lot of help on this forum, posting your SOA is the first and most important step. After it is done it is very easy to keep it up to date.

Start a spending diary TODAY to find out exactly where you money goes. Knowledge is power.


Looking forward to your next post.

andys15

BeautyandtheBeast wrote: »

why on earth would they whack it up? it says 16.9%!!

16.9 is the typical rate, but it means sod all. However well you run your card, if you constantly have a balance on it, they might increase it. If you have a big balance on it, they will definately increase it. 30 odd per cent seems the norm

BeautyandtheBeast_3

andys15 wrote: »

16.9 is the typical rate, but it means sod all. However well you run your card, if you constantly have a balance on it, they might increase it. If you have a big balance on it, they will definately increase it. 30 odd per cent seems the norm

mmmmmmmmmmm - will have to check that out. !!! that seems a little bit too high - but if that happens i will have to whack the balance on the Marks card which is a lot less xxx

in.debt.dan

BeautyandtheBeast wrote: »

!!!!!! why did it jump to 35.9%????

I havent got a clue? I thought it would just stay at around 16.9% obviously they have some very very very small print. Im gonna phone them up and try and argue my case again, but each time it falls upon deaf ears!