Can I take on my brother's credit card debt?

smithwell

He's got £5000 on two credit cards and is being slammed on interest, so barely touching the actual debt. I have no debt and wondered if it's possible to take out a credit card in my name and do a balance transfer to take advantage of the 0% interest.

ANybody have any experience of this? Would really appreciate some advice.

bingy_burge

You can do if you trust him because if you transfer it to your card it becomes your debt and he is free of it legally.

MUMMYTO2BOYS

Don't do it. If you can afford to pay a bit yourself each month to help bring the balance down then do so and keep a note.

leachyd

MUMMYTO2BOYS wrote: »

Don't do it. If you can afford to pay a bit yourself each month to help bring the balance down then do so and keep a note.

that isnt somethinig for you to say really if you ask me.

OP - it is possible to take out a card, e.g virgin for 16 mothns and transfer his balance to your card, but the rate will go up to about 18% (in my case anyway) if the debt isnt full paid off. If you are happy that he will make the payments on time etc and you dont need credit yourself soon in the near future, then why not help him out. Bingy is right, once you transfer, you will be legally responsible for the debt to the card issuer...of course if you were really concerned, get something in writing with your brother....

Im thinkin about doing the same for my student sister who has £900 that she is just servicing. I hope she can keep up with payments, but you know what, if she doesnt, she's my sister, so i'm happy to help her out.

Paul_Herring

smithwell wrote:

Can I take on my brother's credit card debt?

Just to confirm #2.

It's entirely permissible for you to balance transfer your brother's debts to your credit cards, but you then become legally liable for the debts. If you trust your brother to repay you, then go for it.

_MUMMYTO2BOYS wrote:

Don't do it. If you can afford to pay a bit yourself each month to help bring the balance down then do so and keep a note.

Without knowing the personal situation (which, from your tone, is entirely different to yours) you cannot dictate what the OP should do. And to be honest, what you recommend isn't too different from what the OP wants to do, but instead of only paying the capital off, they're still going to be paying the interest - hardly the cheapest option if there isn't a trust problem between the two brothers.

smithwell

Morning.
Thanks so much for all the advice.
my relationship with my brother is ace, and I know he would help me out if the shoe was on the other foot.
I was thinking about having something in writing, as I do live to my means (like most people) but am debt free and don't want to take any more debt on myself(new baby, extension due to be built). Some kind of contract will be drawn up. He's a single dad, and has no-one else to ask.
At least this way, he will actually be paying off the debt rather than the interest
Do the credit card companies not mind if it's not in the same name?
Again, thanks for all your help.
Smithwell

nomoneytoday

You can pay it, but he needs to fix the underlying issue that got him into debt in the first place.

What happens if he builds up another debt, and can't pay yours in the future?

BenL

Do you have the funds for the new extension already in place?

If you take on the £5000 for your brother you will need to make the lender aware of this if you are applying for an extension to your mortgage in the future.

All the card company will do is send money across, they will not check the names.

Moggles_2

smithwell wrote: »

Do the credit card companies not mind if it's not in the same name?

From the lender's perspective, it's not a problem. You may be asked for the name on the card, but this is purely an additional verification check. At the end of the day, the card company is after your business. They're not really interested in knowing who ran up the debt, as long as you, their customer, pay up on time each month!

Caution: you cannot transfer balances between cards underwritten by the same bank. (This would be like trying to pay 'em off with their own money.) This table on the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) should help:

http://www.stoozing.com/cards.htm

michaelvintner

I did it with my brother. Problem is legally the debt is yours. I made it clear to my brother that if it was a choice between eating and making the payment then he was making the payment to my credit card.

He simply set up a direct debit to my credit card to make the minimum payment. He relised that I was doing him a favour and saving him a small fortune.

I get on with my brother and he is trustworthy and relatively sensible. If your brother is the same then there should not be a problem.

However if your brother is a scumbag that you never see and cannot be trusted then don't bother.

The moment it is on your credit card, legally the debt is yours.

XXXX

leachyd wrote: »

that isnt somethinig for you to say really if you ask me.

That is indeed not something for us to say, just for yourself to decide. However, I just happen to personally know someone who lent her brother about £20K years ago and unable to get the money back at all.

Just bear in mind, you will not just be legally responsible to the debt after it has been transfer to your name, it will also be your personal credit records on the line. It may affect your future borrowing when you need it later on.