debt shuffle, does this sound ok

gabs41

Struggling with my debts at the moment.
They are
Egg card 3600 (15.9%limit (4300)
Virgin 86514.9%limit (6000)
Cahoot loan(flexi) 368011.9%limit (5000)
Lloyds 55000%limit (6000)end Sept
O/D 220011.9%

I am only paying off the minimum of all of them and thought I might be able to juggle things around so at least my minimum payments are paying off the debt. Don't want to do anything that involves a credit search just now. Lloyds offered me a consolidation loan at 19% so I am beginning to look like a risk on paper.

When I rang virgin they offered me a further 0% period till jan 2007. So could I transfer virgin debt to cahoot and then at the same time pay off overdraft and most of egg with virgin . I think they said they would only do an internal credit search.
Then I could prioritise high interest paying debts. Don't want too many credit searches as I know I will need to reapply for )% cards in August.

I am a bit frightened at doing this as I find it hard to keep up with all these things and cant believe I can come out a winner, well not a bigger loser
.
I really really want to apply for a consolidation loan, but it seems not generally approved of. As even if I do get most of my debt onto 0% I have to do it all again in a few months!
Any advice, gratefully received.
Thanx

Kevicho

Hi, we will need to more bits of info, one a full SOA, which will tell us how much you have spare, per month (check out the stickied post on how to do this)

and we will also need the minimum payments for the cards

I dont see how getting more consolidation loans at this stage will help you as if people are only offering 19% then your credit report is probably suffered a lot of harm

Kevicho

i think the switching around would give you some breathing room, so would be a good idea (although you may have some fees to pay)

Threaten to cancel the egg and see if they can do any offers as well

Also check out my thread on how to snowball, it will help you prioritise the repayment of this debt (its probably a few pages back by now)

TallGirl

Dear Gabs41

I think you need to look at how much you can afford to pay towards you debts before deciding what to do. Work out a budget and then see what you are left with at the end of the month. If you are left with nothing or only enough to pay min balances you may be getting yourself too far into debt and the only way forward is to cut back and start making repayments. If you have a real problem then getting a consolodation loan is only going to make things worse if you cannot pay the monthly payments. You will have one large creditors they will want a fair amount of money instead of smaller ones which are are easier to negotiate with if you cannot make the contratual payments. Also the larger the debt is the more likely the creditor is to go for court orders and even charging orders which only add to the debt and can put your hourse at risk (if you own one)
If you feel you are getting too far into debt please talk to some one about it and get advice now before taking out a huge consoledation loan. CItizens Advice or Payplan.com are good.

gabs41

This is my SOA. I posted it before and nothing major came out of it. I rechecked I was entitled to nothing else and have arranged for a water meter to be fitted. I am in the process of applying to work more hours but in the mean time trying to keep outgoings to a minimum.


My SOA
income
wages 674.57
child credits 314
working credits 125
child benfit 115

total 1228


outgoings
mortgage 367
house insurance 15
union 17
electricity 41
water 45
loan 71
council tax 77
overdraft 15
car insurance 15
phone 20
c/c 248
mobile 10
internet 17.99
tv 10
petrol 120
housekeeping 200
childcare 30
total 1318
I though maybe my plan would prevent the need for further credit checks as they are within, companys I am already with!

gabs41

[QUOTE=Ta

If you feel you are getting too far into debt please talk to some one about it and get advice now before taking out a huge consoledation loan. CItizens Advice or Payplan.com are good.[/QUOTE]

I rang payplan when I had my LBM and basicaly they said I should borrow by remortgaging. I then contacted London and county and gave my details honestly and they said that no-one would give me a higher mortgage than i have now. I do have about £95000 equity in my property. My current lenders also refused to lend more. My fixed rate mortgage deal, not a good one is up in July and I wonder if I will be able to find anything else
Thanks for commenting

TallGirl

Yes it would be difficult to remortgage on those figures unless your income increased. I think may be relying to credit to pay your bills so perhaps you need to look at increasing your income or reducing your expenses as the only option. I cannot see how you can reduce your expenses but perhaps you could look into how much an interest only mortgage with your existing lender would be perhaps that would be an option short term until you get yourself back on track. I am not an expert in mortgages but perhaps your local CAB has a deal with a local IFA and you could get free 1/2 hour advice.

lynzpower

It seems crazy that the CAB suggested adding the debt to your mortage...

You are paying 15 a month for your overdraft-could you change bank accounts to get a 0% overdraft? A&L have one.. .

Spirited_2

I'm new to this too, so just let us know if something won't work.

Overspend - £90

Internet (currently £17.99)
Switch to a different provider. You can get good broadband access for £14.99 from both Tiscali and Eclipse. I'm sure there are other providers out there. But that's a saving of £3 a month. Can you downgrade to dial up or do away with it completely.

Can you cancel the union membership for a while to let yourself get back on your feet? £17 a month is quite a lot to pay. I take it it is a work related union?

You are spending £30 a month on the phones. Can you stop using them so much? Change providers?

£120 a month on petrol seems a lot. Is that how you get to work? Would public transport be an option, or car sharing?

How many people are you feeding with the £200 housekeeping? Try the Old Style forum for tips on meal planning and cutting back foodwise. Even shaving £50 off this would make a huge difference.

Take care xxx

gabs41

Spirited wrote:

I'm new to this too, so just let us know if something won't work.

Overspend - £90Hopefully that is all it is, but all sorts of unexpected and even expected things pop up

Internet (currently £17.99)
Switch to a different provider. You can get good broadband access for £14.99 from both Tiscali and Eclipse. I'm sure there are other providers out there. But that's a saving of £3 a month. Can you downgrade to dial up or do away with it completely.switiching to talk tak, which be £10.99 a month

Can you cancel the union membership for a while to let yourself get back on your feet? £17 a month is quite a lot to pay. I take it it is a work related union?I have looked to see if unison cheaper, cantnot found out yet, I do need it for work as a nurse, and there are possible redundancies at the trust in the next months

You are spending £30 a month on the phones. Can you stop using them so much? Change providers? Talk,talk which will at least cap it ia this much

£120 a month on petrol seems a lot. Is that how you get to work? Would public transport be an option, or car sharing? I agree it is. Live in a rural area and public transport, dodgy and expensive. Sounds drastic but thinking of getting a lower paid job in my home town and getting rid of the car altogether. Though it took me so long to learn to drive(part of beginning of debt).......... With road tax. mot, servicing, petrol it must cost nearly 200 a year to keep on the road. That's without repairs.

How many people are you feeding with the £200 housekeeping? Try the Old Style forum for tips on meal planning and cutting back foodwise. Even shaving £50 off this would make a huge difference.This does cover everything from food to, trips to swimming pool, though cinema and days out are very rare now. Have joined https://www.myswap.co.uk in hope of swapping dvd's, books etc and saving on rentals.

I don't mean to sound negative or defeated and I know the only thing I can do is earn more, try and cut down my payments (hence debt shuffle). Or try and negociate deals with creditors, but do you have to be in the hands of collection agencies for that?

What about sell my house??????????? and live in rented accommodation but this would be a lot more than my mortgage

brranger

Egg card 3600 (15.9%limit (4300)
Virgin 865 14.9%limit (6000)

If virgin are offering a 0% can you transfer you egg debt to virgin?
Does your egg card have a annervesary 0% for 5 months on it and when is it due? might fall lucky at the end of virgin term. worth looking into further