Store card turned nasty!

cathjojess

Have been told by friend they had a store card turn to credit card, she has being paying it back at the minimum payment now for 15 years !!! They have never defaulted but now struggling to meet monthly payments. Seems very unfair where can I go to begin to help her?:mad:

Anihilator

A store card is a credit card in essence

And how can you help her? Explain to her that paying the minimum payment is no good?

Dabooka

I'm assuming she's still using it occasionally, or at least did?

chanz4

only one way refer them to the cab or pay it for them

McKneff

A store card is a credit card.
You get credit at the store the card is for.

geri1965_2

Store cards generally have higher interest rates than a bog standard credit card. Has this changed?

McKneff

cathjojess wrote: »

Have been told by friend they had a store card turn to credit card, she has being paying it back at the minimum payment now for 15 years !!! They have never defaulted but now struggling to meet monthly payments. Seems very unfair where can I go to begin to help her?:mad:

What is unfair about it, she keeps spending on it so she has to pay it back, its not rocket science

never-in-doubt

Actually, a store card is not a credit card and are treated entirely different, certainly the laws are affected (i.e. no s.75 protection to name one) - so before getting high and mighty get your facts straight!

Also, storecards do have much higher APR's than standard credit cards. Maybe it would be good for the OP to suggest to their friend that they get a credit card and pay off the storecard on the credit card as a Balance Transfer (if applicable - who is the storecard with exactly?)....

But guys, stop jumping in with smart arsey comments - no need for it really is there?

McKneff

Actually, a store card is not a credit card and are treated entirely different, certainly the laws are affected (i.e. no s.75 protection to name one) - so before getting high and mighty get your facts straight!

Actually - In principal its the same, you buy things on credit with it, you pay it back in installments -

The OP didnt understand the principal - i was explaining it to them.
No need to be so pedantic, that picky to you!

speedbird1973

McKneff wrote: »

Actually, a store card is not a credit card and are treated entirely different, certainly the laws are affected (i.e. no s.75 protection to name one) - so before getting high and mighty get your facts straight!

Actually - In principal its the same, you buy things on credit with it, you pay it back in installments -

The OP didnt understand the principal - i was explaining it to them.
No need to be so pedantic, that picky to you!

OOOO in that case a store card is really the same as a national insurance card.. as it's small plastic and has numbers on the front!!

edinburgher

Regardless of the differences and similarities, let's offer constructive suggestions instead of bickering with each other! It's too close to the weekend to be grumpy

1. Moving to a credit card with a lower interest rate might be one idea, but it seems to me that the friend of the OP either didn't explain themselves fully to the OP, or that we're not hearing the full story.

2. It seems unlikely that it's possible to have been paying only the minimum payments for 15 years - most store cards don't offer that level of credit surely? So, as others have said, the friend must have been using the card on and off and it's understandable that they might not have cleared it.

3. Directly linking into the last point - this post strikes me (and I don't know the full story, none of us do) as one where there's more than one solution. I'd advise the OP to point their friend in the direction of a guide on how APR works, to search around for a decent rate credit card or other solution to pay off the loan (note, this isn't the same as consolodation in my eyes as it's one debt) and to maybe consider learning a bit more about how their finances work - MSE Martin does a good guide for teens from which I suspect that most adults could learn a thing or two as well.

I totally agree that store cards screw consumers out of vast sums of money, but we all need to take personal responsibility for our finances and without discussing slippery concepts such as blame, the OP's friend owes it to themself to understand their own financial habits so that they don't fall into the same 'trap' in future.

Phew - long post - can I go home yet?