Help negotiating with MBNA, Bank Scotland & Mint

wookie66

Need some advice

Has anyone had any luck approaching their credit card provider ie MBNA, Bank of Scotland or Mint and trying to get them to reduce their APR on outstanding balances

I have a £12k balance with MBNA, £8k w Bos and £7k with Mint

Rang all three today seeking some assistance since having difficulty making monthly payments, ie only been making min payments for past year and interest charges are now killing me (£200 alone per month for MBNA!!!)

All three point blankly refused to budge on reducing interest rates which they currently charge at 20% to 22%! (APR)

They suggested i either seek out a loan from my bank or I could go the payplan route with them but this will adversely affect my credit rating, which I dont really want to do

So basically on my first approach I got the feeling they were telling me to get lost

Any one had any luck negotiating with these credit card companies?

I am aware of some decent balance transfer deals but at present wanted to go down the route of dealing direct with my card provider first before trying other options

Appreciate any help that can offered on my predicament

Tixy

Hi, welcome

Its pretty rare they will agree to reduce interest rates, we do advise to try it on a 'worth a go' basis but usually to get them to alter the terms significantly you would only get this if you did default (either by a formal DMP or by negotiating with them yourself and agreeing to it affecting your credit rating).

With £27k of unsecured debt you may struggle you get any balance transfer deals - or a new loan unless you earn a pretty high salary (50% max debt to income is a good guideline). If you already have an open empty credit cards then BTs to them might be more likely.

If not then you may need to consider further steps such as a DMP or other formal route.