Some advice please

izoomzoom

Our card debt details are as follows:

HSBC £1690 @ 16.9% of £2500 limit.

Barclaycard £1360 @14.9% £3000 limit.
PO £1290 @16.9% and £1020 @0% till Aug (£2600 limit).

I am self employed and would like to steer away from applications as I haven't got decent accounts for long enough. HSBC is in my name, whilst others are in hubby's name. I was also declined an application in Dec.

DH applied for a 0% cc in Jan with Virgin but was decline. I have checked all his credit files and put him on voters roll, as this was not the case in Jan. His income is abt £20K

Okay, so I have £400 to pay off, and I understand that I should pay it against the highest APR card, but which one BUT also not sure if it would be better to pay it off on the Barclaycard one, as I would like to try and apply for the 6.9% BT deal they seem to offer, OR should we risk another 0% application ??? or are we too far stretched as it is at the moment ?????

Sorry, I obviously need some help to make some decisions.

Brian64

You could risk one more try for a 0% card.Has the cra updated to show your DH is on the ER

izoomzoom

Yes all 3 credit reports now show him as on the ER.

CannyJock

izoomzoom wrote: »

HSBC £1690 @ 16.9% of £2500 limit.
Barclaycard £1360 @14.9% £3000 limit.
PO £1290 @16.9% and £1020 @0% till Aug (£2600 limit).

Few ways we can slice this. What's the maximum you can pay towards these each month?

It will affect how quickly you can clear the Barclaycard to take them up on other offers.

izoomzoom

My current economic situation allows me to pay minimum balances plus about £150 per month.

Plus I have an extra £400 from an insurance payout )

Everything was on 0% until the last month or so, but now that interest is starting to hammer things

CannyJock

Okay, here's one way of doing it, assuming you're only paying the minimums.

1. Pay the £400 to Barclaycard.
2. In September transfer from Barclaycard £180 to the PO card, transfer £755 to HSBC. Assuming 3% fee for both.
3. In October (i.e. get a nil or credit balance statement from Barclaycard), get a 6.9% LOB deal from Barclaycard and transfer £2,516 from PO card to Barclaycard. Transfer £160 from HSBC to Barclaycard to max it out to 90% of credit limite (ask Barclaycard for a credit limit increase and hopefully transfer even more).
4. This will leave you with £2,695 on Barclaycard at 6.9% LOB where you should pay the minimum, £2,200 on HSBC card, and a clear PO card in the hope that you can get another 0% offer to switch the HSBC balance across.

It's a bit of juggling, but even with the 3% fees on HSBC and PO and 2.5% on Barclaycard you still save money over 12 months and save a load more going forward from that.

That's just using the existing cards. Lots of other potential options if you add other cards into the mix - like the Santander Zero card though you need to open a current account with them first.

CannyJock

Okay, slightly different take on it with £150 over the min on each card. Not a million miles, but more savings:

1. Pay the £400 to Barclaycard.
2. Pay the extra £150 to HSBC from May to August.
3. In July transfer £925 from Barclaycard to HSBC - this will clear the Barclaycard (small credit balance).
4. In August, once you get a statement from Barclaycard confirming small credit balance, transfer £1,961 from HSBC to Barclaycard 6.9% LOB deal (full balance on HSBC plus interest after making minimum payment plus £150). Will clear HSBC card, creating small credit balance on HSBC.
5. In August, once you get a statement from Barclaycard confirming small credit balance, transfer £725 from PO to Barclaycard 6.9% LOB deal (max out Barclaycard to 90% of limit on LOB BT deal). Make minimum payments on Barclaycard now it's maxed out on LOB deal.
6. From September onwards, pay extra £150 to PO card. PO card will be cleared by June 2011.

Sounds like more juggling, but will save you in interest, reduces total interest and fees to £520 over 12 months. Again, same disclaimer, that's what I'd do with the cards you have, adding other cards into the mix gives you further options

izoomzoom

CannyJock wrote: »

Okay, slightly different take on it with £150 over the min on each card. Not a million miles, but more savings:

1. Pay the £400 to Barclaycard.
2. Pay the extra £150 to HSBC from May to August.

Okay I have done / set up 1 and 2 .

Should I risk applying for another 0% card, though, as cutting the interest will really help things ?

DH income is 20K, but there is also the mortgage and £200 car payments a month ???????????

CannyJock

izoomzoom wrote: »

Should I risk applying for another 0% card, though, as cutting the interest will really help things ?

I'd leave a 3 month gap between applications to increase your chances.

izoomzoom

CannyJock wrote: »

I'd leave a 3 month gap between applications to increase your chances.

Applied for the last card in Jan, so it has been some months.

izoomzoom

Was turned down for 0% card, so gonna try getting the 6.9% LOB from Barclaycard??? Anyone know if Barclaycard will place an additional search on my credit file (already have Barclaycard no not new application) ??