No way out....

Rochdale_Guy

Charlie_Manchester wrote: »

ILW, it isn't that easy. MBNA are terrible. I owed £8,700 on an MBNA card (minimum payments £196 pcm) and I phoned up two years ago to pay £4,700 off it. The woman I spoke with said that the interest rate was 'ridiculously high' so once the £4,700 had claered they would look to reduce the rate. Nothing happened.

Each time I phoned up to ask then to reduce the rate I was put on hold for upto 1hr 40 mins at one stage so naturally had to hang up. I wrote a letter and the wrote back stating that I had to phone them up, so I did, and after 1hr 20mins I hung up.

What they did do however, straight away, is increase the interest rate so on a balance 45% lower at £4,000 I was still paying a minimum of £196 pcm! I thought paying off £4,700 would reduce the minimum payment, not increase it.

Anyway, 28 months ago my balance was £4,000 (I haven't used the card in five years) and for the last 28 months alone I have paid MBNA a total of £5,488 and my balance is still.....£4,000.

You try to pay them off but they have got you. I can't go elsewhere due to my credit rating.

That's awful. You've really depressed me now

Rochdale_Guy

Shameless boost while I find the APRs

Rochdale_Guy

Full info. to come tomorrow, please stay with me people! Be patient... thank you

CannyJock

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

Full info. to come tomorrow, please stay with me people! Be patient... thank you

You do know that you can phone them and get the info and it's shown on your statements

Any

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. Can't get online much. Will try and post the APRs soon.

I had a letter when I got home from work from RBS VISA offering 5.9% APR balance transfer until March 2011.

Would that help me? better than the £150+ a month MBNA surely.... what a mess I am in

There is already some balance on RBS VISA though isn't it?
Then the next question is how is the repayment allocated... is it going first against cheapest or most expensive debt?

More info needed, pull your finger out.

Rochdale_Guy

EGG Visa / £3,000 limit/ £500 owed / 26.9% APR / £30 last monthly payment
MBNA Visa / £11,700 limit / £6,500 owed / 24.9% (?) / 2.0751% monthly/ £150 last monthly payment (£147 interest)
MINT Visa / £6,900 limit / £2,750 owed / 19.2% APR / £38 last monthly payment
RBS M/Card / £3,900 limit/ £1,500 owed/ 17.4% (?) / 1.456% monthly / £33 last monthly payment
CitiBank Visa / £1,750 limit / £1,100 owed / 5.9% APR until repaid / £27 last monthly payment

The minimum repayment on the EGG card is not £30, I set up my monthly Direct Debit to pay that amount off but have now reduced it back to the minimum monthly amount, due to the huge MBNA minimum monthly repayment hike.

Outgoings:

I am always overdrawn each month by £100 to start with when I get paid on the 15th, So.....

Pay IN = £1,035 -£100 overdrawn = £935


Other outgoings

B.T. £16.50

EGG Visa £30.00

EON Electricity £21.00

N/ROCK car loan £106.00

Gas £22.00

CitiBank Visa £27.00

RBS MasterCard £33.00

Flat insurance £9.00

MINT Visa £38.00

TV licence £12.00

MBNA Visa £150.00 (was £38 approx)

Flat rent plus water £288.00

Secure garage rent £28.00

Council Tax £75.00

Petrol £36.00

Mobile (PAYG) £10.00

Sub TOTAL £901.00 outgoing



That’s approximate, and doesn’t include food, which money for has now been swallowed up by the MBNA monthly hike. That’s how I always end up just under £100 overdrawn (agreed) each month too. Not much to work with is it? Scary…..

The MINT Visa card balance transfer offer is 5.9% APR fixed until March 2011 statement, plus 3% transfer fee payable, then back up to 19.2% from April 2011 onwards…. So, do I transfer £1,500 off MBNA onto MINT to lower the MBNA balance?

But what would the MINT monthly repayments be then please? They charge a £45 transfer fee…. leaving me then with £3,000 on the MINT, and still £5,000 on the MBNA.

I am stuck with no foreseeable way out…. and I know it’s all my own mess, so please don’t lecture me.

The “ HALIFAX ” fixed rate 6.9% APR (until paid off) credit card wouldn’t be much good - would it?, and that’s only if I got accepted for the 6.9% deal. I might not even get their next 10.9% APR level…..

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Any

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

The “ HALIFAX ” fixed rate 6.9% APR (until paid off) credit card wouldn’t be much good - would it?, and that’s only if I got accepted for the 6.9% deal. I might not even get their next 10.9% APR level…..

How did you work that one out????????????????????
So you don't think that 6.9% APR FOR THE LIFE OF BALANCE is better then 24.9% APR that is currently on MBNA?

The Mint transfer is questionable... as there already is existing balance, if their payment hierarchy means that your payments go towards cheapest debt first, you will end up still accruing interest on the current balance.

CannyJock

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

MBNA Visa / £11,700 limit / £6,500 owed / 27.95% APR
EGG Visa / £3,000 limit/ £500 owed / 26.9% APR
MINT Visa /£3,500 limit / £2,000 owed / 19.2% APR
RBS M/Card / £3,900 limit/ £1,500 owed/ 18.95% APR
CitiBank Visa / £1,750 limit / £1,100 owed / 5.9% APR LOB

The “ HALIFAX ” fixed rate 6.9% APR (until paid off) credit card wouldn’t be much good - would it?

< snip > I had a letter when I got home from work from RBS VISA offering 5.9% APR balance transfer until March 2011.

Easy one first The 6.9% LOB rate would be a lot of use. It's whether you get accepted or not. Like you say, you're pretty much fully committed with your current debts. I'll run some numbers based on you shuffling what you have and based on your keeping your payments at £270 per month (you're currently paying £278)

If your net monthly salary is £1035, I make that £15,200 gross. With £11,600 of actual debt (not including your car loan!) and £23,850 of available credit you need to be realistic about being in this for the long haul.

Here's my thinking.
1. Transfer £2,205 from MBNA to RBS (takes you up to 95% of your credit limit) for a 2.9% fee.
2. From January onwards, the allocation of payment rules changes and you'll be paying against the highest APR balance on a card.
3. Transfer £1,305 from MBNA to Mint for a 2.9% fee (dodgy this one as Mint are trying to close their credit book from what I'm seeing)
4. Transfer £560 from MBNA to Citibank (assuming they let you top up the 5.9% offer for a 3% fee)
5. Transfer £2,350 from MBNA to Egg (again to bring it to 95% of limit for 3% fee).

The thinking here is to reduce the balance on your MBNA card with the main credit limit to allow you to then speak to them about a LOB transfer. Being optimistic, lets say you get a 6.9% LOB offer 2 months later:

1. Transfer £2,980 from Egg to MBNA for a 3% fee.
2. Transfer £3,340 from Mint to MBNA for a 3% fee.
3. Transfer £3,700 from RBS to MBNA for a 3% fee.

This leaves you with everything on a 6.9% basis, which at that level of debt will save you a lot of money in the long run, even with the 3% and 2.9% BT fees.

Massive "if" in the whole thing, but that's the way that I would be heading if I were you - clear the MBNA card by any means possible and keep pushing them for a LOB deal (having a small balance at their standard rate might count in your favour here).

Each time there's a BT to be done, ask them to waive the fee as you're transferring a balance to them and not asking for a 0% rate, as a "loyal" customer If they won't waive it, ask them to cap it, and ask to speak to a supervisor if necessary.

Here's how I worked the numbers:




Good luck man, suggest you do a bit of research on the DFWB board for more advice on how to make what money you have go that little bit further.

EDIT: In July your min payment to MBNA will be £25 and your Egg min payments will be interest plus 1% of the balance But you get the idea

CannyJock

Had a think and can improve on the previous shuffle.

As above but with the following tweaks:
1. Transfer £1,525 from RBS to Egg.
2. Once BT payment hits the RBS card, transfer £3,705 from MBNA to RBS @ 5.9% LOB.
3. Transfer £825 from MBNA to Egg.

You're basically clearing the RBS card before taking them up on the 5.9% LOB deal, and leaving that balance so you end up with less being transferred back onto the MBNA card.



Saves you £136 on the previous shuffle and leaves you with most of it on 6.9% LOB but some still at 5.9% LOB.

I'd go for this one with all the same disclaimers as before on likelyhood and MBNA min payment and Egg min payment.

Valli

Sterling work there from Canny Jock

You also need to visit the DFW board (as suggested) and the Money Saving Old Style board to look for other hints and tips. If you can REALLY trim your outgoings for food it will help massively.

You need to look for really low budget ideas here.

I am sure you're already doing this but packed lunches?

Also meal plan. Then you know what you're eating when.

Do you live alone? Could you get a flat share?
Any chance you could get extra work (even if temporary eg evenings/weekends).
Are you on the cheapest rtarrifs for gas and electricity.

Is your council tax reduced by 25% (if you do live alone you can claim a reduction)

and DON'T let your daughter pick the magnums and get ONE special offer pack for £1.99 and one Origins for £2.99 thuis NOT getting the multibuy offer :eek: especially when YOU don't eat ice cream

(but that might just be me!)