Surprise Partner Debt

martmonk

Hi All,

thanks in advance for any useful advise I get here. I'll try to be as sussinct as possible so that you can understand where I'm coming from because so far I'm just getting myself a little confused!

Firstly, my position - I own 3 credit cards currently, 1 is an MBNA card I've had for 12 years and has a limit of £13,500, balance is £0. 2 is a Capital one card with credit limit of £5,500, balance at £0 and finally I have a Barclaycard with a low limit (I need to check but around £2k), balance £750 and 0% on balance transfers for another 11 months or so. I've achieved this through not buying anything on a CC since 2004 and paying off what I could when I could (as well as 0% balance transfers)

My relatively heathy position isn't the problem - my girlfriends is! She confessed at the weekend to having £7,500 spread across 3 cards - Halifax with £4,000 is the largest, 0% ending this month, Capital one and MBNA make up the rest and she's paying interest on these. All are minimum payment DD's.

We've recently moved in together and are pooling our resources for bills etc. I want to treat this as our problem and get into a position where we are managing it well and it's here I'd like the advise if possible.

My initial thoughts are that I should move as much as possible onto the barclaycard which I will do as it seems a 'no-brainer', I'll also ask them about upping the credit limit.

After that - with our combined incomes and a bit of careful planning I reckon we can manage to pay off about £400 per month. My nature tells me to do this to get the overall debt down as quickly as possible but I've been trying to understand what the best options might be. Her applying for a Barclaycard as well seems a good starting point as well as contacting MBNA and seeing if I can get a 0% balance transfer to my card with the high credit limit.

Other than that are there any clever things I can do you would recommend? I'm pretty organised and having read about stoozing I recon I could do that but it's not recommended for those with existing CC debt.

I hope that wasn't too long winded and I apologise for wasting 30 seconds of your life if you've got to the bottom and really wished you hadn't bothered reading!

PNPSUKNET

Whats her income compared to debt ratio, applying for another card may be an issue

CannyJock

As tempting as it is to be the knight in shining armour, I'd be very wary about taking on someone else's debt.

If she's applying for a card in her own name, might be an idea that she goes for a LOB one - list of them here http://www.stoozing.com/lob.php

Rather than you taking on her debt, you might want to let her off with her half of the bills for a while (obviously keeping a note of them so she can repay you back once she's dealt with the card debts).

martmonk

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

Whats her income compared to debt ratio, applying for another card may be an issue

Salary is £24,450 gross

There's the £7,500 debt
£500 mortgage
Utilities, phone, council tax, mobile etc approx £200 (her share)

martmonk

CannyJock wrote: »

As tempting as it is to be the knight in shining armour, I'd be very wary about taking on someone else's debt.

If she's applying for a card in her own name, might be an idea that she goes for a LOB one - list of them here http://www.stoozing.com/lob.php

Rather than you taking on her debt, you might want to let her off with her half of the bills for a while (obviously keeping a note of them so she can repay you back once she's dealt with the card debts).

Thanks. I know what you mean about Knight in shining armour but we're in it for the long term and my view is that everything will be shared.

I'll take a look at life of balance, that might be the best way to go.

Curt.

CannyJock wrote: »

Rather than you taking on her debt, you might want to let her off with her half of the bills for a while (obviously keeping a note of them so she can repay you back once she's dealt with the card debts).

Just out of curiosity, if he were to allow for a BT off her card onto his, does that create a financial link between them both?

I presume that's not what you what you meant/were worried about when you mentionned he shouldnt take on someone else's debt, but its just something i've wondered about for a while...

pixiechick_2

I can't advise you on which way to go but she's lucky having such an understanding boyfriend! I'm sure you'll find a way of sorting things out together.

izools

martmonk wrote: »

Salary is £24,450 gross

There's the £7,500 debt
£500 mortgage
Utilities, phone, council tax, mobile etc approx £200 (her share)

In that case she should get a balance transfer card out in her name and close all three old accounts once the transfer is complete.

If she is declined for a balance transfer card, ask yourself the question "If the credit card company won't trust her with the £7,500, is it wise for me to?"

I would suggest she apply for the "Creation" card and enter the card details of her existing accounts during application (this step is vital to ensure she is given a high enough limit to cover the debt).

http://www.your-application.co.uk/netfinancecertegymicrosite/creation/Welcome.aspx?

This is a very easy to get card, and has an excellent 15 months 0% transfer period. I would be very suprised if she is turned down for the card, if she is, then her credit rating must be poor and you should put serious thought whether taking over the debt yourself is wise, or wiser than her arranging a DMP.

Best of luck, and let us know how you get on

EDIT: It's a nice looking card, too, IMHO.

CannyJock

Curt. wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, if he were to allow for a BT off her card onto his, does that create a financial link between them both?

I presume that's not what you what you meant/were worried about when you mentionned he shouldnt take on someone else's debt, but its just something i've wondered about for a while...

Won't create a financial association transferring a balance.

I'd be wary about taking on someone else's debts when you've just moved in together. Too many friends have done this and lived to regret it - by all means offer advice and support, but in the long term it's better for the person who dug the hole to have to put in a bit of effort to climb out of it.