Unable to make contractual Credit Card Payments

Denebola

Hi.....

My main income is from nursing agency work and recently there has been little available for me. This has left me unable to make my monthly contractual payments on my credit cards and other things. I have now received letters from a couple asking for the monthly payments and advising me of fees added for over-credit and late payment.

I have no idea the best way to proceed at the moment and would be grateful for any ideas.

I anticipate work being available again in the next few weeks but have no money at all now.

I asked my bank, Natwest, for an overdraft back in April when I feared work was drying up, but they declined my application, after first telling me I could have a loan up to £25000, because when they credit scored they realised that I owed £12000 on credit cards.

I'm really annoyed with my bank and will change when the time is right.

Regards
Denebola

Tixy

Hi

First I would write out a statement of affairs to see exactly how much you can afford compared to what your monthly payments are. - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html and it might also help you identify areas you can make cutbacks to help free up some more money.

Then I would send out this letter to your creditors and offer them just a token payment this month (except for any money you owe to your main bank account - of you have a card or loan with your own bank and send this out they could take money you need for essentials from your account to make your monthly payments). http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=21937969&postcount=52

Then I would contact one of the debt charities for some advice on what to do next - they will need the info from the statement of affairs which is why it makes sense to do that first. IMPORTANT - Where to seek professional impartial advice about your debts.

Fiddlestick

Denebola wrote: »

I asked my bank, Natwest, for an overdraft back in April when I feared work was drying up, but they declined my application, after first telling me I could have a loan up to £25000, because when they credit scored they realised that I owed £12000 on credit cards.

I'm really annoyed with my bank and will change when the time is right.

Why are you annoyed at your bank?

All credit is offered subject to status, and after looking into your circumstances they declined to offer you credit.

That's what they SHOULD be doing as a responsible lender.

Denebola

Just to add.....

I budget very well and already know all of my commitments. I use an Excel spreadsheet so know exactly what I have to pay and when.

The issue is that because I have only had about 5 shifts in the last 3 months..... the money I have saved for this very circumstance has now run out and I have NO money.

Also I am annoyed with my bank because I had never gone overdrawn with them and had always met my contractual payments with everyone, and when I asked for help, before I actually needed it, they declined, but not before they told me I could borrow £25000 due to my good credit score.

DarkConvict

If the bank can see you are unable to service your debt they are doing the right thing by preventing further lending.

It was banks lending out regardless that caused the credit crunch, the banks guidelines are in place to prevent people digging a bigger hole.

Consolidation loans are sometimes still available but they only work in a very few cases. Usually they make the matters worse for people. Generally because the interest rate is poor, the repayment is over a long term making the interest cost alot. Debts can over double in size by the time the loan is paid off. The only advantage they have is lower repayments which in reality is a bad thing, but it does benefit those who cannot up the income above a certain limit. A consolidation loan will usually keep you into debt for several years longer than paying debts at the normal rate.

You need to concentrate less on getting credit and more on upping your income. Try this forum - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=145

Credit is usually a noose, the more credit you get the longer you are making the rope for them to pull you in by.

dancingfairy

Check who your credit cards are with and if any are related to Natwest - ie Natwest, Tesco, RBS etc then they may take the money from your bank account to pay off these cards and a) not leave you any money and b) take you into an unathorised overdraft occuring more fees.
If any of your cards/loans etc are with the Natwest then you need to get a new bank account with somebody you don't owe money to - Co-op are good because they are not connected to any other bank as far as I know and they will happily give out basic bank accounts to people - they are happy to deal with bankrupts so you should have no problems with them.
df

undaunted

As you say you have "no idea how to proceed" you could consider asking the Citiziens Advice bureau, Community Legal Advice Centre or Consumer Credit Counselling Service to help you through this difficult time. They will negotitate with lenders on your behalf to reduce payments, perhaps freeze interest etc until your situation improves.

Good luck

xyellowx

the bank is being resonsible in refusing to lend (thats a first)

xyellowx

added- put up a SOA on here