Advice please regarding cc monthly payments.

mrsbowie

Hi please can someone advise me? I have a credit card and owe almost 2k, I have been paying it back at £50 a month, it's all I can afford, I know this is stupid! Today I got a letter from the bank saying that they notice I haven't been settling my card every month.
I got the cc a couple of years ago because an mot on my car was more than I could afford at the time, and I've used the card a bit willy nilly, hence the 2k.
The letter says to get in touch with the bank as they can talk me through other options maybe.
I'd like to be armed with info before I go and see them, there's now ay I can pay more than £50 every 4 week. I was thinking maybe I should get a bank loan to clear it, but it would have to be for no more than £50 a month and definatley no longer than 5 years, I'm at a loss what to do, I have heard of 0% balance transfers but they only last so long and then would the interest be high?
Please help
thanks

chattychappy

Missing info here....

£50 a month might not be far off what they want on a 2K debt. But how is it they say you are missing payments when you have been paying monthly? What do your statements say? Each statement will show a minimum due and a deadline. You need to pay that amount by the deadline.

Or was some plan agreed?

Getting a 0% BT card (or any card for that matter) could be difficult if you have been logged as missing payments.

mrsbowie

Hi chattychappy, thanks for replying, I probably haven't explained properly, I haven't missed any monthly payments, the minimum to be paid each month on the statement says £38 and I pay £50, out of which at leat £29 is interest, so I'm not paying much off the debt. I think the bank are saying that I should clear my balance every month, which to be honest they've never said that before. I'm not behind with payments and have never missed a payment, I'm just wondering what option they might come up with if I make an appointment, and I was asking if there are any cheaper options to clear the cc, ie a bank loan which would pay off the loan and maybe cost less in interest, but I would only have 5 years to pay it as my tax credits would end cos my son will be 18 by then.
hope I haven't confused you
appreciate any advice thanks

chexum

Which card is this? Current APR? Pray you don't spend on the card any longer? How are you paying them? By debit card? Online transfer? (Probably not direct debit).

The minimum payment calculator suggests a card with £2000 balance should take roughly 6 years to clear by paying £50 each month, which is a lot, but your payment should be noticeable after a few months.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/minimum-repayments-credit-card#calc

Card issuers normally don't require to repay the full amount each month - they are more than happy to see the minimum payment for as long as ever, although occasionally they will try to bump the APR that you have a choice to refuse (and not use the card any more, but you shouldn't anyway).

What they take notice of if you miss any payment deadline. Can you check a few of the statements if the payment reached them by the due date according to the next statement? You only need to pay once each statement cycle, after the statement is generated, but before the due date, giving time for the payment to reach them. Paying "whenever you can" is not good enough - if you pay every 4 weeks, chances are you miss at least a payment every few months. Even if you don't miss payments this way, it can take 3-4 working days, and if you don't pay it on time, you just got a missed payment fee, and additional interests, throwing you back for a month. If they decreased your credit limit in the meantime, you could have gone overlimit, with additional fees too, not good. The statements should clearly explain what's happening.

Also make sure there's no other forgotten company charging a subscription to your card regularly, that wouldn't help clearing the balance either.

At this point it wouldn't really matter, but your credit file would also show if you missed individual payments or something more sinister is going on. If you see occasional missed payments by 1 month, it's just baaaad. These disappear in 3 years if you keep paying back on time. If you would miss several in a row, they could deault your account and sell the debt to a debt recovery agency, and thrash your credit file for 6 years, possibly more if you keep ignoring them.

CLAPTON

this is very difficult to understand

you say you have missed no payments and have paid more than the minimum on all ocasions; this would normally be considered good conduct

why has the bank written to you?
what exactly does the letter say?
which bank is it

mrsbowie

thanks, I always make sure the payment is paid on time, I have a bill payment set up in my debit account and pay it it time.
It's a lloyds tsb mastercard, I to am a bit taken a back by the letter too, only thing I can think is that the person at the bank might be new and wants to try and save me money, one way or another. if what you say is right chexum, then I would probably be better not spending anymore in fact I might cut the !!!!!! up, pay £50 a month for the next 5 years then try and pay the remainder off soon as I hit year 6.
thanks guys

CLAPTON

what does the letter actually say?