SOA; would anyone be kind enough to take a look?

sharronej

Thank you again Closed, that's a really interesting idea and one that I would never have dreamt of. I can always reorder my card and pin number, I have the lower rates with available balance and it would mean that I am the only one who could access the account thus helping me to keep control.

HappyMJ, I tried to get onto the One account last year putting everything in together and it would have saved me thousands but dh was over his limit on one of his cards and we were maxed out with the o/d (£400) plus they weren't happy with the number of CC's - it's wasn't neccesarilly the balances but because we had more than three, dh had missed loads of payments as well so our credit rating is shot. To make it more difficult I was a victim of identity theft so it's more complicated because I have to prove who I am this coupled with the fact that we are both self employed means that we're even finding it hard to get a mobile phone contract at the moment. I looked at a consolidation loan with Black Horse and they accepted us but then I backed out because they wouldn't tell me what the APR on the secured loan was. Wouldn't we need a better credit rating to be able to do this?

HappyMJ

sharronej wrote: »

HappyMJ, I tried to get onto the One account last year putting everything in together and it would have saved me thousands but dh was over his limit on one of his cards and we were maxed out with the o/d (£400) plus they weren't happy with the number of CC's - it's wasn't neccesarilly the balances but because we had more than three, dh had missed loads of payments as well so our credit rating is shot. To make it more difficult I was a victim of identity theft so it's more complicated because I have to prove who I am this coupled with the fact that we are both self employed means that we're even finding it hard to get a mobile phone contract at the moment. I looked at a consolidation loan with Black Horse and they accepted us but then I backed out because they wouldn't tell me what the APR on the secured loan was. Wouldn't we need a better credit rating to be able to do this?

I'm suprised the One Account refused you. I have a One Account and asked for a facility change to increase the limit...no permanent job self employed as well and 24 entries on my credit report and amazingly to me they accepted it.

So you need to clean up your credit. Get a credit report and see what is there. Clear all arrears first. Close down any unused accounts.

Instead of remortgaging to a different bank you can ring your current bank and simply just ask for an additional amount. There usually isn't any fees involved as they already hold the mortgage. Once that's approved and the CC's cleared then close them all down, wait about 12 months and try again remortgaging to the One Account.

Also another thing you can get a mortgage without your husband's name on it so if your credit is clean then apply for it in your name only. They won't take his income into account but yours is high enough without his help.

sharronej

Happy MJ if I remember correctly the One account didn't actually process a mortgage application for me because of dh being over one of his limits they advised me not to apply just now but to wait until I had things more in control. I will order our credit files and see whats there and then at least I can ring and have another chat with them. Our mortgage company is the Northern Rock :rotfl: tbh I hadn't even thought about phoning them - would you bother? I'm not really sure what the situation is with the NR anymore.

MrsSmith93

If you're self employed can you not claim your advertising expenses and some of your mobile costs against your business accounts?

sharronej

MrsSmith93 wrote: »

If you're self employed can you not claim your advertising expenses and some of your mobile costs against your business accounts?

Yes, we do but if you've read my post on the link then you'll know that running a business is not my dh's strong point, so everything comes out of the household account and at the end of the year it all goes in a box and off to the accountant who tells us how much we need to pay Perhaps we can sort this out when we've sorted the rest of the mess out.

I have realised when I look at Dh's cards that we can transfer the balance of the worst card onto other cards even though they are still high apr they are not as high - so I will start to work on that with him because obviously only he can make the calls.

closed

They really need to be brought under control at the same time, you can't really run a business without some financial control - knowing where all the money is going, is expenditure on equipment/advertising etc justified in terms of extra turnover, knowing in advance how much tax is due and when - all it needs is a spreadsheet. Mixing it all up with household income is not advisable.

sharronej

I know Closed and I agree wholeheartly but there is a limit to what I can do on my own, perhaps I can persuade dh to make a new start for the next tax year? I don't even know what headings we would need on a spreadsheet but I would imagine his Accountant could help us with this. Once I've got the debt under control and a system in place I will start looking into more closely, it does cause problems because he buys the parts out of the main account so I have to make sure there's always a surplus to 'mop' up these purchases but at least now they're being paid. I have mentioned to him recently that I think we will have to have a seperate account for these transactions so perhaps that's the way to go initially?

moo2moo

You may find that you don't owe enough on your mortgage for the One Account to accept you as a customer. They used to have a minimum requirment of £40K although if you were to consolidate as others have suggested then that should be taken into consideration. However... if you can't currently control your spending can you honestly say that in five years time you wouldn' owe more? Its all very nice knowing that your total debt is at 3.65% overall but going to the cashpoint to be told that your balance is negative thousands and yet being asked how many hundred you'd like to withdraw is a mindset that takes a lot of getting used to. Its just a bit too easy to buy something at £50 because a little bit more on the One Account won't make any difference. On the other hand its also very obvious how big a differnce overpaying makes. I am obsessively controlling about our One Account and will be totally and utterly debt free in a little over a year but its been a very long hard journey.

sharronej

Moo2Moo I agree it could be a dangerous weapon! I also think that having been in a similar situation before consolidation is not the way forward for us , perhaps we need to really feel the pain for lessons to be learned? We have friends who also have the One Account and it's been so easy over the years to just add an extra £15,000 for a new garden/bathroom or whatever that their mortgage is considerably higher than before and it's viewed as mortgage rather than debt. I also don't think we'd get past the credit ratings anyway. I've picked up some really good advise on here and will be actioning pretty much all of it, it's amazing how bogged down we get when we're in the middle of something and we miss the really simple (and not so simple) ways to help ourselves!

Another small question if you don't mind? I am currently in credit by £250 with the Gas and Electric, they keep trying to put my payment down to £75 pcm but I have put it back up to £100 pcm should I change it down and pay the extra £25 off the credit cards? The only thing that bothers me with this is that last year my payments ended up at £194pcm because they undercharged me.

ms_london

Hello Sharronej, I am pleased you posted a separate thread - sounds like you've received some great advice already!

It really does sound as though you are swimming against the tide and if your husband was a bit more cooperative, it wouldn't be so hard. I appreciate he may find it difficult, but as I said previously, it is causing extra stress and worry!

In theory you should pay the biggest amount back to the creditor with the highest APR as you mentioned, but I would suggest calling them each first / writing to them, to see if they can balance transfer, reduce interest, etc etc - or even if they can renegotiate the minimum monthly repayments. This way you will have surplus to put towards the one with the highest APR!

You did the right thing my not consolidated without seeing the APR, there are so many unscrupulus (?) companies out there who prey on people in desperate situations.

Who have a current loan, could they offer you a consolidation? The only problem with consolidation loans is that it can be easy to run up debt again on those now empty credit cards.

Also your husband really does need to keep his business finances separate, this will make it easier at the end of the year in terms of working out his tax and expenses, and also means that you can manage the household bills without worrying that money is going to suddenly disapear when you need it for food!

The advertising costs in Yellow Pages is expensive! I had no idea it was that much......

I think I mentioned to pop over to the Old Style section as well, as they are another great source of info.

You sound like a real trooper so keep up the excellent work and keep posting xx