Best solution to credit card debt = Tesco loan? Any advice?

RJP33

Excellent news and just reading through this thread I think you’ve done the right thing. What you always need to concentrate on is the total amount of actual capital paid off each month, if the interest is such that it’s minimal then you’d be stupid not to shop around for something cheaper to consolidate.

With your decent salary it would be a good risk to lend, the income to debt ratio just means you won’t get the best deals so 15% sounds about right.

Good luck and hopefully in 5 years you’ll be in an excellent financial position and wiser for the experience.

anyusernameleft

RJP33 wrote: »

Excellent news and just reading through this thread I think you’ve done the right thing. What you always need to concentrate on is the total amount of actual capital paid off each month, if the interest is such that it’s minimal then you’d be stupid not to shop around for something cheaper to consolidate.

With your decent salary it would be a good risk to lend, the income to debt ratio just means you won’t get the best deals so 15% sounds about right.

Good luck and hopefully in 5 years you’ll be in an excellent financial position and wiser for the experience.

Thank you! With Virgin about £1 to 2 a month was paying off the actual capital and the other £264 was interest! It was going to take decades.

I got 12% with Nationwide over 5 years and I can make overpayments which come straight off the capital any time I like which is brilliant. And they were extremely nice about the whole thing and pushed it through really fast. On Monday I will have the very great personal satisfaction of telling Virgin to F off and shut down my account with them. I may even have a small, reasonably priced party! Hurrah for the Mutuals!

I will never buy another Virgin product. Not a holiday, not an internet subscription, nothing.

When I rang up Virgin to find out what interest rate they were charging (it was the only card I've ever had where the amount owed continually went UP even though I made the minimum payment every month and hadn't used it in a year) they tried to sell me a loan that wasn't on a fixed rate. After being rate jacked to 30% how stupid would you have to be to take out a variable rate loan with them?

anyusernameleft

redpete wrote: »

I can't see what's smug in the post that answers the question you asked and points out that there are plenty of example in these boards where people have consolidated loans or CC debt but not made the changes required to avoid getting into more trouble later.

The change required was getting back into full time employment. I haven't been spending it on holidays and giant TV's which is the assumption everyone makes here and it's very irritating when you have been through hell trying to find any work in a grim reccession and had to try and live on nothing and make ends meet in the interim.

immoral_angeluk

FWIW I'm going to throw my 2pence in..

I'm a money advisor for one of the debt charities and see many many people in your situation, struggling to repay debt and feeling that consolidation was the right answer for them. Get the debt cheaper and pay it off quicker, right? Wrong. What you are no addressing when you consolidate is your relationship with credit, and the inherent risks involved.
Why are you in so much debt? You have a good salary? I would suggest looking at your attitude towards credit. From your post it comes across as 'I have a right to credit'. I could be wrong of course, but this is how it comes across. You want credit to solve your problems and you feel that the banks should give it to you regardless.
For a start you are simply not going to get a loan of that size based on the information provided. People with perfect credit ratings are being rejected at the minute for 'not fitting the bank's criteria'. This criteria can be anything from your credit history to your shoe size (ok not really, but you get the picture). Fact is you are high risk whether you accept that fact or not. You have a good income but also have high debt to go with it. Lenders simply aren't accepting people with high debts at the more. The fact that they did is part of the reason we're in a recession now. You need to consider the economics of it all. Whether you personally are a good payer or not is somewhat irrelevant, as someone said before, if people in a similar boat to you are bad payers then you will get tarred with the same brush when the bank does their overall risk analysis of you.

You would be much better IMHO, focusing your efforts on cutting down your expenditure, increasing your income and doing what you can to address you have NOW, not taking out further credit which will inevitably cost you more in the long run.

Fact is noone on here ha the 'right' answer for you. There are right answers for different people, but the advice given on here is correct and intelligent, so it would be foolish not to heed it and to continue being nasty to people who are genuinely trying to help you using the knowledge and experience you quickly pick up through these boards seeing people in similar circumstances to you.

Again, just my 2p worth.

anyusernameleft

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

FWIW I'm going to throw my 2pence in..

I'm a money advisor for one of the debt charities and see many many people in your situation, struggling to repay debt and feeling that consolidation was the right answer for them. Get the debt cheaper and pay it off quicker, right? Wrong. What you are no addressing when you consolidate is your relationship with credit, and the inherent risks involved.
Why are you in so much debt? You have a good salary? I would suggest looking at your attitude towards credit. From your post it comes across as 'I have a right to credit'. I could be wrong of course, but this is how it comes across. You want credit to solve your problems and you feel that the banks should give it to you regardless.
For a start you are simply not going to get a loan of that size based on the information provided. People with perfect credit ratings are being rejected at the minute for 'not fitting the bank's criteria'. This criteria can be anything from your credit history to your shoe size (ok not really, but you get the picture). Fact is you are high risk whether you accept that fact or not. You have a good income but also have high debt to go with it. Lenders simply aren't accepting people with high debts at the more. The fact that they did is part of the reason we're in a recession now. You need to consider the economics of it all. Whether you personally are a good payer or not is somewhat irrelevant, as someone said before, if people in a similar boat to you are bad payers then you will get tarred with the same brush when the bank does their overall risk analysis of you.

You would be much better IMHO, focusing your efforts on cutting down your expenditure, increasing your income and doing what you can to address you have NOW, not taking out further credit which will inevitably cost you more in the long run.

Fact is noone on here ha the 'right' answer for you. There are right answers for different people, but the advice given on here is correct and intelligent, so it would be foolish not to heed it and to continue being nasty to people who are genuinely trying to help you using the knowledge and experience you quickly pick up through these boards seeing people in similar circumstances to you.

Again, just my 2p worth.

This is exactly why I don't like this forum. I have explained several times that I got into debt because I lost my job in the credit crunch and like a lot of people I had a very grim time finding another one. During that time I used credit cards to pay my bills. I now have a job and I', reducing my debt but my cards are charging me 30% interest rates which is insane. I have now got a 12% loan which I am using to shut down a 30% credit card in order to be able to pay it off in five years (as opposed to never which was my previous scenario at 30%).

If I lose my job and can't find another one, yes, I shall be running into more debt, not that I've got much left available to run into, if I manage to stay in employment I will continue to reduce my debt they way I have this last year.

What I find so annoying about the whole debt advisory business is that that they fail to acknowledge that it doesn't matter how much you reduce your outgoings if you have NO F****** INCOME!

immoral_angeluk

anyusernameleft wrote: »

This is exactly why I don't like this forum. I have explained several times that I got into debt because I lost my job in the credit crunch and like a lot of people I had a very grim time finding another one. During that time I used credit cards to pay my bills. I now have a job and I', reducing my debt but my cards are charging me 30% interest rates which is insane. I have now got a 12% loan which I am using to shut down a 30% credit card in order to be able to pay it off in five years (as opposed to never which was my previous scenario at 30%).

If I lose my job and can't find another one, yes, I shall be running into more debt, not that I've got much left available to run into, if I manage to stay in employment I will continue to reduce my debt they way I have this last year.

What I find so annoying about the whole debt advisory business is that that they fail to acknowledge that it doesn't matter how much you reduce your outgoings if you have NO F****** INCOME!

Ok, first off there's no need to swear at me, I'm only trying to help, same as everyone else here. I don't represent the 'whole debt advisory business' and as I said I was simply trying to help based on my experience of dealing with clients in a similar situation. So please don't tar me with an ill-concieved brush..

And anyway, that's not true. If you have no income then that's a whole different story of course, but you stated you are currently on 40k. Yes, you accrued your debt because a low income, totally understandable as I'm not making any judgement about how you accrued the debt. What I meant by your relationship ship with debt is why you feel that your only way out is by getting more credit which is notoriously a bad idea. Another small fact is that although lenders offer consolidation loans, they're seen as higher risk and will further decrease your chances of getting a loan.
You also state that if you lose your job you will run into further debt. This is something which is related to what I said above, a lot of people plan for these kind of occurances so they don't end up in debt by saving what they can and preventing such hardship from happening in the first place.
If you are unwilling to post your income/expenditure then obviously I can't comment fully, but on 40k I'd imagine you should be able to maintain your debt repayments and be saving money for a raining day/redundancy/one offs etc. So would it help for you to look at your income/expenditure and look at ways of cutting back unneccesary expense, and focusing on efficient budgetting.

anyusernameleft

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

Ok, first off there's no need to swear at me, I'm only trying to help, same as everyone else here. I don't represent the 'whole debt advisory business' and as I said I was simply trying to help based on my experience of dealing with clients in a similar situation. So please don't tar with with a ill-concieved brush..

And anyway, that's not true. If you have no income then that's a whole different story of course, but you stated you are currently on 40k. Yes, you accrued your debt because a low income, totally understandable as I'm not making any judgement about how you accrued the debt. What I meant by your relationship ship with debt is why you feel that your only way out is by getting more credit which is notoriously a bad idea. Another small fact is that although lenders offer consolidation loans, they're seen as higher risk and will further decrease your chances of getting a loan.
You also state that if you lose your job you will run into further debt. This is something which is related to what I said above, a lot of people plan for these kind of occurances so they don't end up in debt by saving what they can and preventing such hardship from happening in the first place.
If you are unwilling to post your income/expenditure then obviously I can't comment fully, but on 40k I'd imagine you should be able to maintain your debt repayments and be saving money for a raining day/redundancy/one offs etc. So would it help for you to look at your income/expenditure and look at ways of cutting back unneccesary expense, and focusing on efficient budgetting.

Not wanting to pay 30% interest is an unhealthy relationship with debt?

If I'm not paying outrageous amounts of interest I can reduce the capitol and save for a rainy day. If I am then I can't do anything except run like the red queen to stay in the same place.
This is basic logic.

I am now finding better finance deals that allow me to reduce my debt more efficiently and manage my finances so I a can save a bit. With no help from most people here though.

I would have to save a LOT to survive for any time without a job.

Why don't you post your income and expenditure? You sound like you could use some advice if you think I should have stayed with Richard Branson on 30% when I can shut it down and switch to 12%.

immoral_angeluk

anyusernameleft wrote: »

Not wanting to pay 30% interest is an unhealthy relationship with debt?

If I'm not paying outrageous amounts of interest I can reduce the capitol and save for a rainy day. If I am then I can't do anything except run like the red queen to stay in the same place.
This is basic logic.

I am now finding better finance deals that allow me to reduce my debt more efficiently and manage my finances so I a can save a bit. With no help from most people here though.

I would have to save a LOT to survive for any time without a job.

Why don't you post your income and expenditure? You sound like you could use some advice if you think I should have stayed with Richard Branson on 30% when I can shut it down and switch to 12%.

What you're ignoring the fact of is that in your current circumstances it is highly unlikely you be able to get a loan, simple as! We've been saying this from the start of the thread and you're not listening. There's no point relying on a solution which simply isn't feasible, hence my comments. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get your debt cheaper, at all, but the fact that you will seriously struggle to find any mainstream lenders who will lend to you at the level you need, and on better terms than you current have is the problem and you're not listening to us.
Basic logic would suggest that if you can't go for getting your debt cheaper, then your next step is to follow the advice given!

The basic guidance for saving for a rainy day is to have 3-6 months equivalent wages in savings. Not exactly that much.

I would happily post my income and expenditure, but the fact that I'm a single mum with 2 children living in rented accommodation, don't have problem debt and totally different circumstances to you which you initially asked for help for, means that it's totally irrelevant.

anyusernameleft

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

What you're ignoring the fact of is that in your current circumstances it is highly unlikely you be able to get a loan, simple as! We've been saying this from the start of the thread and you're not listening. There's no point relying on a solution which simply isn't feasible, hence my comments. There's nothing wrong with wanting to get your debt cheaper, at all, but the fact that you will seriously struggle to find any mainstream lenders who will lend to you at the level you need, and on better terms than you current have is the problem and you're not listening to us.
Basic logic would suggest that if you can't go for getting your debt cheaper, then your next step is to follow the advice given!

The basic guidance for saving for a rainy day is to have 3-6 months equivalent wages in savings. Not exactly that much.

I would happily post my income and expenditure, but the fact that I'm a single mum with 2 children living in rented accommodation, don't have problem debt and totally different circumstances to you which you initially asked for help for, means that it's totally irrelevant.

The bit you're not listening to is that I've GOT a loan. From the Nationwide. A high street lender of good repute.

I've just had the great pleasure of phoning Virgin and shutting them down. They are trying to charge me yet MORE interest which we'll argue about later but the current balance of the money has been paid them and the card is closed!

I would like to say to everyone reading any of this stuff - don't give up on trying to find more sensible lending options once you have an income and can get back on your feet. It's possible you don't have to be crucified by ridiculous interest rates whatever people tell you on here and don't overlook the mutuals.

I also recommend the film "Inside Job" to anyone who got clobbered in the credit crunch like I did. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to lynch the entire banking world. It just won an oscar.

immoral_angeluk

anyusernameleft wrote: »

The bit you're not listening to is that I've GOT a loan. From the Nationwide. A high street lender of good repute.

I've just had the great pleasure of phoning Virgin and shutting them down. They are trying to charge me yet MORE interest which we'll argue about later but the current balance of the money has been paid them and the card is closed!

I would like to say to everyone reading any of this stuff - don't give up on trying to find more sensible lending options once you have an income and can get back on your feet. It's possible you don't have to be crucified by ridiculous interest rates whatever people tell you on here and don't overlook the mutuals.

I also recommend the film "Inside Job" to anyone who got clobbered in the credit crunch like I did. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to lynch the entire banking world. It just won an oscar.

Well if I missed that part then I apologise, but I still stand by what I said in general. But if you've had the resolve you wanted then I'm glad, good luck and I hope it all works out in the future for you.