4 credit commitments on £30 a week

ryanmichinson

Im 18, and before Christmas I was on a decent enough wage to keep up monthly repayments on a credit card, my very account and 2 phone contracts (one for me and one for my partner).

however after christmas my contract for one of the companies i worked for ended (it was a christmas temp job) and my hours at my current job only have 1 shift for me. 1 shift was the agreement to start with but ive been covering a lot of shifts for weeks, my fault really for not securing shifts but oh well.

now im on £30 a week, with an £832 (£800 limit but interest pushed it over the limit) credit card at 29.9% apr, a very account with £60 still to pay off and £31 for my phone. my partner pays for his phone off.

ive read through guides to transferring debt but im stuck. no company will give me a balance transfer credit card to i cant shift my debt. the barclaycard loophole i looked at wouldnt be a great option as i cant even get another credit card to transfer my debt, to try transfer it back.

can anyone give me any advice, my stress levels are so high because of this and i think its going to start affecting my relationship.

thanks guys

[Deleted User]

You're highly unlikely to get any further credit with such a low income.

What do you have to live on? What is your total income?

I would in the first instance call the phone company and tell them that you have lost one of your jobs and ask them if they'll cancel, and at the very least downgrade your contract (if you don't ask, you'll never find out)

It might also be worth calling Very and explaining the situation (someone else more knowledgeable, or who has had experience with this company hopefully might suggest what's best to do here)

Contact one of the debt charities CCC, CAB, Payplan, National debtline is probably worthwhile as well - they will be able to give you FREE, non-judgemental advice.

HTH,

D9

mdr86

Hi - first of all good for you that you're trying to sort this out and not burying your head in the sand
A few more details would be helpful:
What's the minimum you have to pay to the very account, and what's the interest rate?
What's the minimum repayment for the credit card?
Presumably the £31 for the phone was referring to £31/month contract?

ryanmichinson

Hey guys thanks for the replies.

my contract is 31 a month, the phone is a high end phone so i think theres a slim chance of them downgrading. and also i need the contract im on at the moment for internet. i use my phone as a dongle, this is the cheapest way to get internet for me right now.

minimum payment for my barclaycard works out around £20 per month give or take a few pounds. this is this months bill:

Statement = £829.37
The minimum = £20.73

the interest rate on very, hold on to your hats, is 49.9%. minimum payment is £5.
however when i bought things off there i took a 3 months interest free repayment, so im prioritising paying very back first.

my partner is helping me with living expenses atm such as food and travel.

thanks again guys

mdr86

OK - so the total minimum per month is ~£56 = £14/week, so you can make the minimum repayments, which is a start
£30/week = ~£120/month to work with. Assuming you haven't got any other expenditure:
You need to get the CC under it's credit limit, so you're not paying over credit limit fees as well as interest, as the interest will be ~£19 next month you'll need to pay at least £50 this month. Actually there might be a charge for having been over your credit limit, so paying off a bit more would be better. So if this month you pay £70 to the credit card, £31 mobile bill and £19 to the very account, that will meet all minimum repayments and get the credit card back under the credit limit. So next month you can pay the remainder of the very account (~£43 as there will be ~£2 interest), £31 for the mobile bill leaving £46 to pay to the credit card. After that you only have the mobile bill and credit card to worry about, so if you're paying £31 mobile bill and £89 to the credit card each month, it will be clear in ~11 months.
What I've just said is working monthly; you'd have to adjust it a bit as your pay is coming in weekly! I hope that's helpful, if only to show it is possible

ryanmichinson

thats fantastic advice thank you
i'll make sure i dont spend anything until its all settled.
ive never missed a payment and was panicking cos it just felt like everything was collapsing on me.
another question, how much will my credit rating be affected for being over my limit?
will it send out a big red flag or will it not really affect anything?

thanks

mdr86

I don't think having gone over your credit limit once will matter really, especially if you clear it in the next month.

ryanmichinson

thats great, thanks a lot for your help