Pushed just too hard

bertman

I got home tonight to find a letter from my Virgin CC, its owned by MBNA and they are changing the way that they charge the minimum payment. The minimum will increase by £70 a month from April 1st (and no its not an April fool!).
I have over £40k of debt that by careful planning is slowly coming down, but this will push it just over the edge. Basically I can't afford this.
I tried ringing the helpline but they closed at 6pm, even though the leaflet said 7pm:mad:

I really wanted to avoid going to a DMP, we have struggled for the last 12 months and managed to pay minimum payments and also hack away at other debts, I am really hacked off that in one swoop I have been pushed to a point where I will go on a DMP and all the companies will lose out.....

Just wanted to rant- sorry....

bottleofred

Hi bertman,

No apology necessary, as we all have a rant from time to time on the forum. You're definitely not the first person that this will have an impact on as I've seen other posts with the same issue. I'm not sure how you can sort this out other than contacting them, but wanted to wish you luck.

Red

bertman

So - rang the "helpdesk", firstly I was told that they can't do anything about the new higher minimum payment, I do understand though it is better in the long run as you do pay off the debt more quickly. But at the moment I can't afford it. They keep trying to push me down the DMP route but I really dont want to do this. These are my debts and I want o clear them.
A bit of a lifeline though, we have been offered and accepted for a 0% card offer so I will transfer half of the MBNA debt onto this, that will help somewhat. I am also going to see my bank today to see if they can help....

CH27

Could you post your SOA & see if people can give you more advice?

sickasachip13

Bertman, that's really full-on isn't it. anyhow, just wanted to say by going down the DMP route you're still acknowledging, facing and paying your debts. We'd been struggling for ages with stuff like yourself and not getting anyway, going on the DMP has meant for us that we've had every creditor (bar one) freeze interest and accept smaller payments. Because the % has stopped we're actually paying off the balance for a change. Good luck anyhow.

secretshopper75

Is it possible you could close the account and therefore the interest rates stops at the current rate?

DVardysShadow

bertman, you can probably do this - as long as you no longer use the card. Essentially, the change is to your detriment and cannot be imposed UNLESS you continue to use the card. You may have to write some stern letters and you should continue to pay the current amount while putting the account in dispute. I would say you could take this all the way to the financial ombudsman if you need to.

Broken_hearted

A dmp is not hiding from your debts, it is you addmitting you need time and help.

GeorgeUK

Hi Bertman

I remember when i was juggling right on the line. Trying to keep everything balanced as well as keeping the debt moving in the right direction can be hard enough without them throwing this stuff at you.

I was going to suggest possibly getting a 0% card that has a low monthly repayment rate, but see you already have this sorted. Hope you are able to work around this and get back on track.

For reference, the stoozing site has a list of 0% and low interest for life of balance cards which includes the monthly minimum payment %. Might be of use in the future.
http://www.stoozing.com/0fees.php

debtfree2010

Hi Bertman,
We were in the same situation, I had everything ready to start my self administered DMP, letters, token payments etc, but my OH was not comfortable with it
We were scared of the repercussions, we could afford the minimum payments 'just', but we have been really struggleing for a long time to make them, so it would take forever to get out of this mess, and then this happened, well it was the final straw :mad:
So I sat my hubby down went through the figures and he now accepts we have no choice but to enter a DMP, its the only way forward for us.
Its early days, but i feel better already

bertman

Thanks All, I have an appointment with my bank next Saturday so I will see what they say. I haven't used any Cards for well over a year now, everything is cash which is actually a pretty good feeling. We got into debt as our business failed, this wasnt us spending on holidays, clothes etc.. We both have pretty good jobs with good wages but the interest rates are high on most cards we have. We have a loan that finishes in July so this money will go onto the next highest APR card.
Believe me I don't want to sound higher than thou about DMP's, it may still be the way out for us. I guess if I am honest it scares the cr*p out of us....