No More 0% ...Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MunnyMan

OK my situation

£8800..Virgin Money CC............... 0% ends in April
£10700.. Goldfish Barclaycard........... 0% ends in March


I have been on the fone to both of these cards today to find out exactly when my promotional rates expire, once they do end i will be paying

VIrgin Money......1% of the balance plus interest
Godlfish ......... 15%

Obviously i do not wanna end up with huge spiralling interest costs and probably couldnt afford both minimun payments each month anyway as i figure this will be somewhere in the region of £400.00

SOoooooooooooooo people do i opt to own up to these companies that i cannot pay and try and get reduced terms on my payments or just default?

any advice appreciated

PS...i dont give a hoot about credit rating to be honest at this moment in time i NEVER want any more credit!!!!!! :mad:

kerri_gt

I am sure I will be corrected by those more in the know if I'm wrong, but to my understanding 0% interest doesn't affect the amount you are required to pay each month - only the interest that you are paying on the balance. So if you can afford the min payments now, then you should be able to continue to afford them.

The problem is that once the interest kicks in, less of your monthly payment will actually be paying off your balance - therefore taking you longer to pay off your cards.

I would deff get on the phone to both companies and be upfront about your situation and try to come to some agreement/arrangment. Defaulting is just burying your head in the sand and you'll have to face the situation sooner or later...imo sooner is always better.

fozmcfc

Anything to stop you applying for another 0% card/s?

Defaulting may seem like an easy way out, but it won't be simply a case of you defaulting and coming to an arrangement to pay and that's it. You can expect weeks/months/years of hassle.

Credit worthiness extends much further than loans and credit cards and something you should seriously consider how it may effect your life for years, including maybe not even being able to get home phone.

You sound quite desperate, so don't make any rash decisions. I would suggest posting on the debt free wanabee boards for more advice/support about more then just about defaulting on credit cards.

kelloggs36

why not go for a Barclaycard which is currently offering 0% for 18 months - then you can cut it up and just pay it off.

Rupert_Bear

MunnyMan wrote: »

OK my situation

£8800..Virgin Money CC............... 0% ends in April
£10700.. Goldfish Barclaycard........... 0% ends in March


I have been on the fone to both of these cards today to find out exactly when my promotional rates expire, once they do end i will be paying

VIrgin Money......1% of the balance plus interest
Godlfish ......... 15%

Obviously i do not wanna end up with huge spiralling interest costs and probably couldnt afford both minimun payments each month anyway as i figure this will be somewhere in the region of £400.00

SOoooooooooooooo people do i opt to own up to these companies that i cannot pay and try and get reduced terms on my payments or just default?

any advice appreciated

PS...i dont give a hoot about credit rating to be honest at this moment in time i NEVER want any more credit!!!!!! :mad:

Just be honest with them and say you are an idiot with money and blame them for allowing you to spend so much. Put the onus on them.

MunnyMan

kerri_gt wrote: »

I am sure I will be corrected by those more in the know if I'm wrong, but to my understanding 0% interest doesn't affect the amount you are required to pay each month - only the interest that you are paying on the balance. So if you can afford the min payments now, then you should be able to continue to afford them.

The problem is that once the interest kicks in, less of your monthly payment will actually be paying off your balance - therefore taking you longer to pay off your cards.

I would deff get on the phone to both companies and be upfront about your situation and try to come to some agreement/arrangment. Defaulting is just burying your head in the sand and you'll have to face the situation sooner or later...imo sooner is always better.

i have been managing to pay £215 ish to barclaycard/goldfish on 0% promotion for 12 months and £25.00 to virgin money for 18 months minimum payment for both! so i would have to find approx 175 extra when both my 0% ends in a month or so. do credit card companies in these current times allow us poor skinflints to pay reduced amounts monthly..... im thinking of ringing both and asking them to freeze my accounts as (i dont spend on them anymore anyway and dont need them) and then offer both card companies 100 a month! woja reckon ?:eek:

Hax

You can try such an offer - they may well say no though. It's generally the case that reduced payments are only offered once the customer has proven hardship by missing payments and then, quite often only after the account has gone into default and been passed on to a DCA.

Whichever route you take, chances are it will trash your credit record for at least the next six years. That means: no loans, credit cards, mortgage, car HP. Possibly, no (contract) mobile phone or new tenancy agreements.

It really isn't a decision to be taken lightly... I would suggest that you pop over to the Debt Free Wannabe board and ask for help.

MunnyMan

Hax wrote: »

You can try such an offer - they may well say no though. It's generally the case that reduced payments are only offered once the customer has proven hardship by missing payments and then, quite often only after the account has gone into default and been passed on to a DCA.

Whichever route you take, chances are it will trash your credit record for at least the next six years. That means: no loans, credit cards, mortgage, car HP. Possibly, no (contract) mobile phone or new tenancy agreements.

It really isn't a decision to be taken lightly... I would suggest that you pop over to the Debt Free Wannabe board and ask for help.

Yes thanks Hax i have put the same question over there now :beer:

YorkshireBoy

kerri_gt wrote: »

So if you can afford the min payments now, then you should be able to continue to afford them.

The OP, like many of us, has been enjoying £25 per month minimum payments on MBNA run cards. However, the T&Cs are changing in April and will then demand a minimum payment of 1% plus interest...and this coincides with the end of 0% date. So £8,800 on Virgin will demand a minimum payment of around £200 (at 16.9% APR), which is a £175 increase per month!

bengal-stripe

MunnyMan wrote: »

OK my situation

£8800..Virgin Money CC............... 0% ends in April
£10700.. Goldfish Barclaycard........... 0% ends in March

It must have been fun, to go through almost twenty grand! :T

ironlady2022

Rupert_Bear wrote: »

Just be honest with them and say you are an idiot with money and blame them for allowing you to spend so much. Put the onus on them.

Cannot blame the banks here. Banks do not make you spend or force you to. People should be more controlled. It's alright living the hi life and spending 20k to fall back to reality and realise o I've spent this and need to repay. It's too easy to blame other people when it's the person who spends who should take responsibility.