Stopping a catalogue account

nunnygirl

Hi all. I think it's my first jaunt on to the DFW board:j

My OH and I have an account with Very catalogue and we are looking at paying it off.....only problem is I found out in the past week they are charging us 49% interest:eek:

I never realised it was this much and want to get rid of the account...but we have over £1k worth of debt with them (mostly my fault....having to buy a new washing machine and a new fridge freezer and not having the money to buy them at the time)

The minimum payments are £50 a month and with the interest on top the debt just doesn't seem to be going away

I know it's our responsibility and I take full accountability for the debt being as high as it is.

We have other debts but these have been managed to a sum that we can afford and they have been very good with us.

Is there anything we can do? We already seem to have our purse strings stretched to the max they can and I fear they may snap soon Debt cannot be moved anywhere else as neither OH or I have good credit ratings

brokeinlondon

you could write to them asking if they will accept reduced payments, and then pay reduced payments even if they refuse... they can't get what you don't have.

have you posted your soa on here before? there might be things that you could cut back on to help you pay more towards your debts. there's a good one here: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

then we can advise you better

Culex

nunnygirl wrote: »

My OH and I have an account with Very catalogue and we are looking at paying it off.....only problem is I found out in the past week they are charging us 49% interest

Did they not plainly and clearly state the interest rate in/on any of their publications, catalogues, statements or letters?

Is there anything we can do?

You could complain to your local Trading Standards wallahs and/or the OFT, if the catalogue company's interest rate had been hidden in some way.

You could also suggest to Very that, with an interest rate of 49%, they should change their name to "Extremely".

intranicity

Just looked at very's website, cannot see one mention of interest rates, not in the small print or anything...

There Buy Now Pay Later mentions interest, but not the rate!!!! http://www.very.co.uk/web/en/bnpl.page?cm_re=USP+Header+Links-_-Banner-_-BNPL&cm_sp=Financial+Services-_-BNPL-_-Banner

Littlewoods at least say there rates for this and are upfront http://www.littlewoods.com/web/en/bnpl.page?cm_re=Homepage-_-Main+Banner-_-BNPL&cm_sp=Financial+Services-_-BNPL-_-Main+Banner

This seems unethical at least, I though interest rates had to be clearly displayed?

Culex

intranicity wrote: »

Just looked at very's website, cannot see one mention of interest rates, not in the small print or anything...

There Buy Now Pay Later mentions interest, but not the rate!!!! http://www.very.co.uk/web/en/bnpl.page?cm_re=USP+Header+Links-_-Banner-_-BNPL&cm_sp=Financial+Services-_-BNPL-_-Banner

There is a reference to their interest rates, but one has to look for it:
http://www.very.co.uk/financialservices/en/spread-the-cost.page

Littlewoods at least say there rates for this and are upfront http://www.littlewoods.com/web/en/bnpl.page?cm_re=Homepage-_-Main+Banner-_-BNPL&cm_sp=Financial+Services-_-BNPL-_-Main+Banner

This seems unethical at least, I though interest rates had to be clearly displayed?

It seems downright odd, when one considers that both brands belong to the same company!

PNPSUKNET

If you log into my account, on the left hand side it says my apr also it does say it on statements and the welcome letter. If you set a dd up for the minimum it will drop to about 39.7

benrsmith31077

If you are really struggling write to them explaining your financial situation, ask them to freeze the interest and offer a reasonable payment plan that you can afford. (If you can keep up the 50 a month no probs)
Make the point that you are trying to be responsible and fairly service your debts, and that you will not be able to guarentee repayment should the interest continue at this level.

If they refuse to freeze the interest then I would write back to them explaining that you believe the interest to be unreasonable and that you were not made aware of it when you took out the credit.

Incidently, I ran your figures through a loan repayment calculator based on 49% apr and it came out as taking you 4 years to pay off at £50 a month costing you £1300 in interest alone!

nunnygirl

You lot are superstars


Here's the SOA

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1170
Benefits................................ 95
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1265

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 560
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 102
Electricity............................. 37
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 13.9
Mobile phone............................ 29
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 9.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 6
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Mobile Phone 2.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 975.4


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................4827......147.......0
Credit Card....................1070......25........0
Overdraft......................500.......15........17.3
Catalogue......................1048......50........49
Total unsecured debts..........7445......237.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,265
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 975.4
Available for debt repayments........... 289.6
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 237
Amount left after debt repayments....... 52.6

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,445
Net Assets.............................. -7,445



I think this is it
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

[Deleted User]

Here's the SOA
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0 Anny way to put something here? Even part-time?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1170 Any way to increase? Overtime? Second jobs?
Benefits................................ 95 Are you claiming all that you are entitled to?
Total monthly income.................... 1265

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 560 Is this good value for the area that you live in?
Council tax............................. 102 Are you paying over the usual 10 months? Ask your council if you can spread ovwe 12, and then your monthly payment will be reduced
Electricity............................. 37 Regularly (6-12 months) to ensure that you are on the cheapest tariff for your area (often online and duel fuel are cheapest - try USwitch), then if switching is cheapest look at cashback sites (Quidco, Onepoll, topcashback)
Gas..................................... 10 as above
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 13.9
Mobile phone............................ 29 how many is this for - if you're stuck in a contract see if you can reduce the tariff, if/when out of contract look at PAYG or SIM only - there are some really good £10 pm deals out there
TV Licence.............................. 11 (12.37)
Internet Services....................... 9.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 120 How many people is this for - even 2 you can probably reduce this a little - try dropping brands, meal planning, batch cooking - have a look on the old style board for hints and tips on cheaper grocery shopping etc
Clothing................................ 20 buy essentials only until debt free - also have a clear out and sell what you no longer wear on E-bay
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 6
Contents insurance...................... 10
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0 never?
Entertainment........................... 0 nothing?
Mobile Phone 2.......................... 25 As advice above - look at SIM only or PAYG when you can, and if stuck in contract see if you can reduce a tariff
Total monthly expenses.................. 975.4

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Catalogue......................1048......50........49 Given the really high APR, this needs to be your priority for any overpayments that you can make - as a poster above has recommended see if by paying the monthly minimum by DD will reduce the APR - and throw all the surplus you can find from your SOA at this until clear
Overdraft......................500.......15........17.3
Loan...........................4827......147.......0 What's the APR?
Credit Card....................1070......25........0What's the APR?
Total unsecured debts..........7445......237

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,265
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 975.4
Available for debt repayments........... 289.6
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 237
Amount left after debt repayments....... 52.6 Is this correct? Do you have this spare at the end of every month - if so pay towards Very account as well as any extra you can free up from savings in your SOA. If you don't have this then keep a spending diary to see whre it goes and note down everything that you spend money on from a carton of milk to the rent and evrything in between - this will soon reveal where any other expenses are.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,445
Net Assets.............................. -7,445

Hi,

I have made some comments above, I hope at lest some of them will help you.

D9

nunnygirl

I'm trying to get a job, currently volunteering in a charity shop as I was at college last year and hopefully going to Uni in September if I get a place. OH gets the occasional bit of overtime but it's not all the time if you get my drift.

I am not entitled to any benefits as I have not unlocked my NI credits with not working since 2009 as I was at college all last year

Rent is as high as it is as we are in arrears and we have agreed to pay that much to get the arrears down. Once this is down there will be more money to throw at other things. Should only be £430

The mobile phones were only renewed recently and my mobile phone company (the one between 2 and 4) charge £10 to downgrade the contract

The loan and credit cards have a 0% apr on them. We paid all the interest up front on the loan and I am paying the credit card off as they upped the credit limit and I'm just paying the balance.

I'll try and get the council to put the payments to 12 months instead of 10 but I think I've tried this already and they turned us down.

Going to look at the gas and Electric now

Thanks for the help already....it's MUCH appreciated:T:T

beanielou

Could you have a lodger even if only in short term?