Large Debt, Rubbish APR, any advice please?

FabSascha

Hi, my boyfriend has a large credit card bill with an APR of 29.9%. He's recently become a student which means funds are really tight, so we're only paying the interest every month which is not ideal. He hasn't got the best credit rating, but he has kept up to date with all his payments etc, so can anyone suggest any other avenues we could try? He's extremely worried about applying for other credit cards as he understands that it could impact his rating even further, but the current situation we're in is a little extreme, so I'd like to ideally find out if there are any other cards that are likely to 'take us on' with a lower APR. Any thoughts would be really appreciated, thanks in advance

paulmcerlean

With a less than perfect credit rating, probably no one.

Has he tried his own bank? It may be the best solution.

CLAPTON

how 'large' is 'large'

how 'not the best' is 'not the best'

what is his income?

FabSascha

Thanks for your replies. We tried his bank to request a larger overdraft and they declined. His CC debt is at £3500 and we're not sure what his credit rating is, but it can't be good if even his own bank won't give him anything, plus he often goes over his overdraft limit which results in fees.

CLAPTON

he needs to get copies of his credit records

but with no income and regularly going over his overdraft limit then it's very unlikely that anyone will give him an decent credit cards or loans

NorthwestLL

If he has just become a student, is this a univeristy degree?

If so, make sure that he takes the maximum maintenance student loan possible, and repay some of the debt with this.

MichaelCR

FabSascha wrote: »

Hi, my boyfriend has a large credit card bill with an APR of 29.9%. He's recently become a student which means funds are really tight, so we're only paying the interest every month which is not ideal. He hasn't got the best credit rating, but he has kept up to date with all his payments etc, so can anyone suggest any other avenues we could try? He's extremely worried about applying for other credit cards as he understands that it could impact his rating even further, but the current situation we're in is a little extreme, so I'd like to ideally find out if there are any other cards that are likely to 'take us on' with a lower APR. Any thoughts would be really appreciated, thanks in advance

Firstly, Cut that credit card up, This stops the temptation to use it and dig yourself a bigger hole.

Contact the creditor that you owe money to, Explain how you have no money + No income, And moneys tight.

Set up a small payment plan until you can start making the regular payments, Usually done in 3 to 6 month time scales.

If this fails,

Then write a letter to the Customer service department, Explaining your situation, And how you will make a Token Payment of £5 until you can afford to start paying off the balance properly.