Paying off daughters crdit cards...............

tonybrod

My daughter has just over £1500 of debt on credit cards and i was wondering if i could open an account and pay debt off and she would pay at the lower rate that i am able to get. I am aware that i wouldnt beable to open an account with either of her card issuers but is it possible once ive opened an account for myself to have her debt transferred into account for my new card? Many Thanks Tonybrod

BitterAndTwisted

Why can't she get one of those interest-free balance-transfer cards and pay the debt off herself? Or a bank-loan and pay the debt at a lower interest-rate? Having parents bailing you out of the mire isn't necessarily the best way to teach your kids financial responsibility.

opinions4u

First of all, don't put her debt in your name. It removes ownership of the problem from her and will create tensions that aren't good for anybody.

Secondly, do provide her with practical advise and support on getting rid of this debt.

Things like getting her to:

1) Ring the card companies to opt out of any future rate changes (and closing the cards off to new spending).
2) Suggesting she posts on the Debt-free Wannabe part of this forum for help with her budgeting. Support her in following the advice she will get.
3) Ensuring she pay the minimum balance plus £1 on the lowest rate cards, and piles as much as possible in to the highest rate cards each month.
4) Perhaps rewarding her each time the debt hits a milestone e.g. a meal out, cinema tickets etc (but not cash) when the debt hits £1,000; £750; £500 etc.
5) When it does hit zero - and it will if she wants it to, help her to set up a savings account and encourage her to grow the balance.

Best of luck - hopefully she wants to succeed in getting debt free.

Another site - www.makesenseofcards.co.uk

throughtherain

I agree with the above advice. If I was given the choice between my parents bailing me out of my huge debts now, and teaching me to tackle them properly when they were lower, I would opt for the teaching!

She will be much better off in the future if she learns to budget properly and recognises the process of struggling to pay debt off, than she will if you pay it for her. If you pay it off, her spending habits won't necessarily have changed, and this could lead to bigger debts, with the implicit expectation that you will pay it off for her if it gets too bad.

RobertoMoir

I can only agree with opinions4u. I know you want to help your daughter, but if you really want to do so then don't teach her that she can mess up her life and run up debts and people will bail her out, instead help her to solve the problem herself. You'll both be glad you did in the long run.

tonybrod

Thanks to all of you that have replied. I agree with all your sentiments and understand where you are coming from. When she first started working having built up some debt at college i took her to her bank as she was getting penalties for banking charges. I advised her and she went to the bank armed with information and has since got herself back on track. She has however still got the £1500 and pays quite high intrest on it. I have no intention of paying her debt off although as she has high interest thought i could assist by clearing the total quicker due to my credit rating. She would then be left with ni cridit cars debt quicker and able to start saving, tonybrod

CH27

Don't put her debt into your name.

If you clear that credit card there is nothing to stop her building the debt back up.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

tonybrod wrote: »

My daughter has just over £1500 of debt on credit cards and i was wondering if i could open an account and pay debt off and she would pay at the lower rate that i am able to get. I am aware that i wouldnt beable to open an account with either of her card issuers but is it possible once ive opened an account for myself to have her debt transferred into account for my new card? Many Thanks Tonybrod

I agree with the sentiments of the other posters, however your original question has not actually been answered. You could indeed do what you are considering but remember that the debt would become your responsibility.

scott_lithgows

£1500 is not a lot of my money where your son/daughter is involved,OP,s prob spent many more times that bringing her to adulthood!
Who are the cards with? Once you know this you can use sites like stoozing.com to find a different card provider to transfer the total debt to (make her close the cards as part of the deal).
I did this for the wife and put the debt on a life of balance card at 5.9%,she has paid it off faithfully since then.

mum2one

your best bet if you have an existing credit card, ring them and ask what they would do a balance transfer for, some may offer 0% for 6 or 9 months, or as one of the other posters have said a low rate for life of balance.

I can fully appriciate why your helping your daughter, but playing devils advoctae, you need to make sure she pays you back, and that this is a one off.
Suggest she sets a direct debit to your bank account, for a set amount, to come to u a week before your payment date, and as the others have said when you get to certain points have a treat.

But from someone being in your daughters booted, my parents bailed me out twice when I was younger, and in all honesty i never learnt my lesson. I have now, but at 40, I've still got 10 yrs worth of debts........
x

gothrockchic1

Hi ya, I agree with all the comments, on a personal level I have been in debt twice and wouldnt want my parents to bail me out. I would hate that. I have been brought up to be independent.

The debt is my responsibilty and I have taken it on and am paying it off! I have seen many people whose parents bail them out, they dont appreciate anything in life and expect everything to be handed to them instead of working for it!

Obviously it is your choice and I am touched that you want to help your daughter x