Can I just stop paying my credit cards?

fozmcfc

girlscout666 wrote: »

All I wanted to know was the answer to my original question... which hasn't been answered. I don't really wish to delve into my personal finances (but FYI my job does pay me sufficiently and I am not living beyond my means) So much for 'non judgemental' comments. Cheers.

The more you post on your situation the better the advice will be, don't you see that.

It doesn't matter, if you post, you have takeaways everynight, you pay for the highest sky tv package and spend a minimum of £500 a month on clothing for yourself, or you have other well meaning committments, which means you leave yourself short, to assist someone else, such as a disabled relative.

That would give members some indication of why you are stuggling to pay £60 from a sufficiently paid job and get you some decent advice, whether it's you really need to buy cheaper food, get freeview instead of sky and stop buying clothes, or that's really commendable are you sure you are getting every benefit you are entitled to.

The more you give, the more you will get, but of course it's entirely up to you.

lee1985

fozmcfc wrote: »

The more you post on your situation the better the advice will be, don't you see that.

It doesn't matter, if you post, you have takeaways everynight, you pay for the highest sky tv package and spend a minimum of £500 a month on clothing for yourself, or you have other well meaning committments, which means you leave yourself short, to assist someone else, such as a disabled relative.

That would give members some indication of why you are stuggling to pay £60 from a sufficiently paid job and get you some decent advice, whether it's you really need to buy cheaper food, get freeview instead of sky and stop buying clothes, or that's really commendable are you sure you are getting every benefit you are entitled to.

The more you give, the more you will get, but of course it's entirely up to you.

I completely disagree with this post to be honest, in the nicest possible way of course.

Some people don't give too many details because we all know that a fair few people on here will not answer the question and indeed make judgments about the information given, or indeed answer the question but by making these judgments anyway.

The more information given, the more some people will say, 'you shouldn't be doing this or that then', or questioning why things may be as they are - looking for loopholes and weaknesses in the information, questioning it interrogation-style. Although some may consider this indeed helpful towards paying the debts, on many occasions it's not really the advice sought.

Maybe many of the OP's in these situations just don't want to pay the debt in a certain way or whatever. People are different and if they want to avoid debts or bend the rules then let them and still suggest the best way around things. Basically, people should just answer the question OPs ask in a way that will clearly display valued help, whether or not it's the right thing to do. It may be useful to advise them it isn't a wise thing to do in these situations of course, but if they want to do it they are going to do it - might as well help them and be a good samaritan! At the end of the day they will pay for it when they want a mortgage in 3 years time, and verbal lessons about debts do little to those already in debt.

So yeah, there are some stars on here but there are also a fair few people who just patronise or suggest unhelpful answers using the information based, i.e. 'cut down on your food then' when someone is asking about loans instead of saving. Indeed it is a sensible suggestion, but would many people cut down on food to pay creditors? Probably not, it's about the only thing they can buy that won't get taken off them, or that they can afford!

Just basing this information on the vast majority of threads I see. Yes there are some very helpful people indeed, but some people tend to want to thrown the lesson of 'not getting into debt' on there or basically saying 'pay up then' which isn't really helpful.

Just thought I'd give my view (this is not a rant, of course)

beabea81

There is a statement at the top of this board that reads 'Pls remember Debt-Free Wannabe's for support and help not Judgement'.

I see plenty of the latter and only a mild smattering of the former.

Avoidance of debt, and the situation many of us have found ourselves in because of it, is part of the solution. I don't think many people, who have debts, have come here without having done a little avoiding first.

Maybe the OP is only looking for someone to say "Yeah, it's fine. just stop paying" so she can spend more of her money on going out. Maybe she does fritter all her money away. Maybe she earns well but lives alone and her utility costs are high. Maybe she has seen some of the reactions people get when they do post SOA's and it has put her off.

She doesn't have to tell anyone anything. Posting an SOA is helpful but it is not a pre-requisite to asking for help. The fact that she has been a member here for almost a year and yet has only just posted tells me that she perhaps isn't ready to face up to things entirely and responses such as the ones here will only serve to push her further into denial and avoidance.

The OP didn't actually say she couldn't afford her payments she just noticed that her payments weren't reducing her balance. The fact that says she only recieves statements 'every few months' is, perhaps, further evidence that she doesn't have a full handle on her affairs, which are exactly that. Her affairs.

That's all supposition, of course, and I only use it to highlight that no one but the OP knows her circumstances and despite what many people seem to think she doesn't have to tell you! Her question was easily answered and didn't actually warrant her divulging all of her information.

Atom's comment 'seems to be the going thing these days' is ignorant beyond belief. If you have such distaste for people with debts then maybe the debt board is not the right place to spend your time. Just because you are allowed to have an opinion on someone doesn't mean you have to share it with them. It's common courtesy not to be so gratingly rude to people.

OP, I saw a really good response from Jinx and Tixy has given some great advice about how you can deal with your CC company. I hope you take their advice and get it all sorted soon and please don't let the few judemental people prevent you from asking for advice in the future. x x

freeoffers

Tixy wrote: »

Instead of trying just to stop payments I would suggest you complete a statement of affairs to show your monthy income & expenditure and work out what you can afford a month and see how that compares to the £60 you are currently paying

Then write to the credit card companies enclose your statement of affairs, tell them how much you can afford a month and ask them if they will agree to freeze interest.

Are you working now? or still on benefits - if on benefits then I would suggest you offer far less than £60 a month and it should be accepted. If you are working then before you send the statement of affairs you might want to post it up on here (probably on the debt free wannabe board) for some advice on whether the cc companies might be likely to accept it, or whether there is some expenditure that they would not consider reasonable etc.

This is by far the best answer, and non-judgmental. Quite frankly don't listen to the other idiots who post here because they get-off on judging people. I have a debt of £2,500 and because I didn't bury my head in the sand and ignore it I came up with an agreement to pay it with the company involved. It is always better to write to them and send them a statement of affairs, rather than just not paying them. Whatever people say on here credit card debts are not worth going hungry over. If you really are struggling sort it out with the credit card company.

freeoffers

Atom wrote: »

Seems to be the going thing these days - hey OP by any chance was the money spent on drink, fags, takeaways, petrol, gstars, alloys, sound systems, base box and ho's ?

By any chance are you a Daily Mail reader!