is it worth trying for a loan?

helen_caslass

hi just wondering if its worth trying for a loan or if i would be better off paying off everything i owe seperatley?

i currently have 2 cc's 1 sc and 2 catalogues to pay off and was wondering if i would be better off bundling them all up together and paying just one monthly dd its about £2000 of debt not quite but near enough. i have missed payments in the past and know i dont have a good credit score i'd go as far to say its bad...

just want to get everything in one place and paid and then i can pay xx amount a month and get rid of the loan as well in a shorter period of time as it would take to pay off everything seperatley

thanks in advance for any info given

(p.s. if i've put this in the wrong place please feel free to move it)

Rafter

Helen,

Consolidating may be a good idea if it reduces the overall interest you pay.

Suggest the following:

Get hold of your credit report from Experian or Equifax. As long as you have never defaulted, have a permanent job with reasonable salary, have lived at the same address for a while and are on the electoral roll you should be ok.

Initially approach your own bank and see what they can offer. Then perhaps try someone like Nationwide who offer reasonable deals for small loans. Don't keep applying after 2 though - otherwise all the applications will count against you.

The other idea to try is a 'life of balance' credit card transfer offer - you should find links to these on the monesavingexpert.com home page. Might be even cheaper than a loan - just don't use the card for purchases!

If that fails you need to 'shuffle'

Pay the absolute minimum on the lowest interest rate card or debt you have and pay as much as possible on the highest interest rate - likely to be the catalogue or store card debt.

The key to all this is to stick at it an not use the cards if at all possible until the debt is cleared.

If you do get a loan, try to avoid the temptation to fill your cards up again or you might find yourself with £4000 of debt in 12 months time and be in a worse position.

Good luck.

R.

helen_caslass

thanks how do i find out the interest rates for the cards and stuff?

jonesMUFCforever

Re the stuff outstanding on catalogues - are they interest free or are you being charged interest?

If interest free I would not borrow to pay off.