Keeping up appearances.......

HappyNow

Piquant wrote: »

Recently my credit card that I still owe about £9k on had it's limit increased from 10k to 12k. I haven't used it for years and make minimum payments [targeting another card] Before I realised the debt I was in, I'd have gone and blown that extra £2k in less than a week

We keep hearing on the news about how credit is harder to get these days but personally I haven't seen much evidence of that. Most of my cards are on 5.9% or thereabouts lob rates and I will leave them there while I chip them down, but MBNA and Virgin (same bank of course) seem to have me on a permanent '0% for 12 months' deal. Because the balances are so high they will take me much longer than 12 months to clear, so each time the deal comes to an end (usually about £2K every two months) I transfer money from the card to my current account, then immediately pay it back from the current account to my card to get a further 12 months at 0%. It costs me 4% every time I do it so I am targetting these cards first.

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

Thank goodness that we have now all seen the light !!

Hallelujah!

haybel19 wrote: »

My goodness you could buy another house :rotfl:

I could! Probably best if I don't though :rotfl:!

HappyNow

For a couple of years now Mr Happy has had pain in his shoulder. He has had anti-inflammatories and cortizone injections to ease it, but it never repairs. For the last few months the pain has been unbearable, to the point where he is struggling to work (he has a manual job), although he hasn't had any time off work because he is a trooper! Two weeks ago he finally had a consultant appointment and scan, and he needs an operation to repair it. His date came through yesterday for 22nd March. He will be off work for at least 6 weeks, maybe more. Thankfully he will get full pay while he's off, and in fact life will be cheaper because he won't be using petrol.

In other news, I have been accepted for a Bzz trial, testing the new Dove compressed deodorant. Two free aerosols arrived yesterday for me to test, so that's free anti-pong for a few weeks!

poohbear59

Mr Pooh and I have been having our limits restricted on our new cards and have for the first time ever had problems getting cheap credit. Does anyone here think it may be to do with DS1 having a DMP?

grannyx2

Dear Pooh DS's DMP shouldn't affect your credit rating unless at some point in the past you have had joint/associated debt with him. You can check your credit file to see if your names are associated on there. I think its probably more likely that it's just more difficult to get credit these days with the banks being much more careful about what they offer to who. I hope you don't mind me saying this, I really don't mean to offend but, in my opinion, it's probably not a bad thing that you can't get credit as it just adds to the stress in the end.

Granny x

HappyNow

poohbear59 wrote: »

Mr Pooh and I have been having our limits restricted on our new cards and have for the first time ever had problems getting cheap credit. Does anyone here think it may be to do with DS1 having a DMP?

I don't have a clue, Pooh, sorry. Granny seems to know what she's talking about though. I've never even checked my credit rating like Granny suggests. I assume mine must be OK, judging by the silly amount of new credit I keep getting offered.

grannyx2 wrote: »

Dear Pooh DS's DMP shouldn't affect your credit rating unless at some point in the past you have had joint/associated debt with him. You can check your credit file to see if your names are associated on there. I think its probably more likely that it's just more difficult to get credit these days with the banks being much more careful about what they offer to who. I hope you don't mind me saying this, I really don't mean to offend but, in my opinion, it's probably not a bad thing that you can't get credit as it just adds to the stress in the end.
Granny x

Hi Granny . I 100% agree about the stress of taking more debt, although I think in Pooh's case she has been applying for 0% credit to pay off higher interest debt which of course is different. Hope you are doing OK, your diary is next on my list to catch up on - see you in a minute!

HappyNow

Well my dress didn't sell on ebay . I'm going to give it one more try at the next free listing, and if it still doesn't sell I'm going to send it to a charity shop because I'm fed up of looking at it.

I sold another old mobile via Maz-uma this morning which will cover petrol and food until payday on 15th (provided we don't drive far or eat much ) so I shouldn't need to borrow any more money to survive.

B*rclays rang just before Christmas and said I should have the result of my PPI claim (which turned out to be a Mortgage Protection Claim, hence being stuck in the wrong queue since May) within a month. I rang them last week because I hadn't heard anything, only to be told that it hasn't yet even been allocated to anyone. Grrrr. The lady said she would hurry it along, but I've heard that so many times before. I wonder if I have grounds to complain, not about the actual PPI/Mortgage Protection, but on the way my case has been handled? I wonder if they would consider a goodwill-type payment if I mention making a formal complaint? Or at least be more inclined to look favourably on my original claim if it's a bit border-line? Meh, probably not and I'm not a naturally pushy person.

I've got a day off work today and I'm going to spend it entering competitions for the first time and reading the Up Your Income board for inspiration.

chevalier

Hi Happy
Sorry to have been missing in action. too much RL going on.

Wow to that much available credit, that is a scary amount. Erm I take it all of the cards have balances on them, so you can't just close any of them?
But yeah to not having to borrow more before the pay day.

Sorry to hear about Mr Happy, hope that the op is sorted.
chev

Honey_Bear

Availability of easy credit - or what used to be known as debt. Isn't it interesting how using a different word doesn't actually change the meaning, just our attitude to it? Hmm.

I have one credit card that I took out with my bank because I was going to America a few years ago, and it seems you can't function over there without one. Although I had travel insurance, what really worried me was the possibility of needing medical treatment and not being able to get it. So, I have a credit card and I set up a DD that pays it off every month, and as I got it for emergencies, that is the only time it gets used. I love my bank. I had a letter from them last week to say they're reducing the limit to £1,500, because I haven't used it in quite a while and doing so will help prevent fraud. I'm fine with that. They also say they're happy to put the limit back up when I want to start using it again.

I walked away from L1oyds about seven years ago because every time I went in there to bank a cheque, the cashier held on to my paying in book and asked if I needed to review my finances, when the house or car insurance was due, or that my annual review was due. (That turned out to be them expecting me to tell them how and where I was insured.) When I took out the mortgage on this house, they wanted me to take their 'in house' insurance policy, so I asked for a breakdown. Of the 20 or so categories, 17 did not apply to me - life assurance with husband or kids as beneficiaries, etc etc. I also happened to know that they could not insist on me using it, but they were incredibly aggressive. I loathe L1oyds and it is hardly surprising they have been whacked for mis-selling. Good luck to anyone and everyone who takes them on.

When I emigrated to the bank I chose instead, I made it very clear that if they ever tried to sell me anything I would close the account and put any money I had under the mattress, and they have been as good as gold.

I can't understand why some of the banks were allowed to get away with what they did for so long.

I struggled with debts for about 10 years and finally about 17 years ago I cleared them. I am never, never, never going back to that place and I wish you, Happy Now, and all of your Diary readers the absolute best of luck - healthy horses, animals, cars, boilers and houses - while you tackle the problem.

haybel19

How did the competition entering go? I love it - its very addictive.. won a small prize today- a pedometer... OH pleased as on a health kick and has been wanting one. :j

grannyx2

HappyNow wrote: »

I don't have a clue, Pooh, sorry. Granny seems to know what she's talking about though. I've never even checked my credit rating like Granny suggests. I assume mine must be OK, judging by the silly amount of new credit I keep getting offered.


Hi Granny . I 100% agree about the stress of taking more debt, although I think in Pooh's case she has been applying for 0% credit to pay off higher interest debt which of course is different. Hope you are doing OK, your diary is next on my list to catch up on - see you in a minute!

Hi Happy I'm ok although as you will have read on my diary I have had the flu and its taking ages to get back to my normal self. The doctor signed me off for another week as he wasn't happy with the way I sounded.

Pooh with regards to the applying for credit, sometimes if you apply more than once in a six month period that can also affect your credit score so be careful of that. I got caught in that trap just after my mini LBM in 2007 and ended up where I find myself today. I did think that you meant your current cards were reducing the amount of your limits rather than that you couldn't get credit though and that too happened to OH and I before my LBM. Slowly but surely, as I reduced a balance the card suppliers started reducing the limits, they gave little reason other than they had reviewed our finances. It was sensible but crippling at the time as I had got used to shifting things around to take advantage of low rates so our debt was at least going down. All of a sudden I found myself unable to move anything and that is when the real trouble started as then the payments we were making were only covering the interest. I'm glad it happened now, hence my warning to you, as it could have got a lot worse before it got better and its bad enough as it is.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Happy

Granny x