Barclaycard Minimum Payments & Interest

Sammie_in_the_City

Hi everyone

I've had my Barclaycard for quite a while and I'm currently trying to pay off a debt of £4400 which built up from moving location and over-spending when I was younger.

I havent used the card since approximately January 2012 and although I am paying over the minimum payment, it is only £20/30 above the interest.

Strangely, although I havent used the card in 6 months, and i've made just over the minimum payment, they seem to be increasing quite a bit. Last month it was £86 and this month it has jumped up to £101!

I'm not great when it comes to credit card and interest (which is why i'm trying to get rid of it once and for all) but is there anything I can do to perhaps stop the increase or a way of transferring the debt?

I have already tried to do a 0% balance transfer but I've been declined. I've also tried to get a small loan to cover it but that has also been declined. I am paying off as much as I can afford at the moment but it seems to be not helping in the slightest.

Please help!
Sam

Tixy

Is it just the minimum payment that has risen? or has the monthly interest charged also increased?

Has the APR on the debt been increased by the bank (they would have notified you of this a couple of months before it happened so you had a chance to opt out)?

Or have you had a new set of terms & conditions from the bank, which states they have varied how the minimum payment is calculated?

Sammie_in_the_City

Hi Tixy

I'm not sure if the interest has also risen as well as the minimum payment amount. I havent had any letters from Barclaycard for a while but I will check when I get home.

Is there any way of stopping the interest rising if i'm not using the card?

I was thinking about transferring some of the debt to my overdraft to pay off the balance quicker but i've heard that overdrafts can be quite costly. Is this a bad idea?

Tixy

I would suggest reading your last few statements in detail. Check what interest has been charged each month, check what APR or interest rate is shown on each statement.

To consider if it would be a good idea to use some of an unused overdraft to pay off the card you would need to compare how much each will cost - so will need to know & compare the interest rates (or if your overdraft works on daily charges not an APR, then you'd need to work out how much that would cost you a month).

Some overdrafts can be expensive, others can be very cheap. Depends on the bank, the particular account, the size of the overdraft etc.