Paying off cards.

DeeSandy

Hi, we have an Opus card which used to be a couple of other names as well. Over the years the interest rate has soared to about 49%, and we're now paying about £400 a month, most of which is interest and the balance is coming down so slowly we'll be dead before it's paid off!

If I were to call them and offer an amount of money to settle the account which is less than the balance, would that affect my credit report?

glasgowsaver2011

I cant see them accepting an offer, unless you were to have missed 3 or 4 consecutive payments, and that certainly would affect your credit

DeeSandy

That's a shame, we've never missed a payment or had any late payments. My issue is the amount of interest they charge, will upset me greatly to pay it all when most of it is extortionate interest!

fermi

People who have defaulted for some time on cards/loans and are in real financial trouble often have problems getting card companies to agree to settlement.

While you are not even behind with payments, I think your chances are all but negligible.

unimaginative_user_name

Could you try applying for a balance transfer card if you haven't missed payments? That way your £400 payment per month would go to paying down the balance not the interest. You might not get a card with a high enough limit to transfer the whole amount but if you could get some on a lower APR this would help.

Your eligibility for a BT card would of course depend on your credit history.

scott_lithgows

Have a look at www.creation.co.uk they are usually good for a BT but if you are really paying 49% then almost any sub prime card would be an improvement.