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theped

I am soon going to apply for another credit card offering a 0% balance transfer deal. I currently have 4 credit cards, all with good payment records. Two have zero balance, one has a small balance outstanding and one has a more significant balance which is intended for the transfer as its free period draws to an end.. Non of the other cards are offering anything attractive for transfers hence looking to a new card. QUESTION: Does holding 4 cards already affect my credit score or should i close say the 2 clear accounts first.?

wilygb

Hi , I received a Noddle alert today , a Barclays current account which I haven't used since 2002 has a debt of £2580 - as apparently there was £200 pound due in 2002 , Barclays have run it up to £2580 as there was a £2500 overdraft facility on the account, I have had no contact from Barclays as I divorced and moved home several times . What can I do , I am on sick leave and have very little income. Please advise !!!

Jojo_fry

Hi there,

I've been trying to help out a friend of mine who has got himself into a right pickle but as far as I can see it's his bank's fault mainly (RBS). He isn't great at managing money but they are just exacerbating things for him and it's hard to see what he can actually do to halt the debt spiral.

So, to briefly outline the issue, he's got an usecured personal loan of around £10k from RBS which is at a really crappy rate, about 20%! Then he's also got a credit card with them, which is almost at it's £4k limit, they won't allow him an overdraft but he's overdrawn and now owes them £400 for that for which they have sent up another account for him to pay them back, despite the fact that they continue to rack up the charges for it. He's also got another credit card from Halifax which he's got about £500 on. So altogether he owes about £15k more or less.

Some of this is due to the fact that he doesn't earn much, around £20k, and lives in London, so has been using credit for things like deposits and rent payments. BUT - we looked at his living costs and income and he would be able to just about afford to live if it weren't for all these debts, which currently amount to around £430 a month, which is totally unaffordable and he's just heading for yet more debts and bad credit scores.

The stupidly ironic thing is that I think what would probably sort him out would be a low rate loan for the £15k to clear everything; which you can only get if you got a good credit score, which people who NEED low rate loans usually haven't!

Same with the credit card debt - he can't do a balance transfer to a 0% card because his credit rating isn't good enough! SO - as much as I agree 100% with everything on here about debt reduction, what do you do if those products which could help you get control of things are not within your grasp??? What then?

Jojo_fry

theped wrote: »

I am soon going to apply for another credit card offering a 0% balance transfer deal. I currently have 4 credit cards, all with good payment records. Two have zero balance, one has a small balance outstanding and one has a more significant balance which is intended for the transfer as its free period draws to an end.. Non of the other cards are offering anything attractive for transfers hence looking to a new card. QUESTION: Does holding 4 cards already affect my credit score or should i close say the 2 clear accounts first.?

Your credit score reflects how you are using your revolving credit accounts; having accounts older than 33 months, which are settled or have a very low balance, is beneficial to your score. What will impact your score is having a maxed out card, and opening more than one new credit account in a 6 month period becuase that is taken as a sign that you cannot live on your income and you're using credit to make up the shortfall.

mumof2boys77

I had a debt of 5k with the bank of Scotland it defaulted in 2008. I had been paying it off to cap quest over many years at 20 pounds a month.
In October 2015 I decided to dispute the debt on mental health grounds and that they authorised my debit card for 2.5k worth of transactions over my agreed overdraft in a 24 hour period. I was a gambler back then and had informed the bank manager of my problem prior to this blow out. While looking through my paperwork I found an old credit file that clearly shows this same debt as being marked as settled by hbos in 2011.
I wrote all this down and on the advice of cap quest they suspended my repayments while I was appealing and requested all money paid beyond this date be refunded.
Cap quest wrote to me on 4 Jan 16 informing me hbos were taking the debt back. They said my file had been sealed and I can't access the info they had.
I called hbos they said they have no record of appeal and they are taking it back because I missed payments in NOV and December. They said they are passing it to another collections company.
I called cap quest back and they said they gave hbos info on 27 November.
It seems hbos are ignoring what I am saying. The debt is so old it's not on my new file.
Can they enforce it? Can I request a refund or would that be cheeky?
Thanks

Former_StepChange_Rory

debbie_debt wrote: »

Hi,

I was wondering if you can give me some general advice. I currently have, between myself and my husband, around £37,000 of unsecured debt split between 5 credit cards, including Virgin, Barclaycard and MBNA. We will receive a windfall in the next few weeks of around £21,000 which will be used solely to pay off the debts. I was wondering if there is any way in which you think they will accept a reduced amount in full and final settlement? Hence, allowing the £21k to pay off the full debts?

We pay on time every month and most of the debt is on 0%. We would like to retain the ability to use one credit card in future (for the additional protection when booking holidays etc) and hence don't want to enter into any bankruptcy etc. We would like to save for a mortgage in the future too. We are both working, but I'm currently on maternity leave which ends later this month, when I will return to work on reduced hours. In total, we will earn around £50,000 as a household on my new contract, yet have found out today that my husband's job is under threat.

I'd appreciate any advice.

Debbie

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for posting.

It’s unlikely that companies would accept or offer a reduced settlement for a debt if you’re up-to-date with payments and able to repay the debts in a reasonable amount of time.
Creditors would usually only offer settlements for what they consider ‘bad debts’ where there’s a chance that they might not receive the full amount in a fair amount of time and would like to settle the debt. I can understand that this doesn’t always seem fair though.

There’s no harm in approaching creditors and asking them if there’s any help they can offer, but usually from their perspective, there’s no incentive for them to offer you a reduced payment if you’re on track with payments.

I hope this helps,

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

ZNic334 wrote: »

Hi
I'm really hoping you can offer me some advice. I've just joined this forum tonight so first post here.
I'm a single mum and have had my tax credits cut over the last 6 months and have been around £300 down in my finances every month, whilst all my outgoings have remained the same. I've maxed my credit cards and have just gone over my agreed overdraft on my Santander 123 account and had the most embarrassing experience tonight having my card declined whilst trying to buy food.

I don't know what to do; up until now I've been managing to keep up all my repayments and utility bills. It's only the 12th of the month and I've literally no money to feed my children. I've spoken to CAB in the past who suggested I may be eligible for financial support from the council and am now receiving £49 per month from them. This doesn't make up for my short fall in tax credits.

What should I do???

thanks
Zoe

Hi Zoe,

Thanks for posting,

Firstly, it’s really important that you focus on keeping up-to-date with your household bills and living costs before paying towards any unsecured debts. I’d also recommend seeking free debt advice as soon as possible so you can get the help you need.

Whether it’s the repayments to your debts that are causing you to fall behind and rely on further credit, or the reduced income forcing you to have to rely on credit to pay for your priorities there is help available.

I’d recommend getting in touch with us by visiting our website at www.stepchange.org/contactus. We’ll be able to look over your situation, offer advice and support and also discuss what to do with your bank account.

Our advice is free, impartial and confidential, so if you need our help we’re here.

I hope this helps,
Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

theped wrote: »

I am soon going to apply for another credit card offering a 0% balance transfer deal. I currently have 4 credit cards, all with good payment records. Two have zero balance, one has a small balance outstanding and one has a more significant balance which is intended for the transfer as its free period draws to an end.. Non of the other cards are offering anything attractive for transfers hence looking to a new card. QUESTION: Does holding 4 cards already affect my credit score or should i close say the 2 clear accounts first.?

Hi there,

This is really a question that a credit reference agency should be able to offer more advice on. We’re able to offer advice on dealing with debts, but for more specific credit file questions we’d suggest contacting Experian, Equifax or Call Credit for advice and information.

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

Jojo_fry wrote: »

Hi there,

I've been trying to help out a friend of mine who has got himself into a right pickle but as far as I can see it's his bank's fault mainly (RBS). He isn't great at managing money but they are just exacerbating things for him and it's hard to see what he can actually do to halt the debt spiral.

So, to briefly outline the issue, he's got an usecured personal loan of around £10k from RBS which is at a really crappy rate, about 20%! Then he's also got a credit card with them, which is almost at it's £4k limit, they won't allow him an overdraft but he's overdrawn and now owes them £400 for that for which they have sent up another account for him to pay them back, despite the fact that they continue to rack up the charges for it. He's also got another credit card from Halifax which he's got about £500 on. So altogether he owes about £15k more or less.

Some of this is due to the fact that he doesn't earn much, around £20k, and lives in London, so has been using credit for things like deposits and rent payments. BUT - we looked at his living costs and income and he would be able to just about afford to live if it weren't for all these debts, which currently amount to around £430 a month, which is totally unaffordable and he's just heading for yet more debts and bad credit scores.

The stupidly ironic thing is that I think what would probably sort him out would be a low rate loan for the £15k to clear everything; which you can only get if you got a good credit score, which people who NEED low rate loans usually haven't!

Same with the credit card debt - he can't do a balance transfer to a 0% card because his credit rating isn't good enough! SO - as much as I agree 100% with everything on here about debt reduction, what do you do if those products which could help you get control of things are not within your grasp??? What then?

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

From what you’ve mentioned it sounds like debt consolidation isn’t an option available to help your friend deal with their debts. In many cases, consolidating debts isn’t always the best option, especially if your friend is resorting to using credit to pay for living costs.

This doesn’t mean that there’s no way out of this situation as there are many different debt solutions available that don’t involve taking out any further credit, and can help your friend deal with their debts and work towards becoming debt free.

It’s common for debt repayments to be so expensive that they are the main reason for spiralling debt. If the repayments are so high that further credit is to cover shortfalls in other areas, is one of the main danger signs of a debt problem.

I’d recommend that your friends get some expert debt advice from us. You could start by using our anonymous Debt Remedy tool at www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy and enter details about income, debts, living costs and situation and we’ll recommend the best way for your friend to deal with their debts.

Your friend could also call us, or you can call with their permission but we’ll need to talk to them first if that’s possible. You can find out more by visiting www.stepchange.org/Contactus.

I hope this helps,

Rory

123montysweets

Hi, I received a letter for HMRC27.10.15 stating that myself and my partner (separated in Sept 09) had been overpaid working and child tax credit in 2004 to 2005. I was completely unaware of this before receiving this letter. My ex has also received same letter. He tried to appeal but they said he couldn't.
It has now been handed to debt collection agency.
In the letter they state that they have written before but they haven't. Are they allowed to do this. I am heavily in debt and cannot afford to pay £3201.35 that is the half of the overall overpayment they say they made.
I always filled in tax credit forms with information from payslips and P60.s completely accurately and honestly so have no idea why they overpaid in the first place, if in fact they did.
I still receive tax credit as a single parent for my son who lives at home with me.
Please help. What can I do?