Need credit cards and/or loans that'll accept someone with nothing...

Thenotsowyzewun

Whilst I haven't been able to login (I forgot my password, again!) I've been reading everyone's posts and am grateful for the positive contributions people have made (not so much the flames, but everyone's allowed their own opinion and perhaps me wanting to get my life back to normal is not quite christian enough for everyone here), I'll be seeing my "fiend" (freudian slip? you ask) tomorrow so I'll suggest to him that he ensures he is getting all the benefits he is entitled to, also I looked on their website and we have a local CAB so we'll go down there if we get time (I've got college tomorrow!) I'm still interested in finding a way to offload this debt though, my own bank account is -£460 today and although I've been thinking of things I can sell which will cover this, why should I have to sell my stuff because somebody else owes me money (it's not even like I willingly gave him the money, I told him quite explicitedly there were 120 minutes and that any minutes beyond that were expensive, and that he would have to pay for them).

Anyway my Fiance's here so what am I doing on the Internet!

Galstonian

Without getting into what may or may not be 'Christian' you need to ensure your 'friend' is not in a potision to take advantage of you again:
- I assume you have the Sim card back or that it is cancelled.
- Do not give any assistance that makes you liable for any more debt.

If your 'friend' is still a friend then he is digging a big hole for himself. Getting more credit to pay off his debts is simply handing him a bigger shovel. CAB is an excellent idea as are many other organisations who can specifically help with homlessness and/or debts, CAB will be able to advise more for your local area.

You say you do not want to pay off his debts which is understandable, the question I would ask is does he want to pay them off for you? If so you are faced with two choices, he agrees to pay them off (and interest) and you have to trust him to do so over a fairly long period of time, meanwhile your credit rating may be shattered. Alternatively he needs to take legal responsibility for the debt - this is what you were attempting with the credit cards but this is making a noose for your friend. If he cannot pay off credit card debt it will attract horrible interest rates and he will not be able to pay. He needs to find a means of borrowing which he can manage and, to put it bluntly, there isn't one unless he has an income or a generous benefactor. You do not mention anything about him having a job. Benefits do not include an allowance for hundreds of pounds of debt. Helping him get a job is perhaps the best advice posted but if he could approach any other friends or his family it would certainly help you.

The only additional advice I can think of is that you yourself apply for a credit card with a 0% introductory offer and transfer your debt to that. At least that way interest would not be getting charged for a time which would help both you and your friend. The debt would still be in your name and you would still be legally liable but that is no different to the current situation. I do not know if your circumstances would make this option possible.

I hope you have learned something from all this, your username certainly implies that you have.

As this forum is specifically meant for credit cards and I'm afraid that credit cards quite simply are not the answers to your problems I think it would be better if you posted on other forums (debt free wannabee, benefits etc..)

Hope this helps.

Malestrom

This was originally posted on the Debt-Free Wannabe board but was moved here by a mod. Maybe 'Anything Else' would have been better but its a bit of a difficult topic to place really....

Thenotsowyzewun

We still haven't been to the CAB but maybe we'll get down there today (I was meant to see him on Monday (yesterday just about) but that didn't happen so I'm seeing him today instead).
I haven't taken the sim off him yet, but I will today (and I'm even giving him a T-Mobile PAYG sim with £10 credit that I got free via this site (the offer from T-Mobile for Celtic fans at Xmas)).
He's talking about getting a job in a pub and moving back home (which hopefully he can do as long as he can satisfy his parents that he is sorting his life out), and I've decided to hold onto most of the debt for him (he currently owes me £1040 but hopefully this figure will be reduced to £750 by:
selling his System of a Down ticket for £30
him giving me what's left of his credit limit on his Capital One card (£100 hopefully)
and £150+ from selling the 450mhz laptop he's giving me tomorrow
That at least should also put my bank balance up to -£180, -£70 on Friday when I get paid and back to normal once I've borrowed some money off my Fiance and sold some stuff.

Thanks everyone for your advice, I do see that making him take out loans/credit cards to shift the debt off of me is going to prove more expensive for him, but I have decided that since I will soon be out of debt if he moves back home and gets full-time steady employment. However if he continues to prove to be unable to raise any money I am going to further pursue getting him a loan so I don't have to worry about seeing the money again.

And by the way my name has more to do with me forgetting my password (to Thewyzewun) although admittedly I don't feel very wyze lately.

daveboy

Thenotsowyzewun wrote:

I haven't taken the sim off him yet.

So he runs up a huge bill and you didn't take it off him immediately?

Maybe I'm the only one who thinks, whilst you didn't actually make the bill, that you could have done more to avoid it. If you haven't even taken the SIM off him, then you can't be that concerned because that's the first thing anyone else would have done.

mrcow

Thenotsowyzewun wrote:

He's talking about getting a job in a pub and moving back home (which hopefully he can do as long as he can satisfy his parents that he is sorting his life out)

In which case I'd say that you need to get in quick and agree some sort of regular repayment arrangement with him. If he's getting a job in a pub, it's more than likely to be cash in hand (or am I wrong?) and from what you've described about your friend, he's not the most reliable person, so you need to ensure that he knows that you are serious about getting all your money back.

Keep the pressure on him to pay you back regularly. I still don't think getting him to sign his life away is the real answer though as you'll be adding unsurmountable problems to someone who sounds like they've already messed up royally. Have a look around the boards and you'll see people who have struggled unsuccessfully for years to get expensive credit card debt under control. It's a spiral I'd always advise anyone to try and avoid if there is any other way.

Good luck, and yes....please get the SIM card back. He obviously need to stay well away from contract mobile phones.

Galstonian

I don't want to get heavy handed and close the thread but, if any further posts have nothing to do with credit cards, I will.