Oh My God, Amex Just Killed Me

Robflh

Hi Chia
You are not being harsh at all and as I have suffered from depression all my adult life, I have worked while suffering from depression and anxiety. They are things that it is possible to manage on a daily bases.

Unfortunately, when I lost the job I had over twelve years ago, I also had a nervous breakdown but I tried to carry on as though nothing had happened and that is like running with a broken leg, I did far more harm to myself then I did good.

If you sat down on a chair with your feet on a stool and someone put large bricks on your legs, eventually one or both of your legs will brake. Too much stress and strain over a period of time and a brain will break.

For the last couple of years I had that job, I had a manager that was a very nasty piece of work. He made the work life of everyone under him very stressful and as I was the one that stood up to him, he made it is mission in life to get me fired, which he eventually succeeded in doing. That was a large amount of stress for a long time and loosing the job and the fear of loosing my home was as they say, the straw that broke the camel’s back.

A part time job would result in the loss of my Incapacity Benefit. It is one of the catch 22 things, which stop me from doing something to help myself.

As long as you are working, you are effectively contributing money to society (taxes) and therefore society owes you.

Before I bought my home, I had a council flat. For the last three years I had that flat the rent increased by twice the amount my wages increased by. If my salary increased by £20 a month the rent increased by £40 and then I would have to find money to pay for the increase in everything else, food, gas, electric and so on.

I was dreading the next year’s increases and I was running out of ways to reduce my budget so that I would be able to pay for the increases.

Then I had an opportunity to buy my own house. It cost £41,000 and because of other things, I only needed to have a mortgage for £27,000. I was then paying less in a mortgage for a three bedroom semi-detached house, then I was paying in rent for a two bedroom flat. On top of that, I had two rooms I could let out, which would be an extra £200 a month.

Even now, I would be paying a lot more in rent then I am for a mortgage, true I would have paid off the mortgage, the debt and have a lot of money in the bank. I would then have too much money to claim Incapacity Benefit and as I would be renting my home, I would not be able to claim housing benefit either. That would be a loss of income from two lodgers, Incapacity benefit, and mortgage relief payments. Therefore, I would be debt free but that money would not last very long and I will not have been able to build up a nest egg for my retirement.

If I had known how much of my time would have been taken up by doing this, I would never have started this thread.

yellowmonkey

Hi

I for one am glad that you started this thread. I have read from day 1 the turns in this thread and i think you knew what you wanted to do from the start. Go for it because from what i have read you do not take to advice kindly. We are only trying to help you. We all have our crosses to bear.

Good luck.

ym

Robflh

Hi yellowmonkey
I am also glad I started this thread but I honestly did not realise just how much work would be evolved in doing it.

Yes, I have always known what I want to do but I have had an obstacle put in my way and it is now a question of being able to find away round that obstacle. If I cannot then I will have to sell the house before it is finished off but not before is has been made presentable.

Being presentable will be far less then the wow factor it would have had and that means I will not get the best price for it.

I have listened to everyone’s advice but just because I do not follow that advice, it does not mean I have ignored it and I have always tried to explain why I would prefer not to do this or that.

What I have also done, is to list everyone’s advice as options A, B, C, and so on. Then I can work my way through them one by one, starting with the one that will give me the best possibility of reaching my original goal, a loan/re mortgage from my bank.

Some people will think that their advice/option should come higher up the list but at the end of the day, it is a decision that can only be made by me

yellowmonkey

And there i rest my case

Good luck and (Honestly) all the best

ym

nicola1982_2

How did you get an Amex platinum? The conditions state you must be earning at least £20,000. It will be no wonder they have removed your facility you aren't even eligible for the card in the first place from what I can work out. Your income is less than mine and my annual isn't £20k. Therefore there is little point appealing to Amex as a mistake has clearly happened somewhere down the line.

I have had Amex remove credit facility and I can meet repayments no problem, have a partner so all bills are shared and am still paying the repayment that exceeds the minimum even if the card was maxed. I checked my credit file and there was nothing wrong - it's just a fact of life. No I'm expecting in January at which point I will struggle with payment and what I intend to do it to contact creditors and set up reduced payments until I'm back in work.

I think you should do the same and work on renovating by putting money aside each month. Relying on credit is too scary and I'm sorry but I think it will make your depression worse.

Robflh

Hi nicola1982
I did not apply for an Amex Platinum card. As far as I can remember, I applied for a standard card. They were the ones to give me a GOLD card, which within weeks of having they upgraded to a PLATINUM card.

The limit they gave me may have been a mistake but I have never defaulted on my payments, or have or would have used it knowing I would not be able to make at least the minimum payment.

Like many other people, I have always managed my cards extremely well but other people have not. Many others and I object to being punished for their mistakes, when we have been loyal customers and have done nothing wrong.

I understand why they have reduced by limit but I do not have to be happy about it. If they had done it a couple of years ago or in a couple of years time, it would have made no difference to me but they could not have picked a worse time if they had tried.

No, they did not know what I was going to do with that money but once they did, I would have expected them to do something to help their customer out of the mess they had put them in. Instead, they basically stuck two finger up at me.

Please read or reread Post 26 Paragraph 11 (Now let us roll the clock back)

It took three years to get rid of the loan and by that time the credit card/s had around £6,000 on them. The loan was one of the reasons I started to use credit cards, before that I would only buy what I could afford to pay for with cash. Large purchases were paid for with a loan, which would mean a fixed amount each month for a fixed number of months.

Unless you have absolutely no choice, do not go to your creditors. This will ruin your credit report and possible your partners credit report as well. Start a thread in the Credit card form or this forum and post your SOA. There are plenty of people that have been in the same situation as you. They can give you helpful advice on how to cut down your budget.

Do not dismiss your credit card so quickly. Using the example in post 26 and post 40 paragraph 5 (My first LBM), buy everything you can with your credit card, food, petrol, car insurance and so on. Then use the cash you would have paid for those items to pay at least the minimum payment each month. Remember, the outstanding balance will increase during this time and so will the minimum amount you have to pay.

Once you are back in full time employment, you can again start to reduce your debt and eventually become debt free. This way you will not have ruined your credit rating and yes it is scary living off the credit cards but it will give you a temporary buffer, which will cover expenses that will occur from now and until you are back at work.

Believe me when I say this, having that buffer and knowing that what ever happens, you will have the money to pay for it, is far less stressful then worrying about where or how you are going to find the money to pay for it.

Ps. if it is a boy, Robert is a fantastic name.

yellowmonkey

Do not dismiss your credit card so quickly. Using the example in post 26 and post 40 paragraph 5 (My first LBM), buy everything you can with your credit card, food, petrol, car insurance and so on. Then use the cash you would have paid for those items to pay at least the minimum payment each month. Remember, the outstanding balance will increase during this time and so will the minimum amount you have to pay.

Once you are back in full time employment, you can again start to reduce your debt and eventually become debt free. This way you will not have ruined your credit rating and yes it is scary living off the credit cards but it will give you a temporary buffer, which will cover expenses that will occur from now and until you are back at work.

Need to butt in again here i'm afraid. I have been in full time employment since i left school(1979,Long time i know). This is exactly what has got me into the debt i am now in. Minimum payments. Sounds good but you will never pay the debt off with Minimum payments. As robflh States the balance will increase. Tempory buffers do not work. Credit cards should be renamed debt cards.

ym

blackangeluk

Robflh wrote: »

Do not dismiss your credit card so quickly. Using the example in post 26 and post 40 paragraph 5 (My first LBM), buy everything you can with your credit card, food, petrol, car insurance and so on. Then use the cash you would have paid for those items to pay at least the minimum payment each month. Remember, the outstanding balance will increase during this time and so will the minimum amount you have to pay.

Once you are back in full time employment, you can again start to reduce your debt and eventually become debt free. This way you will not have ruined your credit rating and yes it is scary living off the credit cards but it will give you a temporary buffer, which will cover expenses that will occur from now and until you are back at work.

Believe me when I say this, having that buffer and knowing that what ever happens, you will have the money to pay for it, is far less stressful then worrying about where or how you are going to find the money to pay for itquote]

I have followed this thread with interest but I think your advice here goes against the grain of this board. The majority of people on this board are in debt due to spending on credit cards - you are (as far as I understand it) endorsing spending on credit cards and paying the minimum amount during a "sticky" period? From experience, once you have used the credit cards to pay for things it is very, very hard to reduce the debt and become debt free, even when financial circumstances change. Surely the most sensible thing would be to contact creditors in advance and explain about the problem as Nicola is doing. As she says "relying on credit is too scary" and she is being proactive about the situation. She has a baby on the way and is no doubt aware that her outgoings will increase in any event, and a higher minimum payment on her card is not going to help her long term. Credit is not an answer to problems, in my experience it is the start of them- I think my signature supports that theory (that and bad money skills on my behalf!)Just my opinion......

yellowmonkey

Robflh wrote: »

Like many other people, I have always managed my cards extremely well but other people have not. Many others and I object to being punished for their mistakes, when we have been loyal customers and have done nothing wrong.

As you write such long posts i have only just noticed this statement. Why come onto a forum with people with debt problems maybe caused by credit cards when you look down on us as causing your problem. Stop blaming eveyone else and look closer to home. Sorry that is harsh but i have read this thread from the start and since then everything that has been posted has reinforced my initial thought. I will not be visiting this thread again as i feel quite wound up and i hope that something will hit home and you will listen to the advice given. Wound up i may be but i wish you the best and hope you achieve your goal and you have a long and debt free future.

By the way i was never behind with my CC payments but i dont feel the same way about the unfortunate people who cannot manage with their difficulty's.

Goodbye

saffronflowers

Sorry I like the two posters above have to say that your advice regarding spending on credit cards is in all honesyt TOSH.

That is very damaging advice please be careful.

SFx