Should we start DMP or contact Barclaycard for payment solution?

SpagBol

Hello all,

We've been slogging at our mammoth debt for a few years but things have become silly, DH was made redundant last year and we had a baby, tried to sell our house but can't due to credit cards:mad:

Anyway our payments to CCs each month are about £750: consisting of £300 to 3 cards that charge 1% payments and about £450 to our two Barclaycards that each take 2.25% payments!

Our only remaining options are a DMP which worries me as to the impact on our credit rating, ability to remortgage (for new fixed rate, never for more money!!) or move (to release equity) in the next 6 years.

Could we approach Barclaycard direct to pay them reduced sum per month until I go back to work? DH gets commission which we could use to overpay but it isn't guaranteed and with a few poor months we are really stretched. We need to get something in place...should we call BC or would it flag our situation to them and actually it would just be better to call Stepwise? I have been through the online help with them and asked for the application pack.

Most of the CC debt we have is 0% but some of those deals will be up in a few months and I just want it to end. It is really negatively impacting on life and whilst I'm happy to work hard we are just flogging dead proverbials and getting nowhere If we an pay less per month and overpay as we get money in and after I go back to work I'd like to avoid a DMP.

Please help

sourcrates

As long as you are making minimum payments, creditors are "not too keen" on payment arrangements, there is never any harm in asking, but any arrangement they offer will not be as beneficial to you, as if, say, your debt was with a DCA.


No harm in trying though.

SpagBol

Maybe I'll look a the payment solutions BC website and if it cant help call stepchange on Monday. Thanks

SpagBol

If they let us have reduced payments and/or frozen interest would that affect our credit rating as if we had gone for the DMP?

eyeopener2

Yes as its an arrangement to pay. You have broken the terms of your agreement. So it's the same as a DMP really.

Barclaycard are intransigent !!!!!!s and difficult to deal with but if your struggling, it's not going to get any better so it's worth having a chat in the first instance to see what, if anything, they will do.

SpagBol

Thanks Eyeopener, feel so stupid for not just doing a dmp years ago now. I'm going to really research it and contact stepchange on Monday.

Monkeyballs

Hi Spagbol,

I've never met anyone on a DMP who hasn't said they wished they'd done it years ago LOL hindsight eh?

It's not unheard of for BC to agree to a short term repayment plan but I think you need to be careful to not fixate on a single creditor as it sounds like (if you excuse me for saying) you're bottling up problems for later... From what you've said above, around the Christmas time handily enough

You can always call Step Change (not Stepwise whom I believe are a dance class in Leeds, or used to be LOL) and run it past them... You don't have to follow their advice but they talk a lot of sense it's often easier to take advice on board while talking it through.

Good luck!

MB

GettingOrganised

If you only need to make reduced payments for a short time, I would opt for contacting Barclaycard before making a formal DMP.

My largest debt is with Barclaycard and so far I have found them to be OK to deal with.

SpagBol

Monkeyballs wrote: »

Hi Spagbol,

I've never met anyone on a DMP who hasn't said they wished they'd done it years ago LOL hindsight eh?

It's not unheard of for BC to agree to a short term repayment plan but I think you need to be careful to not fixate on a single creditor as it sounds like (if you excuse me for saying) you're bottling up problems for later... From what you've said above, around the Christmas time handily enough

You can always call Step Change (not Stepwise whom I believe are a dance class in Leeds, or used to be LOL) and run it past them... You don't have to follow their advice but they talk a lot of sense it's often easier to take advice on board while talking it through.

Good luck!

MB

Lol at the dance school, they'd probably have a better way of sorting out this mess than I do :rotfl: Yes I am a bit fixated with BC because that £18k is costing us so much in monthly payments (2.25%) and I'm on maternity leave. If that £18k were on 1% payments it would all be more manageable (but still awful!) and we could get by until I go back to work. And after Christmas

GettingOrganised wrote: »

If you only need to make reduced payments for a short time, I would opt for contacting Barclaycard before making a formal DMP.

My largest debt is with Barclaycard and so far I have found them to be OK to deal with.

We have about £25k of non-BC debt though so if we are going to default (credit rating affected) we may as well do it in spectacular style!