Credit Card Fees

Alterchatter

I need some advice regarding a credit card my mom and i had a joint account on.
We took it up 5+ years ago with capital one - neither or us made much money but they still gave us cards with a £200 limit on it.

I - stupidly - spent the £200 and every month we made the absolute minimum payment on the card but one month my mother never paid it on time and we had a 25-30£ fee on top.
Despite telling them that we were having problems paying and they saw we couldnt make the payments monthly they still continued to keep the account active.

After that it spiraled out of control - we never used the card after that but the fee's + 200 limit hit over £600 and that is when they finally decided to close the account!

At this time, i had a very low paying job and my mum makes next to nothing as a carer for my gran and grandpa.
We did try to compromise with them - i told them that i could pay the £200 back in £50 installments per month but i couldnt afford any more than that but they refused point blank! They requested at least £400 and more than £50.

I have not heard from them for about a year now but soon i will be looking for a new house and mortgage with my fiance and i want to clear any debts - i dont want to contact them incase they start pressuring me again to pay all the fees back.

is there anything i can do - i think there is only 2 years left of the debt before it hits 7 years and its cleared (so i have been told) but i know they will give it one last shot to get their money back

CLAPTON

Its not possible to have a joint account on a credit card. One person has to be the primary holder who is solely responsible for paying the debt and the other person is the additional holder who has no legal responsibily for the debt.

So you need to establish who actually owns the card, yourself or your mother.

The account has probably been defaulted. If you owe the debt then its probably on your credit record as a defaulted account which will adversly affect your credit rating.
If you want to get a mortgage soon its probably best to get a copy of your credit records and see what they say.

If the balance is mainly made up of charges then you can start reclaiming them.


The debt becomes statute barred only if you have paid nothing for six years. Its unclear from your post when you/your mother last paid anything to them or otherwise acknowledged the debt.

Alterchatter

The main account holder was under my mums name - i was a second member on the card.
We paid (well i paid) regular payments for a few months and we did attempt to pay some fees on the card but it was just too much for us - they were going up by 20-30 each time and i was just turned 18 and making little money and my mum is just a carer for my gran and grandpa and on a carers allowance of £80 per week and a couple of benefits

The card was taken out in early 2002 and by mid 2002 was when we began having trouble paying it.

We did contact them when we received a notice for payment to try and arrange something to pay it but they demanded more money than what we could afford and subsequently we couldnt pay it.
I wil see if i can get a credit report to find out if anything has affected the status yet. other than that i have been debt free beside the occasional overdraft but never been in debt over one.

Alterchatter

A question just crossed my mind here!
I will be getting a credit report when payday comes (is there any ones which are the best and not too expensive)
but i am all fine for paying the 200£ back in installments but they will try and get the fees from me as well but will i have to pay the fees then try and re-claim them or can i refuse to pay these?
I should be able to clear the limit in 2 payments of £100 but i really cant afford anymore than that - i am making just over minimum wage and i have rent and bills to pay off - 100 is max per month i can pay and i really cant afford over 200.

also, if they have "defaulted" the account - nothing has been paid for 3-4 years would it be both people on the account - my mum being the main account holder or will it just be the main holder and is there any way it can be reversed if we can clear this?
It is mainly my debt and i hold my hands up to it and i do want to clear it just to get rid of anything i owe. - but i did pay as much as i could but i was just turned 18 and earning pennies. As i said before, i dont have any debts which i have incurred.

MarkyMarkD

They can only default the main account holder - your mum. Additional cardholders are not liable for the debt in any way, shape or form.

So as long as your mum has nothing to do with your new mortgage, you should be AOK for that.

But you ought to pay off the debt as otherwise your mum will have an unsettled default against her which might be a pain for quite a while to come.

Alterchatter

Thanks markymarkd
I am all up for paying it - my mum does have a few debts to her name but i would rather have a clear concience with this one which i have incurred lol.

do i have to pay the full outstanding amount or can i get away with just paying the limit - 450 is fees and it is really 200 which i owe. we have tried to pay some in the past but due to circumstances it got out of hand.

MarkyMarkD

Unless you pay at least the equivalent of £12 per default fee (the more recently defined limit in what is deemed "reasonable", I can't see the card company removing the default.

But it's worth asking the question. I would certainly mention the £12 limit and ask them for a recalculated amount to clear the debt with the condition that they remove the default and mark the debt as settled.

It still won't leave your Mum's record perfect, but a settled default is a lot better than an outstanding one IMHO.

CLAPTON

Firstly get copies of your credit records ... there are three credit agencies and the 'statutory' record cost £2 per agency .. don't pay more.

It may make sense for your mother to get copies of hers so she knows exactly whats there... all the better if you need to negotiate with them.

the agencies are:


http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/index.html

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/sitepage.ehtml?forward=gb_elearning_credit14


http://www.callcredit.co.uk/consumer/order-your-report

I would do nothing until you get those copies.

secondly: legally you dont owe any money although your mother does.

I think its going to be very very difficult to get them to agree to 200 so think very carefully before contacting them.

Read up about how to reclaim charges before contacting them too so you are better prepared.

And remember that legally its you mothers debt so if there is a lot of hassle a lot will fall on her... is she happy with what you are proposing to do?

MarkyMarkD

"before contacting them" - note of course that the lender won't talk to the OP, as it's not her debt. They will insist on speaking to the mother unless the mother authorises her daughter to resolve matters.

Alterchatter

Thank you i have been discussing this with my mother, i do not mind paying i.e. 12£ per default fee as well as the limit but i will be getting the credit reports etc and begin reading up on claiming back money if i can but not that bothered just as long as this debt is cleared - just dont want to fork out the whole fee lol.

thanks for the advice xxx