Credit card consolidation - are my sums right?

kiwicola

Thanks all for the replies so far, a couple of things that might help:

The loan has already been approved at 9.9%, it's not a secured loan either, they're just waiting for me to upload a signed agreement.

I don't have any more savings and won't be able to start saving again until September, roughly £500 a month.

The Barclaycard was originally a balance transfer card which I then maxed out over a fairly short period of time, but this was over four years ago and not a single transaction has been spent on credit cards (I haven't had the cards for three years). I'm have considered a balance transfer card but am unlikely to get one that will cover even the Barclaycard balance, let alone the other two as well.

I have a spreadsheet that shows me that throwing £420 a month at the cards doesn't reduce the interest by as much as paying them all off using the loan, but I'd like to make a decision on this by the end of the weekend as the approval will likely expire soon.

I have no other debts and cannot make a change to the approved £15000 even though I actually want to consolidate £13000 worth of loans (hence the overpayment).

Any advice is greatfully received

Caz3121

kiwicola wrote: »

I'm have considered a balance transfer card but am unlikely to get one that will cover even the Barclaycard balance, let alone the other two as well.

but any amount at 0% would be better than at 9.9%

Candyapple

I would definitely see if I was eligible for a balance transfer first to move some of the debt over to 0% before agreeing to a loan at 9.9%.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards

MBNA and Virgin both tend to give high credit limits. You don't even have to pay a fee, you could opt for the no fee 0% deals if money is really tight.

Also, have you tried calling Barclaycard and asking them to reduce your rate? I remember reading lots of threads about this a few years ago where they used to reduce it to 9%.

Edit: here is an example:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5308285

kiwicola

I've just phoned Barclaycard and they've agreed to waive the interest on my balance for the next two months - that's a start, hooray!

Thank you Candyapple for the suggestion

enthusiasticsaver

That is a good start to get Barclaycard to waive the interest.

I personally would aim to clear that Amex platinum over the next few months as that is relatively low and doable over 2 or 3 months and try and move the Halifax or part of the Barclaycard to a 0% card.

As candy apple says some lenders will do large limits like Virgin but moving any of that debt at 18% or 19% is worth doing. I personally would not go for the loan at this moment purely because you are signing up for £2000 interest and I think there is a better way of clearing it by using the £480 rather than £355 and maybe not focusing so much on the savings until you have the cards on 0%.

kiwicola

That's a great idea about the Amex card, it's been hanging around me like a bad smell for about two years now and I want it gone.

Once I'm back to the standard rate on Barclaycard after the next couple of months I'll phone again and try my luck for getting the rate down.

I did go through a soft check for a balance transfer card with MBNA but didn't go through with it because they stated in their terms that they won't necessarily honour the limit you've asked for (which I do understand).

The loan is starting to feel less and less like a good idea - I haven't signed anything so far!

YorkshireBoy

kiwicola wrote: »

I've just phoned Barclaycard and they've agreed to waive the interest on my balance for the next two months - that's a start, hooray!

You should check that they don't mark your CRA file with an arrangement to pay (AP) marker. If they do, you may have to say goodbye to your 9.9% APR loan or 0% credit cards for the foreseeable future.

kiwicola

I did ask on the phone if it would have any effect on my credit score and I was assured it wouldn't; but still I'll give them another call tomorrow just to confirm. I check my bank balances and my credit score almost daily now, it seems!

Alexd52

kiwicola wrote: »

I did ask on the phone if it would have any effect on my credit score and I was assured it wouldn't; but still I'll give them another call tomorrow just to confirm. I check my bank balances and my credit score almost daily now, it seems!

Your credit score is irrelevant, only you see it. What is important is that your credit file shows how you manage debt, and that is the information that lenders see.

kiwicola

A funny story, I phoned Barclaycard yesterday morning to confirm that they weren't going to set me up on a 'payment plan' or 'arrangement to pay', or anything else that would affect my credit score, and instead the lady on the phone offered me three, not two months of waived interest charges, hooray!