Why am I 0% eligible for ALL balance transfer CCs?

Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe

Just punched in my numbers.

Every. SIngle. Card. Is 0% eligible.

My credit score is 750 if that matters.

I haven't defaulted on a card in years or had any missed or late payments.

I'm not on the electoral roll yet even though I registered for that on 09.01.19.

I owe 20k on unsecured credit cards and I'm thinking about just going **** it and going bankrupt. They won't lend to me now so it's not as if it will change my circumstances.

Why are they ALL 0%? Even on other cards it says 0% except for the bad card section it says 95% for some Chrome card and Agua.

boo_star

So when you say you avent defaulted in years does that mean you have one or more defaults on your credit files?

If so that's a pretty good way to trash your chances.

BoGoF

750 score - meaningless

Not on the electoral roll - not good

20k unsecured debt - not good.

What is your income?

Craig1981

as per your other post, you running 9 credit cards with a total outstanding of £19k paying minimum amounts.
Lenders dont see your made up score, but will see 9 cards with minimum payments being made, this would be the reason nobody else will lend to you

going bankrupt? - not so simple as it sounds - i would research a little more - with minimum payments gone, and your surplus income you say is already at £500, gives you around £1k surplus - you will be entered into an IPA for a maximum of three years

Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe

Sorry I made a typo with this line "I haven't defaulted on a card in years or had any missed or late payments."

I have never defaulted on a debt. I did have a run in with Natwest 6 years ago when they charged my 12 x 2 for missed and late payment fees for 3 months on a 12p CC balance that I thought paid off in full and they refused to reimburse me any the fees 3 months later when the balance was 72 quid.

[Deleted User]

It looks to be straight forward affordability.

You're going to need to either increase your income or reduce your debt.

Visit the DFW boards for support.

BoGoF

On your orher post you were advised to use your disposable income to clear your highest APR card (Marbles). This was 2 and a half months ago - you could have almost have cleared this card - have you made any dent in the £900?

Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe

I haven't made any inroads on the Marbles for a few reasons. 1) Cap 1 & Halifax increased my minimum payments to a much bigger amount than before and my Tesco cc 0% ended.

The £500 disposbale income I had has shrunk to £250 and in a panic I lost that and maxed out all 9 of my cards gambling chasing my losses. I'm a recovering gambling addict. I banned myself through GAMSTOP for 5 years from all UK online gambling. Hance the reason why I'm just thinking about saying **** it.

Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe

It's gonna take me 100 years to pay these cards off with no balance transfer options. I earn £17k a year.

[Deleted User]

Pop along to the DFW board and they can talk you through your options, including bankruptcy if that's a suitable option.

Don80

Alfredos_Pizza_Cafe wrote: »

I haven't made any inroads on the Marbles for a few reasons. 1) Cap 1 & Halifax increased my minimum payments to a much bigger amount than before and my Tesco cc 0% ended.

The £500 disposbale income I had has shrunk to £250 and in a panic I lost that and maxed out all 9 of my cards gambling chasing my losses. I'm a recovering gambling addict. I banned myself through GAMSTOP for 5 years from all UK online gambling. Hance the reason why I'm just thinking about saying **** it.

Hi

I sort of know what you are going through, I have a friend who is also a recovering gambling addict so I have seen how hard things were for him. I also had a problem with debt and paying off cards years ago. You don't need to say **** it. Understanding what's happening, and how to deal with it is the key.

Firstly, the Capital 1 and Halifax rise is probably because your accounts are now in "persistent debt", which means that you are paying more in interest and charges than you are paying back what you borrowed. Card issuers do this because they're trying to help you pay it off - they don't know your individual situation. For many people it is helpful.

There is a way, but it will ruin your credit file for a few years AFTER you have paid everything off (or paid the vast majority). But, it also eliminates the worry and stress and gets everything paid off. If you owe 20K, and have disposable income of £500 you can have this sorted in less than 4 years. :j Going bankrupt has much longer term consequences, if you apply for certain things later you may be asked if you have ever been bankrupt. You don't want to have to say yes!

Firstly work out your income and expenditure in minute detail. This is the difficult part, but it's vital. Account for every penny - but exclude card payments for now. You need to know how much you need for rent, food, bills, council tax, clothes etc. What's left is your real disposable income. Is that really £500?

Open a bank account with a bank you have no relationship with. For example, Halifax is a Bank of Scotland trading name, and BoS is part of the Lloyds Banking Group - so you don't want Lloyds, Halifax or Bos. It may be that you can only open a basic account (check out Nationwide - they at least give you a contactless card with their basic account). For now, you will just have to live with that. Use the current account switch service if possible to move everything over. The reason for this is that banks can offset your debt against any money you hold in any other account with them, or in their group. It's rare that they would actually do it, but they can. By moving/opening an account elsewhere you're ensuring that they cannot do that. If you do not have any debt with your current bank, skip this.

Once that account is open (or if you don't need to do that) write down your current balances on all your cards. Then, add that up to get the accurate total owed as well. For each account, use the formula:
Account balance divided by total debt, multiplied by disposable income.

That will give you a pro-rata amount to pay to each card so that they are all paid off at the same time.

Write to each card issuer, enclose a copy of your income and expenditure, and a note of all your cards, who they are with, and the balances. Explain you have used that formula to calculate a pro-rata offer. Ask them to freeze all interest and charges and to accept the pro-rata offer of payment. I never had a problem with a bank agreeing to this. Two reasons, you're being honest and fair with your proposals, and also because if they took you to court that's how they would work it out! (at least that is what National Debtline told me when they explained this to me) All my creditors at the time agreed - but make sure you get it in writing.

What this should result in, is all your card accounts being defaulted, so you won't be able to spend any more on them (that's the bit that hurts your credit file, but in a way stops your situation getting any worse). It will also make it very hard to take out new credit as that would show on your credit file too. But it also means every penny you pay reduces your debt. Goodbye interest and charges :-)

If your disposable income is £500 that would mean you pay off all the debt in 40 months. You may find that 3 years in you may be able to get new cards, but please be aware that if you borrow you're just going to be paying out more money each month - so use the cards wisely. When you have paid it all off, using a card sensibly will rebuild your credit.

I did that, now I have decent cards which I use sensibly, and I'm actually saving every month. Don't give up, don't say **** it, take control and things will get better. 4 years seems a long time now, I know, I've been there. But looking back, I learned a lesson, and now I'm in control. That can be your story too

As others have said, check the DFW boards - you're far from alone.