Credit Card help - in regards to upcoming maternity leave

star1984

Morning all,
Hope everyone is staying safe in these crazy times..
I was looking for advice really.. I'm due to go on maternity in July - my full pay will pay out until October when my last payment of my loan goes out. From October onwards I'm on SMP, has anyone contacted credit card companies and successfully been able to reduce minimum payments just whilst on maternity?
Thanks in advance

sparelogin

Yes, but it'll be a big hit on your credit file. If you needed an arrangement for more than a couple of months, you would be better off defaulting.

star1984

sparelogin said:

Yes, but it'll be a big hit on your credit file. If you needed an arrangement for more than a couple of months, you would be better off defaulting.

Oh right, something to think about - thank you for replying..

[Deleted User]

Remember it will be 6 years on your record if you default, you should pay the minimum at the least. How much debt is left, what interest is being charged? You may need to go to the debt free pages for help if you're about to have a kid and can't afford even the minimum card payments as well as the loan. Maybe your friends and relatives who you have lent money to could be pushed to pay you back now?

star1984

Deleted_User said:

Remember it will be 6 years on your record if you default, you should pay the minimum at the least. How much debt is left, what interest is being charged? You may need to go to the debt free pages for help if you're about to have a kid and can't afford even the minimum card payments as well as the loan. Maybe your friends and relatives who you have lent money to could be pushed to pay you back now?

Thank you, it's manageable but wanted to give myself some leeway..
The friend is a lost cause for giving it back - loss of a friendship and a very valuable lesson.

cheeky-peach

Have you had a look into returning back to work after the full pay ends and how much childcare costs? Not idea but sometimes it does work out better. I couldn't survive on SMP but returning the work and paying childcare was fine.

enthusiasticsaver

As others have said if you cannot meet minimums then you will have defaults on your credit file even if you make an arrangement with them. How much credit card debt do you have? I would post an soa (statement of account) on the DFW forum. One thing many people do is to see if they can live on the SMP they get in maternity leave and save the rest of your pay while you are still getting 90% or whatever you get. You also have four months until July so can save up as much as possible while still getting full pay. Is your partner going to help out while you are getting reduced income?