Balance transfer advice?

Jiggysaw1111

Ive been using balance transfers with zero interest to shift my debt for years to keep the interest down between various credit cards. All of a sudden there has not been an offer in 3 months and im very worried. I never miss payments and nothings changed but without these balance transfers im totally doomed. Ive had debt for years and will never get out of it. 
What i want to know is is there any logical reason they have dried up? I have called a couple and they just said for now the offers have gone but could appear at any time. That isnt much use.
I would apply for new cards with the offers but im not working at moment and would assume id have no chance of getting one. Would this be the case?

Ebe_Scrooge

Balance transfers - well, credit in general - has become harder to obtain in the past year as banks tighten their belts and reduce their exposure, due to Covid.  Add in the fact that you're not working, and it's no surprise that there are no offers for you.

Borrowing your way out of debt is never a long-term solution - you're not getting rid of the debt, only shifting it around.  You need to forget about transferring it, and set about tackling it head-on.  It may seem a daunting task, but it's eminently doable if you're disciplined and willing to make a few sacrifices.

The Debt-Free Wannabe board on this site will offer a lot of helpful advice.  But if you really are in severe difficulties, then one of the debt charities like Stepchange may be a good call - they are experts in such things, and will be able to guide you through your options.

Jiggysaw1111

Ive hardly worked in last 6 years. No fault of my own just cant get a job. The credit card companies have never asked about my work situations and got flyers in every month. I just hope to hell the offers start appearing again. 

eskbanker

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Ive hardly worked in last 6 years. No fault of my own just cant get a job. The credit card companies have never asked about my work situations and got flyers in every month. I just hope to hell the offers start appearing again. 

While I'm sure folk on here will be generally sympathetic, that doesn't mean that the appropriate response is to put your head in the sand and hope for another opportunity to kick the can further down the road by deferring the day of reckoning!  With all due respect, you have a debt problem and it would be better to recognise that and do something about it, difficult though that undoubtedly is, hence the recommendations in the previous post....

Jiggysaw1111

Its not about burying my head in sand. Ive been in debt more or less all my life and will never get out of it. Life is extremely difficult and every day completed is a challenge. I just wondered if others have had the same problem and could shed any light on whether the offers come back or not. 

kuratowski

If you don't have enough income to clear your debts, and can't see any way out, then could it be worth exploring one of the insolvency solutions?   Consider filling out an SOA (https://stoozing.com/soa.php) and posting the results on the Debt Free Wannabe board for further advice.

eskbanker

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Its not about burying my head in sand. Ive been in debt more or less all my life and will never get out of it. Life is extremely difficult and every day completed is a challenge. I just wondered if others have had the same problem and could shed any light on whether the offers come back or not. 

Even if others had been in vaguely similar situations with a positive outcome, that doesn't signify that card companies would actually view you in the same way, so anecdotal tales from others are unlikely to be as significant as you appear to think.  Unfortunately you have at least five factors conspiring against you at the moment:

1. Your lack of steady employment over a sustained period will be a red flag to prospective lenders.
2. Your longstanding debt situation is likewise likely to be problematic.
3. The industry regulator is continuing efforts to eliminate persistent debt.
4. The economic circumstances have led to a general tightening of credit offers even to 'good risks'.
5. If you've been rotating debt around numerous cards over the years, then the availability of new providers will decrease.

That's not to say that you definitely won't ever get any offers at all (even with minuscule limits) but just to highlight that shuffling debt between 0% offers on an ongoing basis simply isn't sustainable, so rather than pinning all your hopes on that, you'd be better advised to grab the bull by the horns, even if that's just starting some dialogue with one or more of the debt charities, but it all obviously needs that lightbulb moment to recognise the severity of the position you're in.  Anyway, end of lecture, I'm sure you get the picture....

Ebe_Scrooge

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Ive been in debt more or less all my life and will never get out of it.

Forget about holding out in the slim chance that a 0% offer will fall into your lap - it ain't gonna happen.  There is a reason you've always been in debt - you're living beyond your means.  You will get out of debt if you truly want to, taking a defeatist attitude like that won't help.

Right, I'm going to qualify that by saying first off that I'm not trying to be nasty.  Just realistic.  Secondly, when I say you've been living beyond your means, I'm not implying that you've been buying expensive champagne and fine art whilst working in a minimum-wage job - just that your outgoings have been more than your income.  Believe me, I've been there.  I went for several years without ever taking a holiday (not even in the UK), no going out, no takeaways, meals consisted of what I could cobble together from the "almost out of date" reduced items in the supermarket.  It wasn't pleasant, but needs must and I dug myself out of a hole, and just about managed to hang on to my house.

Fast forward several years, now in a reasonably well-paying job, living "comfortably".  Not rich by any means, still drive old cars, still holiday mostly in the UK, foreign holidays are a rare treat - but luxury compared to what I've been through in the past.  Over the years I've been made redundant on more than one occasion - took jobs on minimum wage shelf-stacking at Lidl, labouring on a building site, working as a delivery driver, anything just to keep the wolf from the door.

What I'm trying to say is, you must get over the idea that you'll always be in debt.  There are ways out of it.  It may mean a year or 2 of living like a hermit.  It may mean working your socks off at 2 jobs for a period.  It may mean something more drastic like an IVA, DRO, maybe even bankruptcy as a last resort.  But there are ways out of it if you have the determination.

To reiterate, please don't think I'm preaching.  Just trying to help to change your mindset a little :-)  

MattMattMattUK

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Its not about burying my head in sand.

Your posts indicate otherwise.

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Ive been in debt more or less all my life and will never get out of it. 

Maybe, just maybe, now is time for a change?

Jiggysaw1111 said:

Life is extremely difficult and every day completed is a challenge.

The set yourself the new challenge of getting out of debt, rather than the old challenge of moving your debt around indefinitely. Life is what you make of it, as others have said you can either deal with the debt or bury your head in the sand, one of those options has a positive outcome, the other only prolongs the pain.

Jiggysaw1111 said:

I just wondered if others have had the same problem and could shed any light on whether the offers come back or not. 

Others will have had the same issue, as mentioned above it is also highly unlikely that you will get new offers or be able to get a new card based on your current circumstances and lenders appetite for risk. Your choice is pretty much binary now, ignore it, hope for some offer which will not materialise and then end up being 30-50% interest when your current promotional rate ends, or head over to the Debt-Free Wannabee forum, deal with your debts, your living beyond your means and turn everything around. Without know your circumstances I can not say whether that will take six months, or six years, whether it will involve repayments, negotiated repayments, an IVA or even bankruptcy, but it will be a positive change compared to letting the debt hang over you like the Sword of Damocles.
 

Jiggysaw1111

Thanks for the replies.