Barclays cancelling my card

grahammac1

I have a Barclay card with £15k limit and did have £4k outstanding, I have been paying the minimum every month without fail, for 3yrs
I had a letter saying it was persistent debt and they are going to cancel my card on the 4t April, unless I take out a loan to pay the balance off
I have since paid off £2k so balance now £2k but the are still saying they will cancel my card if I dont take out a loan.
Anyone else had this experience or any advice what to do? I dont want to lose the card as the limit is quite handy for a rainy day

MorningcoffeeIV

If you can't clear it, then it'll be cancelled.

You could apply elsewhere, but you may find it difficult with a poor credit history. 

grumbler

grahammac1 said:

I have since paid off £2k so balance now £2k but the are still saying they will cancel my card if I dont take out a loan.
Anyone else had this experience or any advice what to do? I dont want to lose the card as the limit is quite handy for a rainy day

Apply for a loan? It'll be much cheaper than a  CC if you can get it.

And in the future remember - minimum payments for a long time is a red flag for the CC provider. Always pay at least a little more than the minimum.

CliveOfIndia

If you've only been paying the minimum for 3 years then yes, they are obliged to take the "persistent debt" approach.  I'm a little surprised they are advocating taking out a loan - I would have expected them to simply request that the balance is repaid (by whatever means are suitable to your circumstances).  If you are considering taking out a loan, then you need to be prepared to be offered a less-than-ideal interest rate given your credit history.

Are you able to repay the outstanding balance without resorting to a loan?  Is there any chance you might be able to shift some or all of the debt to an interest-free balance transfer deal?

grahammac1 said:

 I dont want to lose the card as the limit is quite handy for a rainy day

To be brutally honest, if you're only ever paying the minimum then this may be a blessing in disguise.  Borrowing on a credit card (unless it has a low- or zero-percent offer in place) is an extremely expensive way of borrowing.  Please don't interpret this as being "nasty", it's intended merely as a statement of fact.

grahammac1

Thanks for the reply, I only kept a balance on the card as previously when I cleared a card down before they decreased the card limit, even though I have a perfect credit score 997

Brie

It may be that they also think that if you aren't paying it off quicker that the high limit is not sustainable and they would likely cut it to the minimum in any case.  

Credit scores aren't always looked at but I'd suggest you check it anyway just for an indication and then go to one of the "will I get a card" tools here on MSE to see what else is available, particularly if there's a zero % balance transfer available.  MBNA is usually quite good with deals and credit limits in my experience.  

MorningcoffeeIV

grahammac1 said:

Thanks for the reply, I only kept a balance on the card as previously when I cleared a card down before they decreased the card limit, even though I have a perfect credit score 997

You have a perfect credit score because you're consistently in debt.

The CRAs think that's good.  Lenders think it's very bad. Only one of those opinions matters.

grumbler

grahammac1 said:

I only kept a balance on the card as previously when I cleared a card down before they decreased the card limit, even though I have a perfect credit score 997

Keeping £4K balance is a far too expensive way of keeping your credit limit.  This is even ignoring the fact that it's just your belief  that the result is what you expect. I always pay my CC balances in full and I remember the limits only rising not decreasing.

Just apply for a second card if the limit you have is insufficient.

penners324

grahammac1 said:

Thanks for the reply, I only kept a balance on the card as previously when I cleared a card down before they decreased the card limit, even though I have a perfect credit score 997

So you're paying £000s in interest to keep a high limit and keep your credit score up?

Madness

paul_c123

If you are deemed to be in persistent debt, you would/should have got many letters/other comms notifying you of this before any change of management of your credit card or closure threatened etc.

scott_lithgows

Surprised at this,Wife was doing the same,Bcard then upped her minimum payment then sent her a 'deal' to pay it off at a lower rate 
She was offered a new card as the existing one was closed by this deal but she knocked it back.