Credit Card Holiday (Fluid)

mick15

Hi, I'm a 71 year pensioner and have a Fluid Credit Card with a Credit limit of £2,500, my my credit score is FAIR, 722 with Experion.

Unfortunately due to Covid and the recent COL crisis I relied too much on the card and the current balance is now £2400. I have never missed a payment or paid late, in fact I have a perfect payment record on everything. However a message from Fluid informed me I'm now in persistent debt and are asking for a substantial 'extra payment ' on top of the minimum each month to clear the debt or I will be put into a Pay Down plan. My minimum payment each month is £135.00, the extra payment is double which I simply cannot afford.

I have tried to get a balance transfer card without success so I rang Fluid and said I needed to reduce my balance and they suggested a payment holiday of 3 months whereby I can if I wish continue to make the minimum payments thereby reducing my balance, pay more if I can afford it or pay less (not an option).

Will this affect my credit score if I continue to make minimum payments throughout the 3 months holiday period as their advisor said it wouldn't?

molerat

A payment holiday could lead to an AP marker on your credit file which could reduce your ability to get some credit.  You need Fluid to confirm whether they will report this as AP or not, preferably in writing.

It seems Fluid don't report payment holidays.  https://portal.fluid.co.uk/fluid/help/faqs/article/will-my-credit-file-be-impacted-by-this-payment-holiday

MattMattMattUK

mick15 said:

Hi, I'm a 71 year pensioner and have a Fluid Credit Card with a Credit limit of £2,500, my my credit score is FAIR, 722 with Experion.

Unfortunately due to Covid and the recent COL crisis I relied too much on the card and the current balance is now £2400. I have never missed a payment or paid late, in fact I have a perfect payment record on everything. However a message from Fluid informed me I'm now in persistent debt and are asking for a substantial 'extra payment ' on top of the minimum each month to clear the debt or I will be put into a Pay Down plan. My minimum payment each month is £135.00, the extra payment is double which I simply cannot afford.

I have tried to get a balance transfer card without success so I rang Fluid and said I needed to reduce my balance and they suggested a payment holiday of 3 months whereby I can if I wish continue to make the minimum payments thereby reducing my balance, pay more if I can afford it or pay less (not an option).

Will this affect my credit score if I continue to make minimum payments throughout the 3 months holiday period as their advisor said it wouldn't?

Your credit score is a meaningless number so you can safely ignore it.

You need to do what is best based on your ability to pay. Are you planning on future borrowing?

Brie

If you are not planning on future boring (which might include getting car insurance paid monthly) then it makes little difference if your "score" is affected.  Banks and other creditors (like car insurance!) will look at your credit history and decide from that whether you can a risk or not.  

You should be able to agree with Fluid a suitable repayment plan and they will, perhaps, stop or at least reduce the interest they are charging.  If you have other debts as well (gas? electric?) then it might be best to talk to a debt adviser to help you sort it all out.  NationalDebtline, StepChange, Citizen's Advice and CMA (Community Money Advice) are just some of the groups that can help you with this.  

pfpf

i may be missing something about the "Fluid" card but if the minimum payment is being made then how can they "double" the payment required or put the OP on a "plan"?

mick15

pfpf said:

i may be missing something about the "Fluid" card but if the minimum payment is being made then how can they "double" the payment required or put the OP on a "plan"?

The minimum payment and a little more has always been paid, on time and often days earlier than the due date thereby meeting my contractual obligations. By their own admission my account is in good order having never missed or made a late payment but I am deemed to be in persistent debt.They have allowed me a 3 month payment holiday which I will use to continue making the minimum payments (although not required) thereby reducing my overall balance. The worry is they can insist on a pay down payment plan later down the line which I am told will be affordable but my card will be frozen until the balance is at an acceptable level. Although FLUID do not inform the credit agencies of a payment holiday unlike other credit card companies they certainly will if a payment plan is implemented. I am and have been making small inroads into the reduction of the overall balance but it appears that is not good enough.

mick15

mick15 said:

pfpf said:

i may be missing something about the "Fluid" card but if the minimum payment is being made then how can they "double" the payment required or put the OP on a "plan"?

The minimum payment and a little more has always been paid, on time and often days earlier than the due date thereby meeting my contractual obligations. By their own admission my account is in good order having never missed or made a late payment but I am deemed to be in persistent debt.They have allowed me a 3 month payment holiday which I will use to continue making the minimum payments (although not required) thereby reducing my overall balance. The worry is they can insist on a pay down payment plan later down the line which I am told will be affordable but my card will be frozen until the balance is at an acceptable level. Although FLUID do not inform the credit agencies of a payment holiday unlike other credit card companies they certainly will if a payment plan is implemented. I am and have been making small inroads into the reduction of the overall balance but it appears that is not good enough.

PS, In addition to my aforementioned reply, The minimum FLUID payment for June is £135.22, the recommended extra payment is £155.56 therefore they are requesting a June payment of £290.78. More than double which very few people could afford. Therefore because I'm not paying the recommended extra payment and only the minimum I'm in persistent debt. 

MattMattMattUK

pfpf said:

i may be missing something about the "Fluid" card but if the minimum payment is being made then how can they "double" the payment required or put the OP on a "plan"?

Persistent debt rules, the banks are required to take action when a customer is making minimal or no headway in paying down a debt.

https://nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/persistent-debt-ew/

MattMattMattUK

The issue is that if one just makes the minimum payments the time to pay off a credit card would be more than a decade, hence the persistent debt rules.

Barkin

mick15 said:

mick15 said:

pfpf said:

i may be missing something about the "Fluid" card but if the minimum payment is being made then how can they "double" the payment required or put the OP on a "plan"?

The minimum payment and a little more has always been paid, on time and often days earlier than the due date thereby meeting my contractual obligations. By their own admission my account is in good order having never missed or made a late payment but I am deemed to be in persistent debt.They have allowed me a 3 month payment holiday which I will use to continue making the minimum payments (although not required) thereby reducing my overall balance. The worry is they can insist on a pay down payment plan later down the line which I am told will be affordable but my card will be frozen until the balance is at an acceptable level. Although FLUID do not inform the credit agencies of a payment holiday unlike other credit card companies they certainly will if a payment plan is implemented. I am and have been making small inroads into the reduction of the overall balance but it appears that is not good enough.

Therefore because I'm not paying the recommended extra payment and only the minimum I'm in persistent debt. 

The other way around, surely?

You're being asked to pay the extra, because you're already in PD.