Huge interest rates, please help!

Saturn001

Grumpelstiltskin said:

OK I  know you say you keep your finances separate but with that amount of spending didn't you notice  anything?

Is there anything that could be sold to put towards the debt?

Sadly no - most of it was used for gambling and then basically robbing Peter to pay Paul. The gambling issue is now hopefully being dealt with via counselling etc. 

Anything to sell - not really though will definitely consider if there’s anything, this is a good idea. Thanks again for all these responses being added, they’re food for thought. 

ManyWays

Aqua and Marbles are both Newday card brands, so probably a single complaint about both. 
And that Bamboo interest rate is enormous

Saturn001

ManyWays said:

Aqua and Marbles are both Newday card brands, so probably a single complaint about both. 
And that Bamboo interest rate is enormous

Thanks that’s very helpful to know.

I know, I couldn’t believe it. Insanity!!

enthusiasticsaver

I would certainly consider affordability claims to some of those lenders.  Getting on top of the gambling addiction should be the priority so I hope she is getting help for that and that she is ok for you to take over handling her finances for now. Removing cards from websites and maybe just her having access to  one debit card will help her with any spending compulsions. If you are able to finance any emergencies for now I agree that putting any spare income towards debt is sensible.  There are various different strategies people use.  Some try and knock off the smallest debt first and others go for most expensive debt which would be that loan. 

I would tackle cards 3, 4 and 5 (smallest debts but still fairly high interest)  and approach credit card 2 and the loan as the rates on those are crippling and as they are the biggest debts the interest on those will derail any plan to get rid of the debt. Asking if they are able to do anything about the rate won't do any harm. I would suggest a DMP but as she can make minimums that may not be the way to go. Credit card 1 is not that bad so I would just let that tick on at £160 a month. 

NeverendingDMP

Saturn001 said:

ManyWays said:

So up to now she has been paying her share of the bills, which is why she has been struggling and borrowing so much, but now you know you are happy to help out? Is that a reasonable summary?
If it is, she can probably make affordability complaints about that loan. Who are the credit card lenders?

I didn’t know about any of this debt as we keep completely separate accounts and finances. 

Based on their salary of £2045 (take home per month) they could comfortably pay me £450 towards house/groceries etc; however I didn’t know they were also trying to service all these debts at the same time. I pay the majority of household bills and I’m happy with this due to my salary. 

The debts have built up on pointless spending - none of it has been on essentials as my salary is enough to cover things like e.g. the washing machine breaking or the car needing new tyres or a service etc. 

I have added the lender names below. I was shocked at the amount Aqua had lent (most of the others have relatively low credit limits) so your comment about making an affordability complaint (which would be to Aqua) is really interesting - maybe something we should consider? Likewise Bamboo. 

1. TESCO Credit card: £3,500 owed. 26% interest. Min payment £160pm. 

2. AQUA Credit card: £7,300 owed. 46-52% interest. Min payment £342pm. Payment holiday until mid July (interest still accruing). £500 arrears. 

3. MARBLES Credit card: £900 owed. 38-45% interest. Min payment £96pm.

4. CAPITAL ONE Credit card: £150 owed. 25% interest. Min payment £9pm. 

5. ZABLE Credit card: £700 owed. 39% interest. Min payment £40pm.

6. BAMBOO Loan: £2,600 owed. 69% interest!!!!! Payment £138pm. 24 month term. 

Capital one isn't the worst interest but would be a quick win and could be closed down with a view to applying for a new 0% card with them for to get a card with  hopefully 4 or 6 months interest free  in the near futu lee which would save some interest later on. If between you the cap one and marbles could be got rid of in say three-four months there's another 100 extra to go on the bamboo plus the two hundred surplus. Find out the terms of the bamboo one to see what could be saved in interest. What's the cost.com is a good website to play around with numbers as is an app called debt payoff planner.
If you can go truly hardcore or pasta, beans on toast ,stay home frugal more savings could be made. That's a huge commitment from you though. Is your partner's credit rating important as a budget could easily show the need to pay more than 450 a month for living expenses to be able to look at a dmp for example. 

NeverendingDMP

On the flip side the capital one is so cheap per month then 150 payment to clear it it may be wasted and might be  better used to reduce every second of interest elsewhere! Run the numbers in some debt busting calculators. Ultimately it's a journey where your partner needs to swap between quick wins and snowballs to keep the motivation up. Wish them luck. Gam stop and things are good. Other people will post more about that sort of stuff hopefully 

chubsta

Personally I would go for the cards with the lowest amounts first - I know that doesn't make the most sense from a purely financial point of view so may seem counterintuitive but you cannot beat the psychological effect of getting rid of a debt. Being able to physically see that a debt has been cleared is a great motivator to move onto the next one. Of course, once a couple are gone they could switch to paying off the very high interest ones.

katsu

With interest rates of 50-69%, don't waste the extra £150 of capital one in paying it off. The fastest way to be DF is to pay highest rates first. 

katsu

I would encourage your partner to get support for the gambling and the "pointless spending" as there is great help out there. There is a thread here in the diaries section they can join for eg of people giving up drinking and gambling, ways they can block themselves from gambling and some really inspiring stories of others that might help them. 

Good luck to you and your partner. 

th081

I hope this is not a silly suggestion and it will depend on your risk tolerance but would you be able to get a 0% deal and transfer some to your name. The interest is the killer and just having breathing space can help massively