Credit card for 74 year old

thaylock

Note: also posted on Debt Free forum.

Just been told by a very distressed mother (age 74) she has built up £5000 debt over 5 credit cards. I plan on helping her setting a budget & consolidating these debts onto 1 card at 0% (hopefully Virgin). Question is, has anybody had any experience of obtaining a credit card (0%) for £5000 for a 74 year old person with a pension income of £7200pa ? If so can you provide details of companies who are willing to issue a card.

Thanks

This is the third person in about 6 months who I am having to help & I am getting really !!!!!! off with the amount of debt people are in !!!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Reaper

As a very rough guide you will find it hard to get cards once the combined totals exceed her income.

However if you can't cover the whole balance immediately just get one, transfer as much as you can, cancel any cards that frees up, wait 1-2 months (for the cancellation to filter through to the credit history) then repeat.

Here are some tips which may also help to maximise getting cards.

1) Some companies use Equifax for credit histories, some Experian. So get both reports (£2 each, see the sticky thread for links). Next look at the Experian v Equifax thread and apply for those who search on the one she has the least showing on.

2) Make sure you total all of her income when putting down a figure on the application form. All benefits, interest earnt etc count as income and should be put down Gross.

3) Her own bank will be much more willing to give her a card than a company she has never had dealings with before, assuming she has been with them a while and has managed her account ok.

4) Consider a low APR life-of-balance card instead of 0% cards. If it is a struggle to get 0% cards now it will be just as much of a struggle when they expire and you need to rotate the debt. Look at the Texaco card - 3.9% on balance transfers for life.

You should also look at the root cause of the problem. If she ran up debts because she hasn't enough to live on then this will only be a temporary solution. You may need to get her to switch gas/electric/phone companies to get monthly costs down, make sure she is claiming the benefits she is entitled to etc.

1313

Surely IVA, Bankruptcy, Full and Final or Creditors Agreement, depending on the situation, would be the better options.