A bit of debt restructuring advice please

CAA

Long time reader, first time poster, I’ve been using this site for a long time and recommended it to everyone who shows the slightest interest in saving money. Some people don’t care though and I can understand why Martin gets exasperated at these people as they are doing exactly what the banks/supermarkets, etc want them to do!
Anyway, to my reason for posting -

My debts:

Virgin Credit Card: £2,450 @ (15.9% but should be 0%. More of this in a moment!)
Additions Direct: £1,700 @ 32.9% :eek:
Next Account: £250 @ 26.49%
Barclays overdraft: £500 @ 15.7 % Overdraft limit is £1300
Barclaycard: £0. Limit £2,900

Recently I applied for a Virgin Credit Card with the idea of doing a 0% balance transfer from my Barclaycard which had a debt of £2,900. I got it with a limit of £3,500 so I transferred the balance over. I then did something extremely foolish which I am still kicking myself over, I missed the first payment! :mad: I failed to take into account the May bank holiday and my payment ended up being late. So I lost my 0%.

Now, I have received some cheques from Barclaycard offering a 0% on balance transfers until March 2009. My thinking is to transfer the balance back to my Barclaycard so I can enjoy the 0% interest until March 2009 and pay the Additions Direct bill and possibly the Next Account bill with the Virgin Credit Card, leaving me with:

Virgin Credit Card: £1,950 @ 15.9%
Barclaycard: £2,450 + balance transfer fee of £61.25 @ 2.5%. Total: £2,511.25 @ 0%
Barclays overdraft: £500 @ 15.7% Overdraft limit is £1300

Now my questions would be:

Is the above a good idea or are there better alternatives, bearing in mind my credit report may not be so good now I’ve missed a payment.

Whats the best option to deal with my overdraft, would it be worth considering Alliance and Leicesters Premier Direct Account which has 0% interest on overdrafts? Or would it would it be better to leave the overdraft for the moment as at present Barclays do not seem to want a repayment towards it every month whereas my other debts do. There is interest every month of course. My wage which is £950 a month (after tax) goes in this account, I don’t know if this classes as a payment or not?

I intend to pay approx £500 a month toward these debts, (more when I can afford it) would it be best to pay as much a possible to the debts that charge interest and pay the minimum with 0% deals?[FONT=&quot]

Thank you for taking the time to read this, any advice would be much appreciated! :j[/FONT]

boredofbeingathome

Ok, i have read a bit about this..the virgin 0%, and losing if you dont pay on time. I would ring up plead that you are sorry and offer to put it on direct debit. It works sometimes. If not, re transfer back to barclays for their lifetime balance transfer. sometimes they will offer you new rates, for doing this and it is always worth a phone call.
Re the overdrafts, anything on 0% is worth it, if you are disciplined in paying it back. Give it a go, as the only thing you have to lose is interest.
Best of luck BOB x

beanielou

Thnk you need to get rid of Additons ASAP.

CAA

Thanks for your replies, yes I think its worth giving Virgin a call, don't hold out much hope though. I can't believe I missed that payment.
Yes, the Additions must go and never darken my doormat again!

Gemmzie

Your plan sounds good. Clear the overdraft then pay the minimums on the 0%'s and save the rest of the 5% in a decent rate saver

CAA

Just one more question, if I do pay my Additions bill with my Virgin credit card is it classed as a purchase?