Have I been managing my credit card wrong ? Trying to improve credit rating

[Creditrating]

I have a rubbish credit rating and about 60k of debt

recently got a credit building card and used it but each month I don’t pay the minimum (which is usually 10-13 pounds) I will pay £40 or £50 instead.
just read somewhere that actually you should use it and pay off in full each month and that’s what increases your credit rating so have I now made mine worse ???

OP - is your income situation going to improve significantly within 2-3 years? Or is it likely to stay as it is now for the foreseeable future?

Probably will stay as it is now for the foreseeable

I think you need professional advice and ongoing specialist support. Please try CAP (Christians against poverty). You don't need to be of any religion to access support. They support you right through to becoming debt-free, with practical and emotional support.

If you are not paying the whole lot off each month, what was your plan to pay it off? (The builder card) What are you spending it on?

Not being judgy about debt btw, am on a dmp with Stepchange at the mo. They wanted a pretty exhaustive list of outgoings btw, are you sure they thought you had enough surplus income to pay 100s each month?

Also, have you looked at a debt recovery order?

You need professional advice and you need to be totally honest on your income and expenditure. If nothing is likely to change in the foreseeable future Bankruptcy may be the best solution. You also need to stop building more debt by using your credit card. It is unfair to keep paying for things that you know you won’t be repaying. It’s a form of theft. Go to CAB and get something sorted, then you can move on with your life and be free to concentrate on your child

You need expert advice to look at your options and the pros and cons of each. Whatever option you go for is going to be painful and long term with dealing with debt this high.

Noone here can offer much in the way of meaningful advice without getting into too much detail about your personal circumstances.

Why are you attempting to build your credit rating? the last thing you should be looking at is even more credit.

In that case, bankruptcy is a very valid choice in your situation. Get advice from CAB and ask them specifically about this.

The risk with a DMP is that you’ll pay your £100-200 a month for years and years but you’ve no chance of properly getting out of a £60K hole.

An IVA is for people with assets to protect (like equity in a house) or a job they can’t do if they’re bankrupt (like a financial advisor, say, or a lawyer) and who have a good income.

Bankruptcy is a short sharp shock but you have nothing more to lose and you’ll rebuild quicker by just drawing a line under this.

Every single solution though will force you to live on a very strict budget. There is no way around that.

I'd be getting declared bankrupt I think. You have shit credit for 6 years then apply for vanquis as a credit building card. Spend small amounts and pay in full every month.
It would be a shit six years but after that it would be ok imo.

I’ll have to make sure we can definitely keep our car once I know that I can make a decision as we just can’t lose it

I think In general I misunderstood what I needed to do I thought paying anything off the debts plus having a new one and shoeing I was paying more than the minimum would be a positive thing

What do you use the car for?

Everything - school runs , nursery runs , lots and lots of doctor and hospital appointments etc

I will get a CAB appointment I think then go from there . I would consider stepchange again if like a previous poster said there is a way to ‘protect’ the dla so it’s not counted as income. I’ll Google about IVA vs Bankruptcy and see which may be better for us

Positive for what? You don't need a good credit rating unless you want access to more credit, which would be madness in your situation.

Do you need THAT car? Could you manage a smaller one? If you need it to transport your child or equipment for your child they may be more flexible.

This link is helpful.

Citizens Advice Bankruptcy

I have been repaying it though - I’ve been making more than the minimum payment each month for 9 months now .
With the other debts it’s not as if I’m ignoring them I make token payments so I think it’s a bit mean to say I’m a thief

The only thing I’d say to you about the car is that if it breaks down, and you need a new one within the next 5-6 years, you won’t be able to get any credit to buy a new one. So you need to consider your lifestyle going forward as if having a car is not a given. That might mean moving to rent somewhere more accessible to public transport, or looking at where the DC go to nursery and school etc.

Good luck.

Yes we need this car just because we need the space for the dc and for things like the SN pushchair etc

We can’t move as have a secure tenancy and the demand here is so high we wouldn’t even get a swap . Also we can’t move school as both dc have EHCP and are settled so I’d have to make sure we could keep the car . Hopefully it won’t break down 🙏

Check the vehicle valuation by popping the reg into Parker's website. If the lowest valuation is under 2k the car is safe in bankruptcy.

Thanks I will do that

How much is on this credit card out of interest and what are you paying back?

Either go back to Stepchange or consider bankruptcy.
I can't see a way forward otherwise.

A £1 token is not going to make any difference whatsoever to your current problem.

Maybe a chat with CAB?

"we" are there more than one adult responsible for this debt?

Thanks for the advice I do feel like I have a better understanding now and a plan going forwards .

I just think I misunderstood and even though I don’t want more credit I thought it would be good to improve my credit score so was making token payments and using a credit builder card just because I thought it was something I should be doing