where has the credit gone?

[winterblues25]

I’ve usually never had a problem being accepted for credit but just tried to increase my credit limit on my card recently and was refused, new balance transfer card and loan applications refused, credit score good, even the balance transfer offers on my credit card which I’ve had for years have been withdrawn??

I think if she stays with same provider it’s usually not an issue to renew ?

But op feels entitled to do this (even though she can’t afford to) and anybody who disagrees either lives in a cardboard box or is a martyr to poverty according to the op 😂

Op what happens if the car breaks or the roof leaks or the oven stops working? Those are the kinds of things I can understand people having to fall back on a credit card for but to buy an extra pair of gloves?

It partially is a dh problem as he has chosen to have 5dc. Maybe he should get a second job? Or op increase hours?

When you buy those things do you regard the price as being 25% more as i5 with your cc situation? The answer really is to only buy what is absolutely needed to clear the debt …that way freedom

Back of fag packet calculation

8k minimum payment at 24.9%
= 4 years 6 months and interest payable of £5436
Ooof!

That's if you dont spend any more

This thread is a right eye opener. Some people seem to have no idea how a significant proportion of the country live and can’t understand basic principles of having a balance and making the minimum payment. Great for you but don’t comment where you can’t help or understand.

@winterblues25 have you any other credit cards with no balance? I have a few as regularly balance transfer. Some of them have zero interest offers every so often so I’m not taking out any new credit cards, just moving a balance around what I’m already allocated.

if not, where did you look? Money supermarket have always been good for me. I did struggle this time as for some reason barclaycard only gave me a balance of £600 or so and Lloyds accepted me but the minimum payment was a higher percentage of the outstanding balance so hard to meet. I think this is for the reasons you are finding - stricter regulations.

have you looked at consolidating?

that’s why i’m wondering what's changed that you were a good prospect and now youre not. i thibk you need to investigate your credit score thoroughly to see. i wonder if someone’s applied for credit in your name fraudulently.

On the contrary people have a bloody good idea , its not a basic principle its a debt spiral that the Op is describing.
I've never ever come across such a reckless attitude, most posters in debt on MN are desperate to pay it off, not stick their head in the sand

Your husband is paying for his older kids to go to uni, while you're using credit cards for "every day essentials".

You need to live within your means. Living off a credit card isn't sustainable, as you've now realised.

I have different views on debt to you OP, but I do admire your composure and willingness to keep responding in such a measured way when getting a rough response on the thread.

Not something you see all that often.

I think its more likely that it's because OP applied for a credit limit increase as well.
Seeking to increase borrowing while not managing to pay down the debt is a red flag for a lender and i wonder if she crossed a threshold somewhere in terms of ratios of debt to income that meant she now falls into a less desirable category of borrower
Think this is more likely than a fraudulent credit application in her name to be honest.

Unless OP's husband, has also been seeking credit limit increases and further debt if he's struggling to support a child a uni, perhaps the household overall is looking more vulnerable to financial difficulty?

I don’t know if you’ve done the maths OP, but I think you might be in quite significant debt here even though the overall number doesn’t look that high at the moment

if your debt is twice your combined monthly salary then you have 200% of a monthly salary debt. You pay 5% of your salary off each month (assuming you pay every spare penny), and your interest rate is about to go to 2% a month, so you’re really only paying 3% each month.

it’s currently going to take you 5.5 years (give or take) just to pay off what you currently owe! I really wouldn’t be borrowing any more right now if you don’t desperately need it. This is why you should always pay off the balance before the 0% runs out rather than transferring card to card

*maths is not my strong point so someone may want to check this….

I’m unclear why you now want to increase your limit? If you cleared half your debt in 5 years have you worked out how much you can clear in the next 5 years if you can’t get low interest deals? Surely you are just going to have to earn more or spend less if you want to get out of debt? One sure way not to get out of debt is to increase your borrowing.

Wow what a pile on 🙄 For what it's worth, I'm finding the same @winterblues25. Astounded at the amount of people holier than thou. Yes it's not ideal, but also difficult to get out of. People have very different circumstances in life and it's not always a choice! Anyone heard of the cost of living crisis?

Astounded at people suggesting living within her means before the debt spirals out of control ?
Op is choosing to live beyond her means and finance this via CC , nothing to do with CoL

Your husband had more children than he can afford

They don't want you as a customer, but while you are they make more money by charging 24% than they do by charging 5%.In their opinion you are high risk of not being able to repay, why would they increase your credit limit? The credit card company is a business to make a profit, not a charity for people who can't manage their finances.

This is such a false economy! @winterblues25 you really need to drop that mindset that you are getting a good “deal” here…you’re not.

Credit card companies don't exist to serve a charitable purpose of providing you cheap debt.

They reel in you in with low rates & introductory offers that encourage you to spend beyond your means and build up a big balance.

They'll let you move it around a bit but if you aren't regularly paying down most of the balance its then a matter of time before the thumbscrews turn and they push you to a high interest rate.

Op you would be better talking to your bank or a debt advisor. If you could for example add it to your mortgage, it will be at a much lower rate.

I’m always looking for ways to cut back that don’t significantly reduce our family’s standard of living.

There comes a time when you have to accept you can't afford it though, and you never could. Can you increase hours at work/get a second job?

it isn’t problem debt for us, just mean it will gradually go up if we’re paying 3k a year in interest rather than £400-£500 as we can only afford to pay off about 2k a year

It is problem debt when the interest on the balance (which you can't afford to repay) exceeds what you can afford to pay.

If you can only pay 2k a year, and the interest is 3k, they've got you by the short and curlies. It will escalate rapidly as the balance will climb every year with interest added and then more and more interest.

Please seek help in RL - try citizens advice. Its not awful awful just yet but it will get worse fast if you don't sort it.

There's not been a sudden market shift or regulatory change, rates are falling not rising. Its just your circumstances, they can see you can't repay.

I have actually lived without an oven, having a spare set of gloves when you have young children is no small thing btw, our current standard of living is the minimum standard I’m happy with us living at and we would absolutely decide to have all our children again even with the debt we have. This wasn’t a post asking for debt advice or preaching, just wanted to know other people’s very recent experiences of applying for credit, that’s all

our current standard of living is the minimum standard I’m happy with us living at

Sadly, its not something you get to choose, what you can afford is limited to the money you have available. If you are in debt the credit card companies can simply cut you off. Your best bet is to talk to your bank to replace the credit card debt with a more affordable loan or increase to your mortgage. With less interest to pay, your monthly income which stretch that bit further and over time things should ease up.

Ps i replaced a credit card recently with no issues. I was switching from an amex one to a visa one. I typically paid the balance in full every month so did not have a balance to transfer, and wasn't shopping around for the lowest rate as a result.

We’ve been paying at that rate fine for years, we’ve reduced our debt significantly over the last 5 years so it’s not logical that it is to do with my personal circumstances as I’ve more ability to pay than I had been 5 years ago, none of the posters on here seem to come with the experience of having recently applied for credit. If we end up paying five fold the interest rate we’ve been paying then we’ll just have to wait until the DSC finish uni before reducing debt further

I was specifically looking at balance transfer offers, I’ve had offers of purchase credit cards and have got significant balances available for purchases on the cards I already have as well. They’ve not suggested reducing my limits on these at all so I don’t think that’s the issue so much