credit card blunder

[katieNbump]

hi, so basicaly im in need of £200, im waiting to exchange with my mother in law but she owes 200 rent, and bein on benefits cant pay it, cant get loans or anything, im considering taking out a loan or credit card to pay off this debt and her pay me weekly. i just need to no with a credit card, if ur balance is £0 do u have to pay for it? i no some ppl will say dont do it but i only want it for that £200 rent then i wont use it unless a real emergency! also, it says takin money out at a atm will cost me thousands :S

Most credit cards won't charge you anything if you don't have any balance outstanding, but they will charge you an insane amount if you withdraw the cash! Do you have good credit history, if so the best thing may be to approach your bank about taking a £200 overdraft, then you can ask them to lower it each time she gives you money. Alternatively ring the landlord / housing association and ask if you can pay the arrears by credit card rather than withdrawing the cash.

Just as long as you're aware that your mother in law wouldn't be liable for the debt, you would be so if she stopped paying you, you'd still need to keep up the repayments.

yes im fully aware, i just cant think of any other way? my credit atings not good so doubt the bank will help. iv been waiting since october whenever she gets a lump sum of money she spends it so il be waiting forever. il ask with the council thank u

If your credit rating isn't too good you may struggle to get a credit card to be honest. Will the council not allow her to move while she has the arrears if she agrees a payment plan eg agrees to pay £10 per week extra on her rent or something? If not could she make weekly payments to you and you can save it up for her? £20 per week would mean it was paid off by May 18th, £10 per week would mean July 27th.

Why does she owe the £200? Is it because there was a problem with her benefits or for another reason? If her benefits were underpaid for some reason it may be worth getting the council to review her situation in case she is due some extra.

Otherwise I agree it would be better for her to save up the extra a little bit every week until she's in a position to pay her rent. As you will presumably benefit from the exchange, could you suggest that she puts aside £10 a week for 10 weeks and you do the same until you ahve the full £200.

I really would avoid the credit card route. If you credit rating is poor then you are quite likely to end up with a card with a very high interest rate which will not help.

Good luck