Credit card - please advise how to apporoach B a r c l a y C a r d.

[thehomeoflondonpantomime]

I have an Initial BC with £3000 debt on it. For the first 2,5 years I used it sparingly and had to make no interest payments. This year I had to move (the flats were being sold) and then my mother came to stay. I paid her ticket, emergency dentist over here and the food. We thought she could've paid for half a ticket and the dentist but it doesn't seem she will be able to repay me now. So now my interests are £70 per month and I manage to pay off before that over a grand a month. I re-use most of the money to buy food so the debt is going down very slowly.

WHat is the best way forward with the cc company? I'd like to write to them to either ask to move me to a lower interest card or freeze the interest on the current. I know they are not obliged to do that but hopefully something will be possible. If the interest continues, I will soon hit the limit on the card.

could you get a different credit card with 0% interest on balance transfers and transfer the balance from barclaycard to the new card? It would mean the payment would pay off more of the money owed rather than just the interest.

I tried getting different cards but I keep on getting declined. I have an excellent credit rating (I check it with Equifax) but I have moved on avarage every 2 years. I do not know whether that is the reason for getting declined but apparently the cc issuers do not like when people move a lot, especially under 3 years.

have a look at moneysavingexpert.com

there's a list of best 0% balance transfer cards and you can check your likelihood of being accepted before you actually apply.

then transfer the balance to the 0% and keep up the regular repayment and don't use the card for purchases. (very important).

if you run out of time on the 0% rate, swap to another.

all explained much better on the website.

What they said, transfer it to a zero % card.

If you have been declined then don't reapply for at least another six months. If you keep applying for credit then it will make you look 'credit hungry' and that will put borrowers off. I would suggest giving Barclays a call and explaining the situation.

but I can't get a zero% card.

I'd stop using the card you have for food or you will never pay off the balance. If you cant get another card then speak to Barclaycard.

I don't use the card to spend more on food, I just transfer my monthly food budget there so it counts towards the repayment.

you can do a quick check of your eligibility for a 0% card that won't show up on your credit rating on the MSE website.

you might find one that will do 0% for a short term.

alternatively you could try a loan to pay off the credit card?, if the interest is lower you'll benefit.

Do you have a proper budget? Can you cut your spending down to the absolute minimum and throw the rest at the debt?

If they freeze your interest it will wreck your credit rating.

Ahh, will it MooncupGoddess! That's the sort of info I'm after.

yes, I do have a proper budget. Will try to cut it down but it will still take months. Will look into a loan after I hear back from cc. I asked them about a possibility of changing to a cc with better interest, thanks god I didn't ask to freeze the interest!

OP
Stick with the card you have
BUT
freeze the repayment at what this months is : do NOT let them drop it down with the balance.
Have a look at my spreadsheet to see why
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/1715581-Cost-of-credit-cards-and-mortgages-the-spreadsheets

It's not clear to me whether you can afford to make the minimum mionthly payments each month without the amount you owe (on overdraft or cards) rising.

If you CAN afford the monthly payments but are just fed up as your debt is going down so slowly, you need to look at how you can improve you finances (debtcamel.co.uk/improve/ ) and "snowballing" which will help to clear your debt faster (debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/snowball/ ).

If you CANT afford the minimum monthly payments, (and saying you will soon hit the limit on the card suggests that this might be your situation) then you need a Debt Management Plan (debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/dmp/ ). This asks creditors to freeze interest. It will wreck your credit rating, so don't go for this if you could afford the minimums!

If you aren't sure, then the solution is probably to try snowballing for a few months and see how it goes. If your debts gets worse, then fall back to a DMP.

If you go for a DMP, only go to StepChange (www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DMPDebtmanagementplan.aspx) or Payplan (www.payplan.com/debt-management-plans.php) - don't go to any firm that will charge you any money.

(I don't make any money from any links in my posts)

manzanilla
but if you look at the maths on my spreadsheet - linked through the site stuff thread

paying the minimum on a card means that it takes up to 18 years to clear the debt
Freezing the amount at this month's minimum reduces that to three years
without any restructuring or anything - just playing the card companies back at their own game

"Freezing the amount at this month's minimum reduces that to three years"

sure! That's a simple approach that may work.

But that depends on being able to make the minimum monthly payments, and I'm not sure that the poster can, because she wrote "If the interest continues, I will soon hit the limit on the card." ...

We can't really tell without seeing a full Statement of Affairs. She could always post one on MSE forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76 or TMF boards.fool.co.uk/dealing-with-debt-50079.aspx?mid=12925547

(I don't make any money from any links in my posts)

better try to remember my passwords for those boards!