Advice please - how best to pay off someone else's credit card debt for them?

[ComingtoKent]

Long story short, I need to pay off a credit card debt that isn't my own.

It's over £2000 and I want (obviously) to minimise the interest I have to pay. I'm making a cash payment today of a few hundred, but then need a plan to deal with the rest as quickly and cheaply as possible. I can't afford to pay it off in one go.

I've got a 0% card for spending - is there anyway I could move this other person's debt onto that?

Any other ideas will be gratefully received.

Just do it as a normal balance transfer onto a 0% credit card in your name - it doesn't have to be starting out as your debt. Is the card you have only 0% for purchases, as you will be better with one that's 0% on balance transfers otherwise you will be paying interest on it.

Assuming you're fully aware that it'll become your liability once transferred, if you don't make payments you will be the one held responsible etc.

Thanks Rockchick. I've been looking on moneysavingexpert and I think that probably is the best way to go. Obviously the situation isn't ideal, but if I can lose the interest charges that will make it easier to stand.

Either get a balance transfer card or put ALL your spending on your 0% purchase card and use the cash to clear the other card. Of course depends a bit when your 0% on purchases runs out.

Or even a mixture of the two suggestions? You can also get credit cards where balances transfers are a low interest for longer than interest-free cards are interest-free. Iyswim. It depends how long you will take to pay it off. Although i guess you could transfer the remaining balance to a new interest-free card when the first interest-free period runs out also.

Splatt34 has the right idea. Use the 0% for purchases card instead of your normal debit card and immediately pay over the spends onto the interest-bearing card.

I wish you were my friend/relative

Tell me if you think I'm being too nosey but why are you paying off someone else's debt?

Thanks for all those suggestions. Once I've made the initial payment I will take some time to consider the best way forward. I don't want to go into detail, but I'm helping out a relative who has got into a bit of a mess and has very few options at the moment.

Thanks again all.

Personally, I think I would prefer to help the relative transfer it to a 0% balance tf card and keep paying amounts off it directly as you are doing now.

What happens if your circumstances change before the debt is cleared off you've taken the whole amount into your name? I'm assuming that as you can't pay it in one go your own position isn't that comfortable and a change in circumstances could mean you could no longer pay this relative's debt but you would have to if it was tf to your name.

I'm with Breakage on this one. There are all sorts of things that could change the circumstances before the balance is paid off.

You sound like a very kind and generous family member - I hope relative is appropriately thankful to you.