Defaulting on Credit Card

[Pisces90]

What happens when you default on 1 credit card? Does it affect your other credit accounts?
I will keep this short. I have 1 CC and only paying min payment. I am really struggling with this debt.

It wouldn’t be a set amount if the debt is passed on. They would add fees to it and keep increasing the fees unless you pay it off within a certain time period. My barclaycard one got passed on and it went from £250 to about £350. I was unable to pay it within the 30 days they requested so they kept adding more fees until it went up to £600. When I went on a dmp with Stepchange they contact them on my behalf and got them to stop adding more fees and agree to a payment plan. I had been getting horrible letters from them threatening me with a bailiff but those all stopped once Stepchange had dealt with them

In Scotland a CCJ is known as a decree. It works the same way

As long as you are no longer spending on the cc you could ask that they freeze the interest so any payments go towards the balance not just servicing interest. Tbh you seem a bit naive and to want it all ways and unfortunately it does not work like that. Citizens Advice usually have someone able to give financial and budgeting advice and could help you manage all of the creditors and expenses.

I don't think i am naive at all. The CC is the highest interest and that's why i just need rid of it asap because it's the one crippling me the most. I am worried about phoning Vanquis but i think i probably should and just explain i can't afford the repayments anymore.

YOu have the following options:

1. Find a way to bring in some money to pay it off (easier said than done, I know).

1. Borrow off a friend/family member to pay it off and then pay them back monthly without interest.

1. Phone vanquis and see if they will put you on some sort of payment plan with frozen or reduced interest.

1. Phone Stepchange and get put on a DMP.

Don’t do what I did and take out more debts to pay off other debts (I got into a whole shitstorm of mess with things like payday loans). Also don’t just ignore it and hope it will be ok (I know you aren’t going to do this though as you seem to be trying to sort it out).

I don’t think there are any other options than the 4 I’ve mentioned so hopefully one of them works for you

Thanks for your time Frosty. I am NOT taking out more debt to cover this CC. I looked at balance transfer cards but the interest free period was only approx 6 months and theres no point doing ththrat unless i was working and knew i could pay it off.
I am going to phone Vanquis and explain my finances. I will write out all my outgoings to keep me right.
In a perfect world they would freeze the interest and stop me using the card so i can pay off the balance but from what i read on their site account freezes aren't as great as it seems and they still add interest.

Yes I’m fairly sure they won’t just freeze your interest as if it was that easy to do then everyone would do it and avoid having to pay all the fees. They might give you something like 1 month of frozen interest and then another 3-4 months or reduced interest or something along those lines. If you want the interest completely frozen for a long period of time then they will direct you to Stepchange

They do have the option to freeze interest, they just don't want to do it and won't make as much money if they do.

If you only want to deal with this one debt; your best option is to try and negotiate with them directly.

I think Frosty is right about your options. If you take option 3 or 4 then your Vanquis account will be classed as defaulted on. However this should make it easier to pay the debt off in the long term as long as you are either communicating directly with them or through a third party such as Stepchange.

I had to default on my credit cards two years ago - there were no bailiffs involved at any stage. I spoke to the companies directly at first and then after a couple of months when I realised that our financial situation was only going to get worse I contacted CAP (Christians Against Poverty) another debt management charity who work like stepchange. They have sorted everything out and we are in a DMP now, paying off the debt but no interest has been added since I first defaulted.

It can be done OP but you need know your options.

Hi, hope you don't mind me jumping on this thread. I am also struggling to pay a credit card off and a number of other small debts, will stepchage help even though I am still making payments, just minimum and I am getting no where trying to pay them off

How often are you buying things on very or with PayPal? I don't mean to sound horrible, but I doubt that any of that is essential.

Stop buying anything. You don't need to buy stuff. Pay bills, but a very strictly budgeted food shop and don't buy anything else. Do that for 6 months of so, and pay off as much of your credit card as you can. It's not a fun way to live, you will want thing a but you can't have them, but it is better than defaulted, having fees added and then being chased by a debt collection company. The idea if defaulting is the worst idea.

I may be missing the point but why is your minimum payment £70 on a 1k card?!

Haven't RTFT so sorry if I'm adding useless advice. After I left my job and had brain surgery I obviously couldn't work for a number of months and was on very minimal benefits. I had a vanquis card and they were amazing in sorting it for me - I called them and set up a repayment plan. This meant I could pay what I could afford every month and there was no interest, and the card was frozen so I couldn't use it. I paid the minimum I'd arranged with them and then any extra if I could. Every time I paid under my next £100 they would reduce my credit limit e.g. balance 1355 and I paid £55+ they would reduce my limit to 1300. They did this for 3 months then another 3 months when I still wasn't well enough to go back to work. I know they can do them for longer periods too. If you can't afford it they much prefer you speak to them and arrange something than not pay! This plan will go on your record but it didn't majorly affect mine, and nowhere near as much as a missed payment would.
Good luck!

@allaboutmel yes, definitely! That was how it was for me and they helped me straight away and were very sympathetic

In regards to the paypal debt, i used it to buy carpets for my house. I moved in 2017 so cash was limited and it was handy to buy them on credit and i just got a local fitter that i could pay cash in hand. The paypal debt isn't an issue because i don't use it at all and the balance is only around 200. I only mentioned it to clarify what debt i have.
To the poster saying 'don't buy anything' that really is easier said than done with a 3 year old. Her dad is absent so for the past 2 years i have had to do christmas and birthdays myself. He doesn't even buy his own presents. I don't want to get into all that but my point is it's so hard to save when you have so little.
My credit min payment will be due to the interest. Been with them 4 years, never missed a payment because it's direct debit but i still have 49.9% interest.

I said don't spend anything. I have a 6 and 7 year old. It's possible not to spend.

A 3 year old doesn't need anything. A few gifts for birthday and Xmas- that's twice a year. That's it. And you don't need to buy a mountain. She's 3; she doesn't know. And she doesn't need expensive clothes; 3nd hand is just fine.

It's only for a short time and it will be much better for you daughter in the long run if you spend a year being very very frugal.

*5 and 7 year old
(Also single mum. Their dad was gone, no contact and no maintenance for 4 and a half years).

It sucks. It really does. I was setting up a business, so it wasn't debt for me but it was needing every spare penny to get the business on its feet. It is possible.

I’m sure your little one would rather go without gifts for a year or two than have their mum stressed and anxious and being chased by debt collectors. It wouldn’t be forever and once your finances are more stable you can spoil her a bit. It’s boring but living out with your means can be really damaging after a while. I had to go without any holidays, new clothes or eating out etc for 6 years when I was clearing my debts. It was miserable but the day you find out you are completely debt free is an amazing feeling and I’ve never slept better at night

Believe me i am not one of those mums that spoils her child. I have always been against that. I rarely buy her clothes anyway. I always see what she gets at xmas and birthday(july) then with whatever money she gets i will buy her the stuff she needs. Afterall it's her money.
Thanks so much for all the replies. When i get a chance i am going to do my budget and i will post it.

You absolutely can do this without defaulting and having a debt follow you around. You don't want to have the sleepless night and panic every time the phone rings or the post arrives. It's not worth the stress defaulting will bring.

It's a horrible time. Your ex is a dick. It sucks to be the one having to deal with it. But you're doing it right now; you're getting by. If you can find ways to cut back as much as possible and have one crappy year, then you will come out the other side with money to spare and no debt payments to make. There's lots if great advice on here for £10 a week meal plans etc; you could always start a new thread for weekly meal plans and you will get lots of help.

Don't give up and accept that you'll just need to default and deal with debt collectors.

That sounds like I'm telling you to accept debt collectors!! I meant don't accept that. You can totally do this.

Thanks a lot for the advice and motivation! I can't reply to everyone but i have read and taken on board everything said. I will phone vanquis tomorrow and see what they can do. I am assuming whatever happens my credit rating will take a hit.

Do you have a family member who could pay off part of the debt for you? It would lower your interest payment down if a chunk of the overall balance was paid off at once. You could then pay the family member back with whatever you can afford per month.

How is your credit rating at present? Is there any chance of applying for a balance transfer credit card? The money saving expert website has a credit function, it allows you to do a soft check against which cards you would be most likely to be accepted by before applying and there are some good 0% options around so if you are eligible I would look at that. If you are really desperate even the ones that say 10% chance of being accepted are worth applying for (only after you have exhausted other options as the liklihood of being accepted is so much lower and multiple credit applications has a negative impact on your credit score too).
Here's the link, hope it is helpful www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

My credit rating is crap anyway. Probably due to paying min payment on the credit card. I did the balance transfer credit card check through the money website but the only 100% ones were 6 months only and i didn't think to even bother with the lower chance ones. I really need a job to be able to get one of the better offers.
I do have family that can help but i really don't want to ask. I hate feeling like a burden on others so it's not an option for me.