Advice on credit debt & irresponsible lending

[rose9826]

Hi all, new to the group, I've been referred to this group for help with my credit card and credit debt.
I have 3 credit cards:

Capital One - 34.08% Apr. Limit £100, I owe £851.27.

Zable - 48.90% Apr. Limit £800, I owe £711.30.

Vanquis - 30.90% Apr. Limit £1200, I have not used it yet. It's new.

Ocean - not sure on APR. Limit £300, I have not used it yet.

Credit Spring - I owe them £500.

Steady Pay - I owe them £100.

Zilch - I owe them £153.46.

Klarna - I owe them £309.89.

I am the most concerned about the Zable card as the interest rate is so high.

I have been advised to sent an email to both Zable and Credit Spring complaining of irresponsible lending, but I don't know how to go about this and if it is the right step.
I was also told to use the new Vanquis card to do a balance transfer of £500 to Zable, however that option isn't available.

Basically I'm just asking for advice on what to do and how to tackle this.

Klarna and Zilch I am not too bothered about, it's the credit cards and credit spring that I'm worried about.

I don't work, didn't work when I applied for any of the cards, my income is benefits and DLA for one of my children.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have only just realised just how much of a hole I have dug myself into.

Thank you.

Who has advised you to complain about irresponsible lending? Why do you think it's irresponsible lending? I would recommend cutting up the cards and contacting Stepchange for advice.

So you currently owe money to 6 companies, whether they are credit cards or other credit facilities. Advice is usually to pay down the debt starting with higher interest first. I would contact all creditors advising of your financial difficulties and asking them for a payment plan, and take it from there.

Please contact an organisation like Step Change or CAP for advice and support.
Whether or not you complain about irresponsible lending, you need to focus on a sensible plan to pay off your debts.

you have new credit cards that you must have requested so must be intending to spend on, so that’s on you.
im inclined to think and irresponsibility lands firmly on your shoulders not the cc companies sorry. but i’m not a legal boffin.

what you are looking for is a zero percent balance transfer. you use it to transfer debt to in order to save money on paying apr rates but i doubt anyone will offer that as you have too much debt spread around.

pay off the biggest apr debt first then close the account and continue through them all. close accounts you domt need. stop applying for credit. seek help uf you need it to get your bills under control and work out what you need to put by to pay off things. youll get there. dont lose hope.

Agree with seeking help from a debt charity who can go through your whole circumstances.

But if you have been honest about your income and outgoings, I'm not sure that there's been irresponsible lending. You 'only' owe around £2500 and this could look quite affordable on paper if your income covers your essential outgoings comfortably and leaves disposable income.

You say that 'you have been told to use the new Vanquis card to do a balance transfer of £500 to Zable, however that option isn't available'. Are you looking for this in Vanquis or Zable? Because you've described this the wrong way around, you want to ask Vanquis to transfer a balance to them from Zable.

You should be able to transfer perhaps £12/1300 to the two new empty cards (you can't fill them up to the limit) and then pay the minimum payment while dealing with the rest. What are the payment terms for the other 4 lenders? When do they expect their money back and are they adding interest/charges?

Have you done a budget and can you afford to repay this money over a reasonable amount of time? What was the money spent on? Non essentials or filling the gap between income and outgoings? Because depending on which, this determines what the best solution is.

Mumsnet isn't always the best place to seek debt advice, you'd be better off looking at Moneysaving Expert and following the advice or posting details of your income and outgoings and more about your debts there.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan/

What have you used the cards for? Why have you got new ones? You want to contact them regarding irresponsible lending as you want them to write the debts off. But surely if you were that worried about running up debt you wouldn’t have got new cards? Obviously, they were to write the debts of would you be intending to run debts again? Which is why I ask what you’ve been spending them on. Are you using them for day today essentials or have you been using them for luxuries?
As a previous poster said you need to work out a budget and work out how to pay them back but you need to be honest with yourself and look at what you’re actually using them for

Your credit card limits are very low. Is it because the banks view you a risk? Is there a history of poor spending.

The usual way to solve Cc debt is to consolidate one card. Move to interest free card and frantically overpay until at zero.

I read this and thought it was going to be horrendous!
in the grand scheme of things it’s not too bad, not ideal but not too bad.
I agree contact step change and speak to them and take it from there.

don’t panick tho - things could be worse.

Isn’t there a way you can amalgamate the debts and arrange a payment plan? Cut the cards up and don’t apply for anymore. You need to take some responsibility for this.

Op is it possible you have come to the wrong place? There’s is a money matters in Orkney for example. Who referred you?

use A template found on any search engine and put in a complaint

though if your limit with a credit company is £100 and your debit to them is £851, I’m assuming it’s interest on the debit under £100?

whether you’ll have success on your complaint will depend on income and vulnerability

Are you a carer for your child? If not, can you get a job to help pay down the debt? If so, then you can clear that eventually.

For the card where you are over you limit, do they charge more for being over your limit? If you can't balance transfer to the new cards then I would cancel them.

here is an AI answer to your question

how to go about complaining

An irresponsible lending complaint letter should detail that a lender failed to perform adequate affordability checks, resulting in unmanageable debt. It must include account details, evidence of financial hardship at the time of lending, and a request for a refund of interest and charges
.
Irresponsible Lending Complaint Template
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
[Date]
[Name of Lender]
[Address of Lender]
Account Number(s): [Insert Account Number(s)]
Reference Number(s): [If applicable]
Subject: Formal Complaint - Irresponsible Lending and Unaffordable Credit
Dear Complaints Department,
I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding the credit agreement(s) mentioned above, which I believe were provided to me irresponsibly.
I believe this lending was irresponsible because:
Lack of Proper Checks: [Lender Name] failed to carry out reasonable and proportionate checks into my financial circumstances at the time the loan was approved.
Unaffordable Payments: If proper checks had been completed, it would have been clear that I could not afford to make the repayments without borrowing more money or sacrificing essential living expenses.
Financial Situation: At the time of the loan, my income was [insert income], and my mandatory expenses were [insert expenses], leaving no capacity for this repayment.
[Optional: Include specific details if you were already in debt, had a poor credit history, or if credit limits were increased without assessment].
Impact on Me
This, or these, loans have caused me significant financial hardship, stress, and inconvenience.
Action Required
I request that you investigate this matter and, in line with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules, take the following actions:
Refund all interest and charges paid on this account.
Remove any negative information from my credit file regarding this debt.
If the account is outstanding, freeze further interest and charges and restructure the repayments to a truly affordable amount.
I expect a response to this complaint within 8 weeks. If I do not receive a satisfactory response, I will take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Yours faithfully,
[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]
Key Considerations for Submitting the Complaint:
Evidence: Attach bank statements or a budget planner to show your financial position at the time of the loan.
Where to Send: Send this to the lender's official complaints email or address.
Follow-up: If rejected, you can escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman.
Creditors: This process applies to credit cards, loans, catalogue debt, and overdrafts.

If you need help with the evidence

Evidence: Attach bank statements or a budget planner to show your financial position at the time of the loan.

use citizen advise budget planner as a start https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/budgeting1/work-out-your-budget/

print out and include in your evidence

Did you declare the existing debt when applying for the new cards? They have each offered fairly low limits so I don't think individually they were that bad, but if the later ones knew about the other debts it could well be irresponsible lending.

Write a letter saying you can't afford to pay the debt and you consider it was irresponsible of them to lend to you as they were aware of your very limited income (and other debts if they knew) ask them to freeze the interest where it is and offer to pay off the existing debt at a rate you can afford. Or you could first tell them they should write off the whole debt, due to irresponsible lending and negotiate back to freezing the interest and paying back slowly. and see how it goes.

I thought stepchange could negotiate these things for you, took a single affordable payment from you and distributed it to all your debtors is that who have advised you?

Get a job and start paying them off?
Just a thought.

I don't work, didn't work when I applied for any of the cards, my income is benefits and DLA for one of my children

this part is also very important to your complaint

so you have bank statements from the time you took out the two cards? This would show your income was totally benefits and is evidence

as an aside have you asked your local council for a DHP payment? This can be a one of payment for 3 months as you are struggling financially- be worth applying, you have nothing to lise. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments

op is a carer for her child, that is a fucking job

Without knowing your outgoings and income it’s impossible to give any useful advice.

OP you said you weren't working but a carer when you took out the cards. What was your plan then regarding payment? Did you make full disclosure of your financial situation and existing cards when applying for new cards?

pay the highest interest first, focus on the zable card. Then move to the next and so fourth.
Unfortuatelty the irresponsible behaviour lies with you, you knew you couldn’t afford these but continued to get more cards.

That is the purpose of a “hard check” by credit company, they check debts to other lenders

op gives information about income, so as ling as that is truthful, which we have no reason to conclude op wasn’t truthful

it’s the credit companies job to access affordability

Unfortunately the irresponsible behaviour lies with you, you knew you couldn’t afford these but continued to get more cards.

factually incorrect, affordability alsolies with the credit companies, thus the ability in law to complain and get compensation

But if you take out a mirtgage and can't pay you lisevyour house.

With credit card debt we need to stop writing it off. The individual should be liable for it for their lifetime and in the meantime all credit avenues stopped.

This question is not about writing off a credit card debt, its about sensible lending.

Just as mortgages were lending 110% the value of the house, then got burnt losing money with the housing crash and people walking away from their homes as they were repossessed. The banks had to stop lending 110% of the value of a house and regulations became tighter - so should credit cards if they are finding their systems aren't working.

Loaning at 34% to someone who possibly can't afford it might well be irresponsible and that is why there is a system set up to challenge this loaning style and get compensation.