SO SO ANNOYED

[nutcracker]

Have been trying to sort our dire money situation out and so agreed with Barclays that I would have a resolve loan to clear my overdraft and 2 loans that I have with them.

It is a crap deal as it is because my loan was over 5 years orignally and repayments totalled £150 but now the resolve loan is over 10 years with repayments being £100 a month.

I rang today to check something and have been told only now that as part of the agreement I wil now also only be isued with an Electron card not a Visa debit connect card.

So now i will not be able to use my card to pay for goods in most shop, order stuff over the internet, do food shopping over the internet or anything.

They said i either accept it or back out of the agreement and go back to my original payments and sort out the one months loan payment that I have now already missed.

Have you tried any other banks ???

No because my credit rating is awful and the loans were with Barclays.

Is it worth ringing another bank and being honest ??

What is the difference between the two cards ??
[thick emotion]

Barclays did this to me too nutcracker, but it was a while ago when we didn't need plastic in the way we do now. Could you take out a loan from somewhere else to clear your Barclays loans?

I saved money using my card to food shop online because I was more careful about how much i spent.

This is just crap crap crap.

I won't be able to order online for xmas or anything.

Nope I can't get a loan with anyone else, my credit is too bad.

They were actually supposed to have cancelled the card last week she has just told me. Good job they didn't cos I used it today.

I am so upset, i just know this whole thing is gonna go pear shaped and I'm gonna end up worse off.

nutty, unless you have CCJ or are a serial defaulter, other banks may consider you

as it will be a fsa bound credit agreement you have 7 days to change your mind, it might be worth doing that

I think it is already too late though they are cancelling my card and putting the loan through now.

Just tried HSBC for a loan as tbey gave my terrible with money brother one, but they said NO.

Can you definitely not use your electron card for shopping for food online. I accept electron online, although it's not listed on the tick box it works if you select visa. and solo.

I know Asda and Tesco definatly don't accept Electron online. God knows why though cos you can use an Electron card in the asda store.

You can use Electron on ebay and play.com but i don't know of any other websites that accept it.

Be wary of applying for loans now nutcracker. Each application will have a further adverse effect on your credit rating regardless of if you are accepted or not. It's a crap, unfair system - especially when the best advice from financial institutions is 'shop around'.

Barclays have consolidated for you so you are on the first step of sorting things out. Run your bank account well and hopefully Barclays will reconsider you for a Delta card within 3-6 months.

I know shopping online saves money, but so does setting yourself a strict shopping list & budget and paying cash.

Im sure its my electron card I use for tesco online

I use my electron card on sainsburys.com. I use it on Cd-wow too, but there isn't many places that accept them online, I can normally use it in most shops now.

I cant use electron for tescos.

The only thing I can think of to suggest is that Capital One do a 'sub-prime' Visa credit card. Basically you give them £250 and then they will lend it back to you - the interest rate is horrific but if you clear it every month that isn't an issue.

I dunno how helpful that will be for you given you would need to have the £250 upfront, but I wonder if maybe a family member could lend it to you or similar? It's aimed at people trying to rebuild their credit history. I would be mega pissed off if I couldn't shop online; with a chronically ill husband and a small baby, it's vital for me. I am mystified as to why Electron isn't more accepted, or why online payment systems can't be tightened up so that you can't use Maestro if it will take you over your overdraft limit, for example.

Your refinancing loan sounds absolutely horrific. £150/month 5 years = £9000, £100/month 10 years = £12,000, as I'm sure you've worked out for yourself Whether or not you can cancel the loan, I would strongly suggest you pop over to The Motley Fool's Dealing With Debt board - they will be able to help you get a proper budget sorted and advise on the best course of action to clear your debts.

i thought high-street banks only offer 5 years loans.
anyway, given the circumstances, perhaps best to accept their offer.

any do only cash supermaket shops. it would will train you to keep to a strict budget. then apply for a debit card in about 6 months and see if they will consider giving you one then. however, the account must be faultless by then.

i suspect the deal itself is not brilliant in terms of the interest you are being charged but at least you are saving 50/month in the short term. and loosing much more in the longer term, but i don't think you can do better at this particular moment in time.

nutcracker i would go and see an independant debt advisor.
they deal daily with situations like this and will be able to help you sort your debts out with the least possible hassle and will be able to recommend somewhere to get a lower interest loan (hopefully)... my aunt has just done this and it has really helped

The CCCS are very helpful, and the advice is free! They helped us last year with our problems!!
They have a website too.