Financial Advice Needed

i work with money ( suprisingly !). Is there a possibility to do a balance transfer?

Nationwide or Tescos have been doing good offers. Can transfer over and reduce the debt down at a interest lower rate.

Hi cleanslate thanks for replying mate, I will look into that as I'm not sure the rate I have on the 2 cards I've got and would this be better on one card instead of 2.

Cheers D.

Hi mate

just a thought but why not visit stepchange, fill out a form on there and it sends you a recommended plan of action. An IVA might be perfect for you as im guessing the credit cards are raking hundreds in interest every month??

I think all interest is frozen on an IVA .

Just found this mate;

What are the pros and cons for an IVA

*IVA PROs*

IVA ProDebt Free in 5 Years

An IVA will last for a fixed period of time, normally no longer than 5 years.

IVA ProTelephone Calls and Payment Demands Stopped

Once the IVA is agreed, your creditors by law are no longer allowed to demand payments from you either by telephone or letter.

IVA ProInterest and Late Payment Charges Frozen

After the IVA has been put in place, your creditors cannot add further charges or interest to any of your accounts covered by the agreementby law.

IVA ProSingle Monthly Payment

At the beginning of the arrangement, you agree with your creditors what you can afford to pay each month. In some cases, you can pay a one-off lump sum.

IVA ProRepaired Credit Rating

Once you have successfully completed your arrangement, you will be allowed to borrow money and your credit rating will start to improve. You will not be credit blacklisted for life.

IVA ProFixed, Legally Binding Agreement

Once agreed, the IVA is legally binding (see glossary) on all the creditors. You will know exactly where you stand and exactly how long it will be before you are debt free.

IVA ProProtection from Court Action

Once an IVA is in place, your creditors are not allowed to take further legal action against you as long as you stick to the terms of the arrangement.

IVA ProA Private Agreement

If you undertake an IVA, it is a private matter between yourself and your creditors. No publicity in the local papers. However your name can be searched in the insolvency register which is available on the internet.

See: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/eiir/

IVA ProProfessional Status Unaffected

Regardless of your professional position (e.g. doctor, solicitor or accountant) you can carry out an IVA without any adverse effects to your job.

*IVA CONs*

Cons IVAPossible Release of Home Equity

If you have any equity in your property or any other significant valuable assets, you may be required to release some or all of this as part of the IVA agreement.

Cons IVAMinimum Level of Debt

Usually you will only be able to undertake an IVA if your total unsecured debt is more than 10,000. In addition, you will usually need to be able to afford a monthly payment of at least 120.

Cons IVANo Unsecured Borrowing During the Arrangement

While you are in an IVA, you will not be able to use your store or credit cards. These must be cut up. However, it may be possible to change an existing mortgage or take a new one while you are in an IVA. However you will be able to use prepaid cards.

Cons IVAStick to a regimented regime for 5 years

Failure to maintain control of your finances and keep up your IVA payments will mean that you may be bankrupted. However you may be able to take payment holidays and you may be able to miss payments for extreme circumstances, but this will extend the period of you IVA.

Cons IVADamaged Credit Rating

Your credit rating will not be as badly damaged as if you went bankrupt but you will still be unable to borrow for 5 years. You will also have a period after your IVA where it may be hard to get credit. This period varies but should be less than a year.

Cons IVALonger than Bankruptcy

An IVA will last for 5 years compared to bankruptcy which will usually only last 1 year unless you have a payment order and this will last three years.

Cons IVAYou will pay back more than you will in bankruptcy

In an IVA you will pay back about a significant amount of your debt (e.g. 20%-50%) as opposed to bankruptcy where you will pay back a minimum amount (which could be as little as 0).

Cons IVAYou must include all creditors

All creditors must be included and you cannot make separate arrangements with each one (which can be done in a DMP).

if you ake a loan to clear the debts ( known as debt consolidation) you may potentially pay more interest but it will be for a fixed period of time so for example if it was a loan over 4 years you will have a monthly payment and then the amount is cleared.

If you do a credit card balance transfer you may find a lower interest rate over a year for an example but it depends if you can pay capital off...ie will you be disiplined enough to do so.

Hi sonicboom and cleanstate, thanks for the advice I will look into these things, there is a lot to think about. Cheers

Definitely look into contacting Stepchange or Payplan.

Hello guys, there are a few steps you need to take before you do anything with this credit card debt:

1) stop all gambling immeadiatley, might sound obvious but I have been in this situation a couple of times, thinking I can sort it out and its slid worse. Accept where we are and we can start to deal with it.

2) work out exactly what you owe and what the card interest rates are.

3) work out what you can actually afford to repay in total on the credit cards per month.

4) go to www.whatsthecost.co.uk and input all of your info into the snowball calculator, this will show you how much to pay on each and how long it will take you to pay them off and how much interest you will pay in total.

This is a scary thought at first, but I personally believe if you can pay them off, then do it this way, its worked for me and can work for you.

The hardest part about it is stopping and not being tempted to trying to chase the loss over and over.

regards

Hi polisario and joeblogs, thanks for the advice much appreciated. I have a few things to look at, I no I have 7,800 debts on two cards, not sure what the interest rates are. I wont try and chase the money no way that's why I owe so much already, it would only get worse.

Cheers D.

I owed a lot on a credit card due to my last and final gambling binge.

I contacted the company and straight away they were really helpful. I said I was worried about being in financial difficulties due to a gambling problem, and they immediately froze my card (at my request) and drew up a repayment plan where I'm only being charged 3% interest per annum with me agreeing to pay a minimum amount each month. Tons better that all the interest I would've had to pay if I'd have kept quiet.

I'd definitely approach the credit card companies and see what they can do to help. Most have a dedicated part of their customer service team for people who are worried about debts and repayments.

Good luck and I wish you well!

Angela x

thats a possibility but be aware they may want to do an income and expenditure assessment and it could be reviewable every 6 months.