Hi and help!

Have had £15k credit card for ages, new company took over approx January, repayments have gone up nearly 100 per month -paying approx £365 per month and getting nowhere. Am phoning them tomorrow as this is crippling us (hubby changed job approx march-no longer does overtime so drop in wages of approx £8k per year) Is there any hope of them being helpful eg reducing our monthly payments? many thanks for any replies

Hi Luckybags,

Don't forget that Moneymagpie do have their own comparison sites right here. 

You could always get a 0% balance transfer credit card, which will wipe out any interest you are currently paying on your card - Virgin's lasts for 15 months at 0%. Or a low lifetime balance transfer card may be more helpful - Barclaycard Platinum is good for that. The most important thing to remember is to close down and cut up the old card.

There is also a helpful step-by-step guide on how to get out of debt here. 

Hope this helps and good luck.

Hi again! Took out the dreaded bill to pay it, only to find that next month the interest rate is going up, so, my repayments will be approx 360 and the interest will be 300.18 ( meaning only approx 60 will come off my balance. This is just so out of hand it is sad. Are they allowed to do

this? Have also tried applying for zero per cent cards but am not allowed to make balance transfers with them?  Feel like screaming-what a catch 22 -is anyone else suffering with problems like this?

thanks again

Hi there - this really does sound unfair although, sadly, the answer is yes, they are allowed to put the interest rates up so long as they give you warning (looks like it's a month in this case) and explain the terms clearly. However, remember nothing in this business is set in stone. There is nothing to stop you ringing the company up and telling them that if they do this to you they may cause you to go bankrupt or do an IVA. The credit card companies don't want you to do either of those because they know that if you do they will lose all or part of the money you owe. If you tell them that you want to pay the money but they are going to have to give you a better rate then they should negotiate. Put it to them that a lot of lenders are suffering from bad debts at the moment and there are more to come. If they bend on their interest rates with you then you will be able to pay and they won't have yet another bad debt on their hands. If they won't play ball, tell us about it here and we'll look into it. Keep strong! Jasmine

Me again! I was talking to a friend at a debt advice charity and I mentioned your problem. He had some extra advice to give and I made some notes from our conversation. Here goes:

He pointed out that although credit card companies are suffering too, the payments they get from their customers are not just helping them scrape through. They are still making big profits. This is why there is room to negotiate.

He suggests that you first,make a budget. All credit card companies have special departments for hardship. They are authorized to do deals to help you manage your repayments. Before you contact them the first thing you need to do is make a budget. This will demonstrate clearly to the company why you are unable to meet the repayments.

Make a list of your monthly incomings. Then make a list of your spending priorities - mortgage or rent payments, bills, food and living costs. Make totals for both incomes and your spending priorities and then subtract spending from income. The figure you are left with is your expendible income. If you are struggling to pay your credit card repayments then this figure will be quite low. This will demonstrate to the credit card company your inability to meet repayments.

Then he says you should get some advice - free advice from one of the free debt services. You should not have to pay in order to get out of debt! Speak to a counsellor at the Consumer Credit Counselling Service or the Citizens Advice Bureau. They will be able to tell you what to expect when you phone the credit card company. If you really are in over your head, they will also be able to help you with a debt management plan.

Getting advice will help you know what to expect and stay calm when talking to the credit card company. It will also demonstrate to them that you are serious and genuine about wanting to repay the debt. The CCCS and CAB are respected organisations and will be taken seriously by your credit card company.

Contact the credit card company. Tell them that you simply cannot meet the repayments and will have to declare bankruptcy if forced to make them. Make sure you have your budget to hand to give them exact figures to back up your claim. It will also be helpful to mention that you have sought advice from the CCCS, the CAB or another debt help charity.

When faced with this kind of situation the credit card company will have to respond to you. You are not whining or complaining. You are simply stating that either you can negotiate an affordable repayment plan or you will have to default on the entire debt.

It is far better for the credit card companies to get their debts repaid slowly, than to have someone default on the entire debt. At least at a slower rate of repayment they get their money back. If you default they will get nothing.

This kind of negotiation may cause your credit score to go down a bit. However it will be nothing compared to the huge black mark on your credit rating that defaulting on your debt would make.

Let us know how you get on :-)