ADVICE NEEDED!!! Sorry its a bit of a long one but need help!!!

[broody_mama]

Ok, so I owe Argos £500...that is the only outstanding debt I have.

I am with Nationwide atm and each month they are deciding to charge me £30 making me overdrawn, for which they charge me £30 the next month...so basically they are making £30 a month from me ad wont stop taking the money from me, which that £30 would be better used in paying argos back.

I am thinking about getting a credit card and using that to pay off my argos debt, and then the money I am getting each month, can be used for bills and the rest used to pay off my credit card, though I will give it to my mum after paying argos off to prevent me from using it to buy unnecesary things and she can get the food allowance out.

I am getting my childminding business set up here when baby is 6 months old (ive just moved to this area and am 30 weeks perg....setting it up now would be suicidal)

Sorry it's long, just need some advice on whether it is a good idea to do this or not?

 

[chuck]

Dont put yourself in more debt to pay debt.

Speak to Argos and try to arrange a payment plan rather than using a credit card.

 

[lottie_2007]

Yea i agree speak to argos, the interest on a credit card wont be worth it! Set up an amount you can pay back to argos each month x

 

[daisydoo]

it would be worth it if you put it on an interest free credit card hun and make 100% sure you pay a set amount off each time. virgin have got one out at the mo xx

 

[chuck]

if you keep going overdrawn or you know you will go over ask your bank for an extension on your overdraft even if its only temporary to stop you going overdrawn and getting charged for it.

The interest on an overdraft is less than a credit card.

Plus with a credit card the temptation to use it is always there.

 

[Emma1980]

Yep i agree too, i made this mistake and kept remaking it and ended up bankrupt!

 

[emalou90]

i used to work for Argos hun, and unlike many 'credit card' companies, their Argos card financial section is run and owned by Argos themselves NOT by some money grabbing debt collecters who won't give you the time of day.

it's worth giving Argos helpline a ring and explaining the situation (as to avoid interest on top of your 500 pounds) and working out a payment process, they much rather have, a tenner here, twenty pounds there, than not telling them you're having issue's paying them back

give them a ring and let us know xxxx


(sorry im clueless about the rest, just dont use a credit card to pay of Argos with!) xx

 

[chuck]

Yep i agree too, i made this mistake and kept remaking it and ended up bankrupt!

I own thousands because of my previous mistakes and thinking I could pay debt with more debt...doh..hence why I can only afford 4 months off on maternity leave.

Ah well...my debts are SLOWLY going down.

 

[leelee]

A 0% credit card would be your best bet. As someone said above Virgin are offering a 16 month one at the moment. There will be a small fee to transfer the money over but you will have a good amount of time to pay it back.

My advice would be to shred the card as soon as it arrives (after you have activated it) and then just pay off the money. This means you won't be tempted to spend on it.

 

[suzib76]

weird i thought i answerd this earlier but its not there?

 

[suzib76]

phew im not going mad, it was in finance as well lol
ok just copied the answer i gave then lol

i wouldnt advise a credit card at all

i would get onto the bank and try to get the charges stopped, if they wont help then the only way would be to leave an extra £30 in one month to cover the charge and they would not make you go overdrawn so wouldnt be charging the next month

if argos debt is mounting and nothing being paid but interest added i would firstly call them up and try to arrange some sort of alternative paymeny plan - most places are willing to do htis if its the only way they are going to get paid - if you get no joy from argos nip to the citezens advice who will put you in touch wqith someone who can help

please please please dont take on a credit card - credit to pay debt never works and before you no it you will be in a downward spiral - its so not worth it hun x

 

[leelee]

phew im not going mad, it was in finance as well lol
ok just copied the answer i gave then lol

i wouldnt advise a credit card at all

i would get onto the bank and try to get the charges stopped, if they wont help then the only way would be to leave an extra £30 in one month to cover the charge and they would not make you go overdrawn so wouldnt be charging the next month

if argos debt is mounting and nothing being paid but interest added i would firstly call them up and try to arrange some sort of alternative paymeny plan - most places are willing to do htis if its the only way they are going to get paid - if you get no joy from argos nip to the citezens advice who will put you in touch wqith someone who can help

please please please dont take on a credit card - credit to pay debt never works and before you no it you will be in a downward spiral - its so not worth it hun x

I don't entirely agree with you. If you get a 0% credit card and shred it after it has been activated then you can't spend on it.

If the OP doesn't have an extra £30 to leave in the bank account then how will she ever pay it off. Paying it on a 0% credit card over a period of 15-16 months gives lots of time to pay it off.

I am currently paying off a loan through a 0% credit card and shredded the card straight away, so I have never spent on it.

Of course she should contact the bank to see if she can get an extension on her overdraft and also contact Argos about payments but the money will have to be paid back one way or the other. Generally the interest is very high on a store card whereas with a 0% card it is like having an interest free loan. But you HAVE to shred the card.

 

[leelee]

Meant to add - you will get great advice from www.moneysavingexpert.com

Go to one of the forums and they will also outline the options for you.

 

[broody_mama]

Have spoken to the bank and they said that they wont even give me an overdraft cos where I am going overdrawn each month...thing is, the only reason I'm going overdrawn is because of them taking the money out! All money that is coming in is accounted for in bills and food...£5 a month is saved for xmas and birthday budget (other peoples birthdays) which obviously has been spent on xmas already...otherwise id have tried the putting in of £30 extra to stop it going over drawn...

When baby is like 3-6 months old I'll be doing childminding full time so I will have a good income coming in to cover it all but because of the unexpected changes of my circumstances I wasn't expecting to move etc while pregnant...rawr this sucks!!!

 

[emalou90]

did you try ringing Argos hun? x

 

[broody_mama]

Going to ring them in the morning to ask if we can sort out an agreement to pay back a certain amount a month but as i said, all my money is accounted for each month, bar the £5 a month, which i either take out and keep in another account or I keep in cash for emergencies like fault on the car etc...thats why I was thinking about getting a credit card paying arogs back and then getting all my money put into that accoutn where i can pay it back over a certain amount of time and the bank wont be taking every last penny and giving me even more charges :S

 

[New2Bumps]

That is a great idea and one that works if you can stick to the rules!

I've done that in the past - took out £300 on a credit card at 0% interest, set up a DD for £50 each week and paid it off in the 6 weeks - shredded the pin number thing without opening so that I couldn't use the card in the shops then cancelled the account after a couple of months.

BE CAREFUL as MANY credit cards will not give 0% interest on cash advances which is what you having that money may be classed as unless you could open the account as a balance transfer from Argos to the new card (which is what I did).

Good idea about ringing Argos too as I'm pretty sure if you state you can't pay then they pretty much are obliged to accept any offer of payment you can make - so if they're asking you for £50 pm and you say I can afford to pay £10 pm then they have to 'show willing' and accept it, but I read your query more as it's the overdraft charges that are the problem. As soon as you clear your overdraft you might want to look into changing to an account that has a buffer - a small overdraft capacity for which there is no charge. Lots of banks and buillding societies offer this function.

You could also go on the Martin Lewis website for money advice

 

[broody_mama]

That's the thing...I don't have an overdraft...they won't give me one because when they take the money out of my account each month it makes me overdrawn...hence why they are charging me every time it goes to even -0.01p!

I was looking online at my banking and it shows that last month, I had put an extra £10 in my account the same day they took the charges...only because they are registering the charges going out BEFORE i put the money in my account (which the computer is showing as less than an hour between the charge and the deposit), and it went overdrawn by 3p...they are charging me £30. Either way Nationwide are wording it the best they can to not give me my money back and are determined to fuck me over every single month.

 

[Lullaby2010]

I had this exact same problem with my bank a couple yrs ago. My only option was a 0% credit card which I destroyed once it was activated so I couldn't spend any extra on it. Took me 14months to clear it at just the minimum amount each month and I was able to sort out my bank too, as if it's their fault you're going overdrawn then you can take action over it. Go to citizen's advice to get the charges stopped hon. That's how I stopped my bank charges. I couldn't claim back what they'd taken, but at least they didn't take any more x

 

[Seity]

A 0% credit card can be a very useful tool if you make sure to read all the fine print and have the self control not to abuse it. I use 0% credit cards all the time, but I always make the payment every month and pay them in full before the 0% runs out. Not everyone has the discipline to play the 0% credit card game and get into trouble. The credit card companies count on this.