How can I settle credit card debt prior to emigrating :(

T

Taz_CC

Registered User
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Hi folks,

I've been lurking here a while trying to get as much information as I could about dealing with a large debt accrued over at least 10 years. I've posted this on another thread as well, so apologies for the repetition- just trying to gather as many responses as I can.

Short story is this- I have just over 10k in unsecured credit card debt (MBNA Ireland) and I'm a self-employed contractor (very specialist IT- no jobs for me at present) which means no social welfare benefit so no income of any kind. I'm living on rapidly dwindling savings and have no assets but my car which doesnt get a whole lot of use now (can't afford to tax it or the petrol) and it's been listed for sale for about 4 weeks now.

I've now missed the last two minimum payments in the hopes that MBNA will engage with me to negotiate either a closing of the account and final settlement figure or an indefinite freeze on interest while I chip away at the outstanding balance. This has been put in writing to them via the contact page within my secure login on their website. They actually have a form for sending emails to them, including a dropdown box to select the subject- I selected something along the lines of "Financial difficulties".

Further, I'm planning to emigrate to join my family in the country of which I'm a citizen. I've mentioned this in my email and have asked them hasten a response on my case as I'm planning to leave end of May or by mid June at the latest. I've made it clear to them (and would like to make it clear here too) that I've no wish to abandon the debt. That said, I wonder what would happen if I did abandon it?! Only curious- I'm not really considering it as the guilt would eat me alive. I'd also be terribly afraid they'd track me down and make life very difficult for me. Its just not worth it. But mainly I feel that stealing is just plain wrong.

I guess my question is will they deal with this relatively quickly? I'm wondering if anyone else has been in the same boat- planning to leave the country but would like an arrangement made for outstanding debt. Has anyone an idea of a settlement figure as a percentage of the balance? This credit card is my only debt- I've no loans or mortgages or credit agreements of any kind- my credit standing to date has been excellent. I know this will go against me, but I'm not too bothered about that. I'm also not bothered whether the debt gets tidied up through MBNA or gets sold to a third-party.

All comments appreciated, thank you.
 
Read the posts by 'wipetheslate' on how he achieved a settlement with his credit card company.
 
Thank you, I'll have a look. Hopefully that person was dealing with MBNA as well as I believe they can be quite difficult!
 
UPDATE- An email from MBNA

Folks,

I've had a communication from MBNA following email contact a couple of days ago advising my circumstances. I've included it below, in case anyone is interested, but I do have a question with regard to the last portion of it, something about a search made against the credit bureau. What sort of information turns up in this search? Does it include details of balances in my accounts? Or what accounts pay my bills?

Up until now I've had no black marks against me. Another credit card (business card linked to my consultancy work) with a limit of just €1000 is cleared every month. Obviously that card doesn't see much use, particularly as I've locked the PIN on it. I've no outstanding loans- any loans in the past were paid off in full. I own my car outright having paid cash plus a trade-in last year. All bills, utilities etc are paid on time by direct debit.

Here's the mail from MBNA:

"Thank you for your message. We do have a reduced payment facility to help customers in financial difficulty. You will need to complete an income, asset and expenditure form to apply for this. You can find this on-line. From google type in mbna.ie. Click on the second option, personal credit cards | Ireland | mbna - official site. On the right hand side under quick links, existing customer click on minimum payment change. Scroll down to income and expenditure details and click on income and expenditure form. When complete please either return to the address on the website or call 0818 211 784 where an associate will be available to help you.

If your application is successful we will reduce your monthly payments suppress the fees and also either suppress or reduce the interest charged to the account. We would also certainly consider an offer of payment to settle your account. You can use the same application form to offer a settlement amount on the account. If your application is successful you will have up to 60days to make the payment from the date of the agreement. If you give us a certain date within that 60day period that the payment will be on the account then the payment must be received by that date. Failure to have the payment on the account by that date will result in the agreement being cancelled and your account registering as a default with the credit reference agencies. We can only accept one payment for a settlement therefore you should wait until you have the full agreed amount available before making your payment.

Any partial/short settlement will show as such with the credit reference agencies for six years. We will also require your permission to conduct a credit reference search on you"
 
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