In trouble with credit cards

I have two credit cards with limits of 3200(aib)and 3000(mbna) i am over limit on both 3800(aib) 3300(mbna) owing to my own stupidity.
I left my job before christmas to start another after which unfortunately didn't work out, so i have been unemployed for nearly three months and have not been able to make a payment.
I have agreed to pay ten euro per week to aib but they are going to register my account with the credit bureau as defaulted.I have to pay mbna seventy now and fifteen per week and feel they will probably register my account as-well.
I feel very flat about my credit rating for the future, I can't seem to get them to agree to taking what i can afford until my situation improves without them registering my accounts.
They don't seem to benefit from registering my account,they won't get their money any quicker while i don't have it, although i understand they probably have to protect other lenders.
I worry about getting a mortgage in the future.Any advice from anyone in the know about minimizing the damage would be great,Thanks in advance.

Have a look at the posr just before this one on MABS

Murt

If you are over the limit on both cards then presumably you are not using them to incur more debt? Whether you are or not you should probably consider cutting up the cards to avoid any temptation to use them if the possibility arises. It might be worth looking into the possibility of transferring either or both balances to a credit card that offers 0% interest on balance transfers for some period (e.g. 6 months). See the best buys list. This might help give you some breathing space during which you will at least not rack up further interest charges. You might want to also look at some of the debt/budgeting resources and to maybe contact MABS to see if they can help you out. I presume that is the topic to which Murt10 was referring? Chances are that this incident will result in a "black mark" on your credit rating but if you can work your way out of it this is not necessarily the end of the world and many lenders/financial institutions will presumably give you credit for having done this. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks %%WORD1% and clubman thats good advice but not working at the moment so probably wouldn't get new credit card for balance transfer, The frustrating part is they will not hold off with the credit bureau route even though i am still paying them what i can afford.
I am going to contact mabs for help, will cut up cards too.
just saw a good idea on another post, to put cards in a bowl of water and put in the freezer, so you get to think before you spend!.

Check in case you can get a 0% rate card even though you are not working. In my opinion you'd be better off cutting up the cards at this stage rather than freezing them. That way there is no thinking at all to be done before spending. What are your prospects of getting some form of paid employment in the near term? Are you in receipt of Unemployment Benefit/Assitance? As for the issue I don't think that the institution has any choice in registering your missed payments since, as far as I know, all loan repayment histories are registered even if repayments are made to schedule.

Hello there,

You are in a bit of a mess OK but the damage has been done so there isn't much point in worrying now about your future credit history - if that's not a bit of a contradiction. If you learn a lesson from this, you'll soon build up a favourable credit rating again.

Not wishing to rub salt into the wound but a credit card debt of > €7,000 will take some time to clear at €25/week excluding interest. But, if all else fails, at least you have breathing space. It must be a very difficult time for you but when you sort this out, wouldn't it be better to forget about it and put all your energies into finding employment?

If you can't get a 0% card, you should go to MABS tomorrow. Is there any family member who would give you a loan to clear the debt? Failing that, why don't you talk to the Credit Union? They are not the cheapest but you have to knock on every door.

I did notice that you exceeded the limit on both cards but hopefully you won't do that again. I don't think it's right for Banks to lure people into debt the way they do. It isn't so long ago that people without security had to almost beg for a loan. Maybe it was better that way. I did find this a bit strange -

just saw a good idea on another post, to put cards in a bowl of water and put in the freezer, so you get to think before you spend!

Click to expand...

Is that for the distant future? If not, I'd be a bit worried for you. Just want to wish you good luck with this. It's a problem now but not the end of the world and you're not the only one. Forget about the freezer!

8)

Sorry to hear of your problems with credit cards.

1. The reason AIB are acting the plonker, is that they are hoping you will get it resolved via credit union and all that.
The fact is that they may or may not register this with ICB. Up to recently, this was not automatic. In any event, even if they do, if and when you sort it out, they must also notify ICB of that. I hear that they are also totally inflexible when it comes to separation cases, so you should also decide now that they wont get your future business. With a little focus this will work out.

2. What you could do is ask your credit union for help. This will do two things. One protect your credit rating (though I dont think thats a major issue); the second is you will reduce your borrowing costs substantially.

3. They will require you to agree a schedule with them and you need to stick by that.

4. Regarding MABS, I dont think people realise that as soon as the FI hear you are involved with them, they downgrade your accounts so fast that they wont relend even if you come back on track.

Am on unemployment benefit but have had lots of interviews so something should come up soon.
Does anyone know of a credit card which is easy to get,i know some banks lower their criteria from time to time.
Also one i can apply for online.

Does anyone know of a credit card which is easy to get

Presumably you mean one with a 0% balance transfer facility and not for further use? Have you checked the best buys list that I mentioned earlier? Not sure how easy/difficult any of these are to get. Best to investigate yourself.

credit card

Its a tough one but I remember hearing before about cc debt, put most of your income onto the card, and then live off it. I could see how this would work, if my other half gives me €100 to pay the ESB bill, if I put the money on my card and paid the esb bill with the card, the €100 payment would allocate against the balance, and the esb bill amount wouldn't incur any interest if paid by the end of the next month. That wouldn't work if you're very much over your limit though

Re: credit card

Sinead

Not only will it not work if you are up to your limit. If you are carrying over any debt at all they charge interest from the time the new transaction is debited to your account until it is cleared.

I posted this earlier about my experience with MBNA.






Murt

oneday,

What sort of work did you do? I have a home loan and a car loan. If I were to become unemployed tomorrow I would not ab able to pay for either. I'd go work in a shop. Anything until I could get suitable work in my chosen field again. There's tonnes of shop jobs out there that pay enough so that you can subsist and pay the minimum charges on your cards in the meantime. If I were you I'd get out there today, get a job and contact the banks asap that you'll be paying the minimum on them.
Without knowing your full circumstances there's no excuse for being in debt and being unemployed...unless you've genuinely considered working in a shop and have been unsuccessful up to now.
Btw, loads of interviews does not always mean a job soon. I'd be scrambling to get a job by the end of the day personally. You might be in full employment in two weeks time...but that might be too late in terms of your credit rating and that lasts five years. What kind of skills do you have?

Can Irish Citizens get a northern Rock Credit Card?

Or does anyone know of a credit card that people with poor credit history but who now have much improved financial circumstances can get?Thanks.

Re: Can Irish Citizens get a northern Rock Credit Card?

By and large you pay a price for getting credit easily with a bad credit history, i.e. you pay higher interest rates. It's the providers way of insuring themselves against the higher risk that you represent.

For the original poster I'd agree with the earlier statement, stop worrying about protecting your credit rating, put all of your efforts into finding work, and once you have an income put your effort into clearing the debt as quickly as possible.

Learn from this experience and you're credit rating will clear itself up reasonably quickly. You need to learn to hate debt.

-Rd