barclaycard reduced payment plan

[WideMouthedFrog]

So the lady on the phone ( yes I phoned) said I should speak to their department that deals with helping people make payments, by reducing the interest rate for a stated period or accepting a much lower monthly repayment that normal. The lady in said department wasnt quite so open I felt. She wanted to know what I wanted them to accept, but seemed a little confused as to what she could offer me...she threw about terms like full settlement, partial reduction of interest , probationary periods but wasnt really very clear about anything, and when I asked about the implications for me if I went this route she was well and truly garbled. So I said I needed time to consider..but basicly I meant to find someone who could inform me a little better. I have a few days before payment is due to get a more clear understanding.

Who can tell me anything about these arrangements ...or even what my options are for such arrangements? The debt is not enormous...under 3000, but big enough to be kicking my po, and I want this stress out of my life.

I currently have no personal source of income and really nothing in the way of assets ( dont think holey socks count).

[rebel11]

Have you been charged any late or over limit charges that you could possibly claim back?

[WideMouthedFrog]

yep, only payments to be added to this account in the last 18months is from ppi ( which they were supposed to remove last year and didnt) and interest, then more recently charges for exceeding the limit. they said can start by refunding this for the last 12 months...will wait for the proof before I count the chickens though....they still want the full whack for this month and for last months (missed payment)which they are still calculating on the basis that I was exceeding my limit and paying for the ppi.

What I was wondering about though is, although I realise my credit history is already marred, I have more or less been attempting to keep up with minimum payments...so does accepting a plan do me damage in the long run re future banking options/lending/mortgage etc or is the odd missed payment actually more damaging. is an agreed plan a win win situ for me and the bank and I should jump at the chance?

Frankly, getting credit was always an issue even though till last year I had always worked, payed my dues and had a healthily active account with the bank, so actually I think that thoughts on credit scores and rating are really sometimes a waste of grey matter anyway! But I would at somepoint maybe like to have my own home...and I dont mean when Im 90 and believe me the clock is ticking!

[rebel11]

You can get your PPI, late charges and interest back for 6 years, but your not limited to 6 years. You need to send them a SAR, they should send you all the data they have including statements. From the statements you can work out PPI, Late charges and interest.

Don't let them work out what refund your entilted too. If you spend a bit of time on it, it could work out to be quite a bit.

[slick132]

BC are usually really bad at helping peeps when they are having a hard timne with repayments.

 

If you have all your a/c statements for the a/c, check and see what they have added to the a/c for:-

 

Late payment fees.

Over limit fees.

PPI that you didn't agree to.

 

These can all be reclaimed, plus interest. Don't allow BC to dictate how much they'll refund voluntarily - they'll not pay interest from the date of each charge to the a/c which you are entitled to.

 

Read the Interest Tutorial at Link No6 in my signature below.

 

[WideMouthedFrog]

YAY GADS! this company is driving me absolutely up it!

Phoned back today as agreed, the plan that I was offered last week is , according to the supervisor, no longer in operation...when asked he said that they no longer offer this kind of repayment plan as of yesterday! how very convenient.

He insisted on offering me something else. All I want is to be able to actually pay this bill..pay off the money. They can help me by reducing the amount of interest and not adding any more charges ...but that is just my opinion, he apparently has no authority to do this ...but what he can do is offer me a probationary period of 2 months at 27GBPpayment with normal interest and normal charges ( 12GBP carried from last month for late payment) and then the following months at a reduced interest rate but no extra charges.. which means I accrue close to 200 in charges and interest on my account in those 2 months , so in this case...after the 6 month period ( that I was offered last week ) I will owe them 200 more than I do today.

I, in my lack of understanding, fail to see how this helps me pay them the money that I owe.

Can anyone offer enlightenment?

Edited April 20, 2010 by WideMouthedFrog

[slick132]

Hi WMF,

 

If you read other threads here, you'll see Rule No1 is "Don't Speak to Them, EVER."

 

You'll here nothing of any use to you. They'll say almost anything to get you to pay or give them phone numbers but then they go back on what they promise.

 

Forget their stupid deals and work out what you should reclaim from them for penalty chartges, PPI and contractual interest.