MBNA- New guy needs advice

[minmoo]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post and i am hoping someone can give me some advice. I have done a lot of reading on this site for a few days but really could do with some clarification on something.

 

I have a few credit cards but one is a big one at about 8000 pounds and i am struggling to make the minimum payments of 230 pounds per month which only covers interest. I would really like to be able freeze interest or make lower payments but am not sure how to go about it. I took out the card initially in 2000 when it was Alliance and Leicester. At the moment there is no money left for food or council tax. The mortgage is the one thing i make sure is paid.

 

Should i:

 

Write and ask nicely first else if they say no then ask for a cca stop payments etc

 

or

 

should i ask for a cca first?

 

To be honest, if i didnt pay this card for six months i could clear to other cards up with the money! Trouble is i have never missed a payment on any account before and it all terrorfies me. This is why i think i will start with the MBNA first and concentrate on that.

 

Its coming to crunch time, we cant cope with it anymore and it needs to be faced off. This site is the catalyst for my climb back to a normal life.

 

I am really grateful for any replies

[miss muppet]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post and i am hoping someone can give me some advice. I have done a lot of reading on this site for a few days but really could do with some clarification on something.

 

I have a few credit cards but one is a big one at about 8000 pounds and i am struggling to make the minimum payments of 230 pounds per month which only covers interest. I would really like to be able freeze interest or make lower payments but am not sure how to go about it. I took out the card initially in 2000 when it was Alliance and Leicester. At the moment there is no money left for food or council tax. The mortgage is the one thing i make sure is paid.

 

Should i:

 

Write and ask nicely first else if they say no then ask for a cca stop payments etc

 

or

 

should i ask for a cca first?

 

To be honest, if i didnt pay this card for six months i could clear to other cards up with the money! Trouble is i have never missed a payment on any account before and it all terrorfies me. This is why i think i will start with the MBNA first and concentrate on that.

 

Its coming to crunch time, we cant cope with it anymore and it needs to be faced off. This site is the catalyst for my climb back to a normal life.

 

I am really grateful for any replies

 

Hi Minimoo,

 

Sorry noone has replied yet. The way to go is up to you - I don't think it would hurt to CCA and see what they come up with, you can continue paying what you can afford and no more, this is not a priority debt as you know. You could go thro the CCCS but this involves letting them have sight of income/expenditure and setting up a payment you can afford. You could later down the line send a CCA request and still continue paying them the minimum amount until or if they don't come up with an enforceable agreement which after 12 + 2 days then puts the account into dispute. I had a payment plan set up with MBNA with interest frozen but was cross because I found out that they had added PPI without my knowledge so I CCA'd them and found they didn't have any kind of agreement. They still took me to court seeking a summary judgement, I was lucky, I got an excellent DJ with thorough knowledge of Consumer Credit and they lost, had to pay my costs and discontinue. Admittedly, mine was only the small claims court so costs were limited.

 

MBNA are particularly bad for telephone harassment so the above can be a scary route. With regard to being able to clear up the other cards with the amount saved from not paying one, if you go the CCCS route you would be expected to be fair to all the creditors.

 

Well done for taking the first step and realising that things can't go on the way they are, £230. is way too much to be paying when council tax is one of the priorities, maybe try talking to MBNA first and seeing if they will come up with a reasonable plan, freezing the interest and of course, you will want this in writing. Let us know how you get on.

[miss muppet]

Hi me again,

 

Thought the following link might be of interest:-

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?128587-info-CCCS-PAYPLAN-experiences