credit cards

[kronas]

having watched a program about credit card debts how can people rack up debts of £20,000 + they make it even worse consolidating the multiple debts in to one through the loan adverts you see on TV and then when they get sucked in to them they end up paying around 15% interest on the one huge loan its totally ridiculous how easy it is to get credit even if you declared bankrupt

i assume in the near future i shall be obtaining one i would put safeguards in place such as an extremly low credit limit a controlled astute spending regime spending only what i can on essential items people want too much luxury these days and simply cannot afford to so get in to debt

frankly they deserve to be debt ridden and have there houses taken away if they cannot control themselves

[Jerrek]

I have three credit cards with limits over $2K, but I always pay it off cleanly each month. I'm allergic to interest [that I pay].

[deedee]

Having been there & done that & struggled like hell to get myself out of the nasty cycle of more credit to pay off credit, I think the view of people deserving what they get & not being able to control themselves is a rather narrow one.
I, like may other many others (though admittedly not all), had to borrow just to make ends meet. At the time, I took the cheapest (& scuttiest) flat available, but due to shockingly low wages needed to borrow to top up my income. I did not spend on "luxury" items that I did not need, rather food, essential bills & occasinally a bit for my rent.
It has taken many, many years to pay (most of) this back & now, due to a better paid job & a well paid partner, I have the luxury of not needing credit cards or loans, instead I spend cash or use my debit card so that I can only spend what I have!
I feel that when you have a little more life experience under your belt your generalised oulook that people deserve to lose their homes due to borrowing too much may alter (I would at least hope it would). It is a truly frightening experience which I would not wish on anyone.

OK, finished

[paulyoung666]

totally agree there , it is a very nasty thing to get into , and very easy to get into as well , if you dont need the credit card dont get it , that is the easiest way of avoiding trouble

[Scarlett]

Originally Posted by kronas

having watched a program about credit card debts how can people rack up debts of £20,000 + they make it even worse consolidating the multiple debts in to one through the loan adverts you see on TV and then when they get sucked in to them they end up paying around 15% interest on the one huge loan its totally ridiculous how easy it is to get credit even if you declared bankrupt

I assume then that you don't currently have a card then. I agree that its easy to get credit at a bad interest rate but generally thats all that's availible (I know that when I've tried to get a decent loan (i.e. 6/7 %) I get refused because I'm not married (yet) didn't own a house (which I do now) and had moved around a lot due to Uni and rental agreements being 6 months only.)

It's easy to say that you won't over spend etc. but until you have that card in you hands then you probably won't know exactly what its like to have the ability to have the new DVD/CD/game each week.

Originally Posted by kronas

i assume in the near future i shall be obtaining one i would put safeguards in place such as an extremly low credit limit a controlled astute spending regime spending only what i can on essential items people want too much luxury these days and simply cannot afford to so get in to debt

I agree that having a low credit limit is a good idea but I intend to have 2 cards once I've sorted ourselves out. one will have £100-200 limit and be for those nice little items that you want and the other will be £2000 or so for the white goods that we want as you get some major protection by using a CC that you don't get any other way. (Which is why I wasn't worried when powerhouse when into receivership about 2 weeks after I'd paid for, but not received, a new fridge.)

Originally Posted by kronas

frankly they deserve to be debt ridden and have there houses taken away if they cannot control themselves

I don't quite see where this comes from. Nobody deserves to be debt ridden and certainly taking someones house away from them Will not solve the problem. (It will compound it though)

How about us graduates ? If the Labour party has it's way with tuition fee's it will leave a generartion with more debt when they leave university than they are likely to earn in there first year of work. I left with about 6K of debt and my other half was about the same. since then we've paid some of that off but gained some more. However, being in debt is acceptable in todays society and it will remian that way until a large number of people come of worse and end up backrupt. and even then it will still be acceptable but more people will try to avoid it.

I can see just how enticing (if naff) those ad's are. I can also see where it will lead but if it comes down to being able to actually make the payments each month and defaulting on your CC payments what would you do ? That's why they are touting for business for all it is worth there are many people out there who see this as the easy way out/ thew only option and don't know what they are getting into.

Scarlett.

BTW, did you learn about budgeting and sensible control of you money in school ? I know I didn't.

[basa]

Originally Posted by kronas

having watched a program about credit card debts how can people rack up debts of £20,000 + they make it even worse consolidating the multiple debts in to one through the loan adverts you see on TV and then when they get sucked in to them they end up paying around 15% interest on the one huge loan its totally ridiculous how easy it is to get credit even if you declared bankrupt

i assume in the near future i shall be obtaining one i would put safeguards in place such as an extremly low credit limit a controlled astute spending regime spending only what i can on essential items people want too much luxury these days and simply cannot afford to so get in to debt

frankly they deserve to be debt ridden and have there houses taken away if they cannot control themselves

Um...typical of a 17 year old.

I got into debt when I lost my job having two (then babies) daughters. Try maintaining a house with two children who want all the luxuries in life (like shoes, clothes an occasional meal !!) with no income (benefits go nowhere near !). I am, after 6 years, still feeling the ill effects even though I have cleared all but 10% of my debts.

Yes I have loans and credit even now, oh yes and a mortgage, council tax, service charges etc, etc,. Easy, peasey to run a household and account for all the household bills, food etc, but what when the washing machine goes tits up and the freezer, oh crap the heating boiler is broken !! Where do I buy a new exhaust and tyre for the car (I cycle to work, but her indoors has a 5 mile round trip drive taking the kids to school) plus it needs an MoT and Road Licence !!! All these have happened this year !! Help !! Christmas is coming !!
Before this year my family had not had a holiday for 5 years !! The whole house needs decorating (last done 8 years ago), outside really needs re-rendering (like that is gonna happen !) but will have to make do with a coat of masonry paint. I replaced a few bits of rotten eaves fascia last year but the whole lot really needs replacing and the gutters are leaking (they're asbestos btw !). I could go on....and on. But you get the point (I hope) !!

I noticed somewhere the average amount spent on childrens Xmas presents this year is reckoned to be £600 !! We will spend less than £100 on each ! I feel like sh*t for that (now where's that card again !!)

It all seems so easy as a bright eyed, no responsibilities, no commitments teenager, but come back in 10 years and tell me how easy it is to fund a growing household on one salary !!

Rant over.

[Stuart W]

FYI,
Thanks to a 'so called friend' I was forced into debts of around £450,00 0.

To cut a very long, very sad story short....

I could not pay back the ammounts and declared myself bankrupt. Lots of people started preaching morals at me telling me bankrupcy was the easy way out and I was shunning my responsibilities.

It's now almost 10 years later and still can't have a regular bank account. I still cant have any kind of loan or credit agreement.

I would agree with the majority posted so far, the first post is obviously from a young debt-free person. Oh, and I also noticed that you seem to think you can get a credit card with a low limint. Odd. In my expirience, the credit limit will go up and up regardless of your instructions.

REMEMBER the banks want a few people in debt, it's where they get their money!

[orangebird]

I just wanted to echo most of what has been posted really...
I live by myself, on a half decent salary. To earn this half decent salary, I need to drive 60 miles to work, as I can't afford to live in the town where I work. Even where I do live, the rent is ridiculous, but I can't afford to buy a house because of extortionate house prices. Even if my salary was enough to get a mortgage, I'm not sure I could save the deposit because of the rent and bills I pay by myself every month. So when things like car servicing/MOTs/tax come up, or when something at home breaks down, I really do not have the odd couple of hundred english pounds languishing in my bank account for emergencies. When I still lived at home, with my parents supporting me, I always said 'I'll never have a credit card... '

Are you getting the 'real' picture now Kronas? Please think about things before you make, IMO, really quite offensive remarks...

[Nemesis]

A post from the young and Debt Free ...


Oh how I remember those innocent days.

We got into debt as it was an easy way to get what we needed at the time. Over 10 years ago we made the decision to climb our way out of it all. We consolidated and paid it back, but in the mean time needed cars etc to live.

We are still in debt, I don't know anyone that isn't. It can be a downward spiral and can seriuosly affect peoples health. This is a very sensitive subject, as some take very drastic action to get out of it.

Debt can lead to depression, depression can affect you in many different ways.

I blame the banks more than anything .... the original loan or CC you got, soon ends up being more as the temptaion is offered with alarming regularity.

... and YES the CC limit will be upped with out consultation.

My advice is not to get a CC, and seriously shop around when it comes to finance. Remeber a job is a fickle thing, great while you have it and can make repayments, but when gone, leaves you no comfort at all.

Now, we're in a better situation, still not rid of it, but more manageable but could have done without 10 years of worrying.

Kronas, you're young and seem to view the world as a place full of nice people who will look after your interests, and that you can ultimately make all the right decisions. Be careful, this is NOT the case, situations and events have a way of creeping up on you and overtaking you.

This is in no way disrespecting you, it's just the rest of us have the benefit of hindsight, and some worldly experience.

[Nemesis]

about time for one of these I feel

[MikeyB]

It only takes some common sense not to get into debt, either just get what you can afford, or don't bother.

I have a credit card for "emergency" use only, like if the car packs up, or something big needs doing on the house and I don't have the cash to pay for it.

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by kronas

having watched a program about credit card debts how can people rack up debts of £20,000 + they make it even worse consolidating the multiple debts in to one through the loan adverts you see on TV and then when they get sucked in to them they end up paying around 15% interest on the one huge loan its totally ridiculous how easy it is to get credit even if you declared bankrupt

i assume in the near future i shall be obtaining one i would put safeguards in place such as an extremly low credit limit a controlled astute spending regime spending only what i can on essential items people want too much luxury these days and simply cannot afford to so get in to debt

frankly they deserve to be debt ridden and have there houses taken away if they cannot control themselves

I dont know if anyone else has allready mentioned it, but I have had letters from the credit card company in the past saying we have increased your card limit to £X's. this is done automatically but I guess you could ring up and ask for it to be reduced again.

I was using my credit card a lot for hotels, fuel, expenses and business lunches etc and they were only too happy to automatically increase my limit. I was spending a few thousand a month but it was cleared every month much to their annoyance I expect. :p

[basa]

Originally Posted by orangebird

I just wanted to echo most of what has been posted really...
<snip>
Are you getting the 'real' picture now Kronas? Please think about things before you make, IMO, really quite offensive remarks...

D'ya think he's gone ????

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by MikeyB

It only takes some common sense not to get into debt, either just get what you can afford, or don't bother.

I have a credit card for "emergency" use only, like if the car packs up, or something big needs doing on the house and I don't have the cash to pay for it.

People who spend more than they earn on credit cards do deserve to be in debt, however, there are lot's of situations where people end up in debt through no fault of their own, they might work for a company that suddenly goes bust and doesn't pay your last months wages (I know, it happened to me), the bills won't pay themselves, you still have to eat, you still have to run your car trying to get to interviews, you still have to pay the rent.

[basa]

Originally Posted by Escapee

I dont know if anyone else has allready mentioned it, but I have had letters from the credit card company in the past saying we have increased your card limit to £X's. this is done automatically but I guess you could ring up and ask for it to be reduced again.

I was using my credit card a lot for hotels, fuel, expenses and business lunches etc and they were only too happy to automatically increase my limit. I was spending a few thousand a month but it was cleared every month much to their annoyance I expect. :p

Um...they write to you ? ..........

My two CC companies didn't even tell me !! One is now up to £9000 and the other £4500 !!!!!!