Debt Consolidation and Your Credit Rating

For the hundreds of thousands concerned about mounting and unmanageable debts, there is an array of potential debt solutions available. Take, for example, debt management plans, the Individual Voluntary Arrangement, Debt Relief order or, in the worst case, bankruptcy. But all of these will leave a mark on a consumer’s credit rating for at least six years.

This is one of the main reasons that those who can do, opt for a debt consolidation loan over any of the other solutions. In most cases, the debt consolidation loan need not have a bad effect on your credit score at all. Debt consolidation loans are often  not an option for those in the worst financial positions, largely because it depends upon a lender seeing fit to lend you more money than you’ve already been lent! But where possible, it is a solution that enables consumers to consolidate all their debts into one payment. Essentially, the debtor takes out a loan large enough to cover the total cost of all other outstanding debts. The funds of that loan are then used to pay off the individual debts, leaving the debtor with one simple payment to make each month, against the new loan. This simplifies repayments but can also, depending upon the terms of the loan, work out more cost effective. A large number of smaller debts can accrue numerous charges and interest which drives up the total amount owed significantly. If your credit rating is decent enough to obtain a debt consolidation loan, then the loan itself shouldn’t be a reason for any black marks against you. However, as with any form of financial product or service, missed payments or failure to adhere to the terms can and most often will result in negative marks on your credit record.

Understand Interest Rates

All credit card interest rates will vary over the time you have it.  It can start at 0% during your introductory period and can get as high as 30% if you are not careful. Creditors use all kinds of factors to determined what your interest rate will be. Your income, assets and current debt load will all come into play at this point.  Even credit inquiries can be made along with your payment history and economic conditions to set your personal annual percentage rate.

So who receives the best or the low interest credit cards?  That would be the consumers with proven credit histories.  A fixed APR offers consistent rates, something you can count on over time where variable APR’s fluctuate since they are tied to an index being set you the Federal Reserve, often the prime lending rate. Interest rates are the basis of using a credit card so it is the main issue when choosing a card. Every card offers different rate and benefits so it’s us to you to do your homework and choose the card that fits your circumstances the best.

UK Credit Cards Balance Transfers

It has been observed in a study that about one third of credit card holders in the UK fail to pay their monthly credit card bills and most of these people use the balance transfer offered by other credit card companies. This really saves a lot of money as the users get the benefit of lower interest rates offered by other credit cards on balance transfer.

Under those offers, a big amount outstanding in your monthly credit card gets transferred to another credit card account. This makes a lot of savings for the users of UK credit cards on the interest front as these offers come with low or no interest. A survey has observed that if all the credit card users in the UK use this facility, then more than 2 million pounds can be saved every year.

The credit card companies charge a nominal 2% fee on the balance transfer amount and that is basically the charge to compensate for the interest free period. Once the interest free period is over, they charge a small interest for eight to nine months and if the payment is not made within that period, the interest rate goes up very high and you may enter into a debt trap.

The Importance of Reading Your Credit Card Disclosure Statement

A disclosure statement in a credit card can answer all of the questions that the retailer or credit card company may not know the answer to or the questions that they just are uncomfortable answering. All of the information including the fee schedule and other information can be found within the disclosure statement, which can be obtained from the credit card company, or even from the website of the credit card company.

What kind of information will the credit card disclosure statement give to you, the consumer? All of the fees that are outlined in the disclosure statement are applicable to the credit card. When reading the credit card disclosure form, it can be a way to realize how these fees can be avoided in the future.

Another important part of the credit card disclosure statement is the grace period. The grace period for purchases on a credit card is periods of time that often lasts from twenty to twenty eight days in which purchases that are made do not accrue any interest if these payments are recovered through this time period. In the case of most credit cards, in order to take advantage of the interest free grace period, the consumer must avoid carrying a balance on the account.

When the consumer carries a balance on the credit card, the payments which are applied to the debt will be applied towards the oldest debt first.

Knowing the terms and fees within the disclosure statement could save you hundreds of dollars per year – on the other hand, not knowing these fees could cost you each month!