Key Post How best to deal with MBNA if you can't pay the balance due

Kaz2512

Registered User
Messages
19
I am having problems with MBNA.

I have a credit card with a limit of €4,000 which I havent used for 2 years.

I was making weekly repayments for months but wasnt getting anywhere with it. The interest they are charging is massive and I just cannot keep up with it anymore.

I have on numerous occasions asked MBNA to freeze my charges and allow me to pay off the balance that I owe but no way will they do it.

When I got my card I was in full time employment and financially able to pay them, I am now only working part-time as my company cut my hours, I have explained this to MBNA but they have no interest in coming to an agreement with me so I can pay them.

Has anyone else had this kind of problem with them? I would be grateful for any advice on what to do.

Thanks
 
My advice would be make an appointment with MABS, they can send request on your behalf, might have more success.
 
MAB's is a good idea. But in the interim, formally write to MBNA explain your circumstances in detail and ask them to freeze the interest. Tell them you are in the process of making an appointment with MAB's. In fairness to yourself, you have made payments and are trying to sort out your financial problems, and MBNA should acknowledge this. As a by the by, do you need to review your finances overall? If so, go to the money make over section and complete the details requested. This might get you some good advice on regaining financial control.
 
Mbna

Hiya, I too have trouble with MBNA, mine is 10k and husbands is 12K - havent used cards in 18 months and paying the minimum each month, I have only managed to reduce TOTAL debt by about €900 from BOTH cards. I rang them last month because the new minimum payments are going to cost us €210 extra per month and we are really struggling, they did lower our interest rate by 1% on each account. The new payment increase is a good thing because it will reduce the capital owed and you will eventually get your debt down as the new payment will include 1% of your balance but its going to really difficult for us to meet these charges, and many more like us. Unfortunatley, MBNA will only deal with you if you are in arrears, so not a lot of help there - good luck
 
kaz2512 & netz also consider availing of credit union loans,or bank loans to pay these off or consider switching to a 0% CC option if these are viable alternatives.
 
MBNA - No help whatsoever

I have just started down this road with MBNA. I am returning the card to them and requesting a freeze on interest and charges as I have a large balance I need to settle with them. I am including a detailed budget of my income and outgoings and am proposing a monthly figure I can afford to pay them for the next 12 months that we can review again after that. Heres hoping...
 
Mister Markie that is the way you should do it. Let us know how you get on.
have you tried looking for a balance transfer to a 0% CC or even to transfer some of the balance.
 
Hey, thanks for all your comments, Mister Markie that sounds like a great idea... think I might give it a try! I will tell you though they are a nightmare to try and negotiate with. Let us know how you get on.
 
I didn't ring them. Any dealings with them are in writing. I wrote to AIB explaining all about myself, business, overheads and anything else relevant. I can't even make the minimum payments. I have pointed that out to them and asked that they review the amount of time I am with them, the revenue the account has generated for them and my circumstances. I will let you know what I get back from them.
 
Kaz,

What is the amount outstanding on the card? Are you making the minimum payment? or perhaps you are paying more than the minimum payment?

aj

Ive expanded your title somewhat to more fully reflect the question.
 
they did lower our interest rate by 1% on each account.

You didn't say what your interest rate is, but MBNA have far more flexibility than they care to advertise. I have 10% apr on their platinum card which puts it in the same league as a standard personal loan.
 
On my card they reduced the rate to 11.9% and on husbands card to 11.4% - Still cant afford to pay. I have asked a debt management company for help in dealing with MBNA - tried myself totally unsuccessfully. MBNA have committed to a 5 year payment plan for people in difficulty, which will wipe out your loan completely and freeze charges and we would be blacklisted for 6 years after debt is cleared. This will still cost us in the region of 350 per month, which I still cant afford. I have about 120 per month - they will not accept this off the total debt.
 
MBNA DEBACLE

I owe 13k to MBNA and was paying 13.9%. I was seriously struggling to make my minimum monthly payments and to compound the situation they changed my interest without rhyme or reason to 24.9%. It was the final straw and I just couldn't afford it anymore so I stopped paying. I didn't shirk my debt as it was written off and sent to a recovery section of MBNA and now I am paying it off on weekly instalments with no interest. On the down side I had a "w" registered in the ICB a year ago as a result but I believe 4 years without credit will be good for me. I also had to deal with months of agressive calls from an Indian call centre but on balance it worked out OK. I had nothing to loose however (I am walking negative equity), such a route would not be suited where judgements could be attached to property.
 
Thats interesting to know as I too have started to negotiate a payment plan with MBNA, I just applied yesterday. The payment plan will work out approx 362 per month, interest and charges frozen for 5 years and ICB bad record for 6 years after debt is cleared. But the girl I spoke too was unsure if my husband and I would be accepted onto the payment plan as we are good payers and have never missed a payment. If we are refused, we will be left with no other option than to default, as like a lot of posts have said, MBNA have a custom of charging whatever they like when they like. In our case they lowered the interest when we asked, but increased minimum payments to include 1% of balance. this is our killer as we had planned to plod along for a year or so paying off smaller stuff and then tackling MBNA. In fairness, MABS helpline have been a huge help as we were even thinking of debt management companies (not regulated) Good luck in dealing with them, although in fairness the people I have spoken to about my particular situation have been nothing but polite and respectful to me. That will change no doubt if I do have to default!!!
 
(Good luck in dealing with them, although in fairness the people I have spoken to about my particular situation have been nothing but polite and respectful to me. That will change no doubt if I do have to default!!!)

Forgot to mention that staff were not too friendly before I rang the number for customers in financial difficulty. If you are talking to ordinary customer care team they dont give a rats!!!
 
My interest with them is roughly 19%, I am paying over the minimum payment and they are adding approximately €60.00 per month interest on to my bill, my outstanding balance is €4000.00 - Plus charges of €500.00.

I requested statements from MBNA and they sent me copies of them for the last 2 years. I sat down and calculated that I paid them in total €2,070.00 and somehow i still owe them €4,000.00 (this is my limit on the card) plus €500.00 of charges!!! (bearing in mind I havent used the card in 2 years). I work for a Solicitor so I sat down with him and went through the statements. He advised me to stop making payments until they come to a reasonable agreement as I am getting nowhere with the payments and am just going around in circles! we also worked out if I was to continue paying €25.00 per week and they continued to add the interest of €60.00 per month it will take apporximately 10 years to pay the card off and in total I would pay MBNA €12,000.00!!

I also spoke to MABS and am now only dealing with MBNA through correspondence as speaking with them gets you know where.

My boss has also advised me that should they refuse to accept my offer I should report them to the Financial Regulator and also take it further due to the harrassment I receive from them i.e. ringing me up to 5 times per day!

Karen
 
I have no idea why they do it! I even had to change my mobile number becuase of them it was ridiculous!
 
My interest with them is roughly 19%, I am paying over the minimum payment and they are adding approximately €60.00 per month interest on to my bill, my outstanding balance is €4000.00 - Plus charges of €500.00.

I requested statements from MBNA and they sent me copies of them for the last 2 years. I sat down and calculated that I paid them in total €2,070.00 and somehow i still owe them €4,000.00 (this is my limit on the card) plus €500.00 of charges!!! (bearing in mind I havent used the card in 2 years). I work for a Solicitor so I sat down with him and went through the statements. He advised me to stop making payments until they come to a reasonable agreement as I am getting nowhere with the payments and am just going around in circles! we also worked out if I was to continue paying €25.00 per week and they continued to add the interest of €60.00 per month it will take apporximately 10 years to pay the card off and in total I would pay MBNA €12,000.00!!

I also spoke to MABS and am now only dealing with MBNA through correspondence as speaking with them gets you know where.

My boss has also advised me that should they refuse to accept my offer I should report them to the Financial Regulator and also take it further due to the harrassment I receive from them i.e. ringing me up to 5 times per day!

Karen

This is a very good post and should probably be a key post on the reality of dealing with credit card debt.

Facts are that as long as you continue to pay the minimum payment the credit card company will never negotiate with you, or will not negotiate in a meaningful way. Also it is completely pointless to make minimum payments that do not actually repay the debt.

In fact I believe that it should be illegal for minimum payments to only include interest.

If you want to get the best interest rate or interest written off from a credit card company and you are in financial trouble your best bet is to stop making payments as it's only then they will treat you seriously.
 
Just let people know my update with MBNA i sent them an offer with a financial statement last wednesday and I have heard noting from them about that.

But i did receive a letter this morning threatening that they will do the following:-

1. Close my account and report me to the Credit Bureau, which will go against me for 6 years and also sell my debt to another company (in other words give it to the bailiffs)

2. I can come to an agreement with them that suits Their Terms (in other words nothing will change!) which i have done several times in the past and still ends up in the same position.

3. Or finally offer them a settlement figure that is less than what I owe but that they will still report it to the Credit Bureau and it will go against my credit rating for 6 years.

When I wrote to them I made an offer of €20 per week (which is still more than the minimum payment) at the agreement that they would either freeze my interest for a certain period or reduce the interest!

I dont know what to do now... they seem to have completely ignored my offer!
 
Back
Top