I’m eating my phone with rage…..

Wednesday 7th May, 2008 - £9,485.54 in debt…

If you asked any of my friends to describe me, I don’t think they’d use the phrase “quick to anger” very often. Unless any of them were hiding up a tree outside my window earlier today, when I called my credit card issuers about my interest rates.

The story so far: In my first posting, I detailed how much I owe on each of my cards, and their interest rates. After that humiliation, I was further shamed by the comments my post received: “Why don’t you ask them to lower your APRs? It’s easy – I can’t BELIEVE you’re paying that much interest! You must be some kind of mug!” - Or words to that effect.

I tried it today, and now I’d like to know where I’m going wrong.

First, the Barclays overdraft: “Sorry, that interest rate is set in stone. We have a department that helps those who can’t cope with their debt, but you’re not in sufficient difficulty.” Thanks – that’s great news.

Second, the Tesco card: “Sorry, your interest rate can’t be changed, but that’s because you’re not paying any interest until October 21st.” Although this was a welcome surprise (I thought my interest-free period had just run out), I don’t suppose you could call it a victory.

Third, the Capital One card: “No, you can’t change your interest rate. We don’t do that. Bye.” Short but sweet.

Fourth, the Barclaycard: I phoned them in January to block my card, and they had offered me a small cut in my rate, so I was hopeful they might do it again. Their response: “Ah, it looks like your card wasn’t blocked at all – I’ll just do that now. And, hang on a minute, your interest rate wasn’t lowered either!” WHAT?!?!?!

“You can lower it now though, right? CAN’T YOU?” I asked, calmly.

“No – we cannot lower your rate at this point in time.” And the advisor and her manager repeated that phrase over and over until steam shot out of my ears and I destroyed a small village.

So where am I going wrong? Is there some sort of trick I should use? Are the Barclaycard people duty bound to decrease my rate like they said they would? Is there anything I can do about this?

 Yessss…i won that 1989 Shane Ritchie annual

Tuesday 6th May, 2008 - £9,485.54 in debt…..

Ebay is a funny old thing. How on earth does anyone make any money on it? Really? It takes me a day to take photos of all the stuff I want to sell, a further day and a half to list them all, and a day at the end to wrap it up and post it. And that’s assuming all my buyers pay up in the way they’re supposed to and I don’t have to enter into a week-long email conversation about why I don’t accept credit card payments.

So how much does the average person earn on Ebay, when you take all this into account? About 7p an hour, I reckon, but it’s better than nothing so here I go. I could report myself for exploitation.

Last time I sold anything on Ebay, I got into so many wrangles with buyers that eventually I gave up. It just didn’t seem worth the stress or hassle… maybe I have anger issues that should be dealt with. But now, I have a mission and a huge debt to pay off, so I’m giving it another go.

I’ve created a pile of things I can live without (CDs, books – including a couple of signed ones - unwanted presents, etc). By the end of yesterday, I’d calmly photographed and listed them all (complete with a slightly gruff “NO CREDIT CARDS” disclaimer), and I’m looking forward to getting rid of them and making some cash.

If I sell everything for the amounts I’m hoping for, I’ll be able to pay off my NatWest card within a week.

If you remember, my NatWest card is the one with only £123.99 on it. By paying it off first, it’s one in the eye for Martin Lewis and anyone else with half a financial brain, as the interest rate is by no means my highest. So why am I doing it?

Well, it seems like an achievable goal; it means I can add £10 to my monthly Barclaycard payment; and it will mean fewer cards to manage. I’m also doing it to prove that I can be sensible, bite the bullet and pay off a debt without spending all my so-called “disposable” cash on shoes. Hopefully. As soon as the NatWest card is paid off, I’ll start chipping away at them in the right order.

My listings end on Friday – I’ll keep you updated.

In other news…

After my last posting, I received a few comments about my credit card suppliers, telling me I should try calling them and asking if they can drop my interest rates. I had no idea that could be done, so I’ll be calling all my card issuers this week – watch this space.

By the way, you might have noticed that my debt has decreased since my last posting – YESSSS!!! This is because I’ve just received my Barclaycard bill. Last month I made my usual payment of £75, but my interest payment was so extortionate that my debt has only gone down by £13.91. Yes, it has cost me £75 to decrease my balance by less than £14. This has got to stop.