Credit cards are built so that paying the minimum keeps you paying for years. When one card becomes three, and the minimums outgrow what's coming in, it is time to look at the whole picture.
Minimum payments are usually set as a small percentage of the balance plus that month's interest. Paying only the minimum clears very little of what was actually borrowed, so a balance can take many years to shift and cost far more than the original spending. Lenders are required to contact customers who stay in this pattern for a long time, which is why some people receive letters about "persistent debt".
Missing a payment brings late fees and a mark on your credit file. After repeated missed payments a lender sends a default notice, which is a formal warning under consumer credit law. If the account is not brought up to date it is defaulted, the full balance becomes due, and the debt is usually passed to a collection agency or sold to a debt purchaser. In some cases a lender or purchaser will apply for a county court judgment (CCJ).
Credit cards are unsecured and classed as non-priority, meaning the immediate consequences of not paying are less severe than for council tax or rent. That does not make them unimportant. Interest keeps running, collection activity is persistent, and a CCJ affects credit for six years.
If you are juggling cards, or one has already gone to collections, we will listen and take the details. With your consent we then introduce you to a regulated debt specialist who can look at everything you owe alongside what you have coming in, and explain the options available. There is nothing to pay us and no pressure to go ahead.
Being upfront with you: Please Help My Debt is an introducer. We do not give debt advice or recommend debt solutions ourselves. Any advice comes from the regulated specialist we introduce you to, with your consent. Nothing on this page is advice about your own situation.
