Struggling To Pay Credit Card Debt?

Ruth's story

Last month, Ruth was feeling on top of her bills and budgets. But then came a run of bad days, and without the energy to check the balance and move money around, Ruth just put everything on the credit card to worry about when she was feeling better.

When she came to pay her next card bill, it was much higher than she had expected. Ruth began to feel overwhelmed – she paid what was due but that left less money for her other household bills. She was worried all her repayments would be too high, that she wouldn’t be able to make ends meet, and she didn’t know where to go for help.

It was Ruth’s brother who convinced her to give us a call. He could see she was worried about her finances, but once he found out how bad things had got he knew it was time for Ruth to let us know. By this point:

• Ruth was putting the food shop on her credit card so she could pay bills
• she had missed a Council Tax payment and only partly paid her electricity bill
• she had spent up to her credit limit in just a few weeks

How Barclaycard helped

Ruth was really worried about calling us and unsure about what would happen next. But when she did call, she was connected to one of our support team, Carol.

Carol gave Ruth time to explain things in her own words and wasn’t judgemental or demanding, as Ruth had feared

Together they created a plan for Ruth to make affordable payments towards her Barclaycard, while Carol explained what information she needed for this and why, as well as how it would affect Ruth’s credit score and what could be done to help

She checked that Ruth knew she could access her Barclaycard account online to make debit card payments, change payment due dates and, when she could afford to, set up a Direct Debit – and that confidential and independent advice was available with StepChange  Debt Charity

Ruth had been dreading the call, but she felt so much better when she hung up. Carol really put her mind at rest, understanding her situation and offering advice to put her back in control. Ruth told Carol she was worried her benefits income would be taken to pay off her debts, but Carol assured her this wouldn’t happen.

Does your story sound like Ruth's?

We know the idea of picking up the phone can seem impossible – especially when you don’t feel in control of your finances. But you may be feeling like you’re in need of support, and that’s where we come in…

We’re not here to make it worse – we really are here to help

We know your debts aren't going to disappear on their own, but we really can help. If you get in touch, we'll ask you about your income and outgoings so you can feel confident you're only repaying what you can really afford. And your priority payments – Council Tax, rent/mortgage repayments and household bills – will always come first.

It's probably the last thing you want to do, but giving us a call won’t make anything worse. We won't spring any surprises on you; our advisers are here to listen, understand and agree a solution with you – not demand payments you can’t afford.

You can rest assured, we’ll ask your permission before we do anything and check how you feel about your other finances.

We'll try to provide you with help that’s clear, practical and easy to understand. Also, we'll advise you where to find free and independent help.