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| 'They just kept topping it up' – how one credit card user fell £28,000 in debt | 'They just kept topping it up' – how one credit card user fell £28,000 in debt |
| (4 months later) | |
| When Tracy Banham’s company hit hard times, she turned to credit – but is paying it back after getting professional advice | |
| Richard Partington | |
| Mon 18 Sep 2017 18.27 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 16.50 GMT | |
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| Tracy Banham’s credit card limit was raised several times without asking, despite her making only the minimum payments. This left her with more than £28,000 of borrowing to repay alone. | Tracy Banham’s credit card limit was raised several times without asking, despite her making only the minimum payments. This left her with more than £28,000 of borrowing to repay alone. |
| The mother of two from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, used the cards to support her and her husband after their successful engineering company – which supplied parts to local factories including Heinz – hit hard times. But hers was the only name on the account and she is now struggling to pay after her husband left her. | The mother of two from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, used the cards to support her and her husband after their successful engineering company – which supplied parts to local factories including Heinz – hit hard times. But hers was the only name on the account and she is now struggling to pay after her husband left her. |
| “They just kept topping it up, or they’d just give it us. They never asked for any income to support it,” she said. Credit card lenders appear to be targeting people struggling with unaffordable levels of debt, according to research from the charity Citizens Advice, who helped Tracy to manage her problems. | “They just kept topping it up, or they’d just give it us. They never asked for any income to support it,” she said. Credit card lenders appear to be targeting people struggling with unaffordable levels of debt, according to research from the charity Citizens Advice, who helped Tracy to manage her problems. |
| Almost one in five people struggling with debts have had their credit card limit raised without them requesting it, leading the charity to demand the Financial Conduct Authority ban the practice. There are growing concerns over the boom in consumer debt in the UK, with more than £68.7bn owed on credit cards in July – the most on record – according to the Bank of England. | Almost one in five people struggling with debts have had their credit card limit raised without them requesting it, leading the charity to demand the Financial Conduct Authority ban the practice. There are growing concerns over the boom in consumer debt in the UK, with more than £68.7bn owed on credit cards in July – the most on record – according to the Bank of England. |
| Tracy helped support her husband after he was told in 2007 he would never work again following three back operations. As the sole breadwinner, with the family firm in dire straits, she turned to credit cards to see them through. “We were managing to pay everything on the minimum payments. It was like robbing Peter to pay Paul – offsetting one against the other. Using them to pay bills,” she said. | Tracy helped support her husband after he was told in 2007 he would never work again following three back operations. As the sole breadwinner, with the family firm in dire straits, she turned to credit cards to see them through. “We were managing to pay everything on the minimum payments. It was like robbing Peter to pay Paul – offsetting one against the other. Using them to pay bills,” she said. |
| At one point, one credit card company was demanding £700 a month. However, her wages were only £1,000, leaving very little to live on. | At one point, one credit card company was demanding £700 a month. However, her wages were only £1,000, leaving very little to live on. |
| She went to Citizens Advice in Oldham in 2014, to say she was “in too deep,” while she sold the family home to cut their debts from £73,000 to £43,000. Her husband then unexpectedly left her over a bank holiday weekend last year, leaving her with debts of more than £28,000 on four credit cards and a bank overdraft. “He left with the debts in my name. He’s taking no responsibility for them,” she said. | She went to Citizens Advice in Oldham in 2014, to say she was “in too deep,” while she sold the family home to cut their debts from £73,000 to £43,000. Her husband then unexpectedly left her over a bank holiday weekend last year, leaving her with debts of more than £28,000 on four credit cards and a bank overdraft. “He left with the debts in my name. He’s taking no responsibility for them,” she said. |
| Rather than go into bankruptcy – risking her pension – Tracy is using a voluntary payment package with the help of Citizens Advice that helped to drop the interest on her borrowing. “I want to pay these debts back,” she said. | Rather than go into bankruptcy – risking her pension – Tracy is using a voluntary payment package with the help of Citizens Advice that helped to drop the interest on her borrowing. “I want to pay these debts back,” she said. |
| Now renting a room at a friend’s house and working in accounts administration for a garage in Oldham, she still owes more than £24,000, to be repaid at £254 a month over the next nine years. She says that is far more than she ever borrowed, as interest charges far outstrip the original debts. | Now renting a room at a friend’s house and working in accounts administration for a garage in Oldham, she still owes more than £24,000, to be repaid at £254 a month over the next nine years. She says that is far more than she ever borrowed, as interest charges far outstrip the original debts. |
| “I can’t move on with life until I’m about 62, when it’s too late to get a mortgage and start afresh. For a lot of people, they won’t own up to it – it’s the embarrassment of it all. But it does take the pressure of when you get professional advice,” she said. | “I can’t move on with life until I’m about 62, when it’s too late to get a mortgage and start afresh. For a lot of people, they won’t own up to it – it’s the embarrassment of it all. But it does take the pressure of when you get professional advice,” she said. |
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