Getting one loan to pay off ALL debts

[jeanette1976]

Can anyone advise me on the best company to get a single loan to pay off all my debts... not too much, about �3500. I need something with as little interst rating as possible, obviously. At the moment, I'm with Barclays and unfortunately black-listed, but my mum has agreed to be my mentor.

The other thing I was thinking was if it might be possible to get an interest free overdraft to do this instead, but I'm not sure if you must be a student... As I've already graduated. (The new loan will inc payment of my grad load)

I'll be viewing this all day, so if there are any further questions, I'll get straight back to you. Many thanks in advance!!! X

[www.des-res.]

If your mother is solvent, why not get her to take out a low interest Credit card (Nat west are doing one at 6.9),

pay your debts off with that and then you can make the payments and she can be there to keep an eye on you if there is ever a problem. I have done this for my friend as he wanted to re-mortgage and use the funds to get himself solvent. I have put the balance of his card on to mine and between the two of us pay the �133 pm until his remo comes through. Doing it this way means you will not be tied into a loan, hit with higher rates becuse your borrowng less than 5k and best of all you can pay it off faster without penaltys as you get bettr off.

Carole

www.Des-Res.org.uk

[matchmade]

I agree with des-res - it's one solution. You're not in too bad a situation, but for goodness sake avoid a debt spiral like the plague, i.e. you must be able to keep paying down the capital as well as the interest, and never forget this, otherwise the debt just keeps on growing and sits on your back for years.

Other alternatives - check your credit rating for �1 with Equifax. You may be "blacklisted" with Barclays but this doesn't necessarily mean your credit rating nationwide is poor. If you have a good rating, you can apply almost anywhere. Some cards offer 0% interest for 18 months - see Best Buy tables in a weekend newspaper like the Telegraph.

Ring your ex-university's student help centre for advice.

Try www.zopa.com. They offer small loans at good rates - it's basically a cooperative of small savers who lend �50 a time if they think you are a good bet.

[dancecaller]

My son- in-law has just paid off his student loan (by letting them take the installments according to his earnings).
But my daughter is now a housewife and has never earned enough to need to pay.
I understood that the 'interest' on student loans was very small anyway. If this is still the case it might be better to pay it as you earn.

[Dollie]

Try Cahoot at the moment - good low rates - also Northern Rock have a low interest loan too at mo - check out their websites.