ManTastic:

pay up and walk

In my view you shouldn't say something like this unless you mean it. If the debts are long term, the bank would probably prefer full settlement than the debts remaining. If you offer to pay up and the bank says "yes please" and then it doesn't happen, at best you will look silly.

For people who pay the full balance each month, the interest rates are immaterial.

I've had a HSBC Gold Card for ten years. I have never missed a payment on it, the credit limit has crept up, i've knocked it back down again, it goes up again...i've never fully utilised the card, keeping the balance up to around £1000, pay it off and back up again.

Over time the interest rate has gone up astronomically. I believe it was 15% to begin with, now it's %25.

I messaged HSBC and advised them of my intention to pay up and walk if they didn't reduce the interest rate based on my impeccable custom. They agreed, and reduced the rate to %21. I think you should do the same with your credit card provider(s), but hold back on the financial difficulties part until they say no, then drop the ball. I only say this because if you state you're in financial difficulties from the outset, you may end up losing your facilities.

Difficult, as you may struggle to get better terms for another credit card with lower interest or a loan on a cheaper rate, given the current employment situation.

You may get some advice using this site. Money Advice Service

It is quite likely that you would be turned down for any mainstream consolidation loan but there's no harm in having an informal chat about this with whoever you bank with. A consolidation loan would only be worthwhile if the interest was significantly lower than on the credit cards.

You just need to keep on paying off what you can afford and making sure that there's no unecessary spending to push the balances up.

I have around £5,500 on a credit card, paying £135 per month, of which £80 is interest. Since having children, I only work part-time and my salary is nowhere near the £20k-£22k asked for on a lot of the balance transfer cards. What is the best way to try to repay this debt in the most efficient manner?

Also, my husband has around £8,000 outstanding on credit cards, paying £210 per month, of which £123 is interest. He is employed full-time but only on a temporary contract for the time being. What should we do with this debt?

We can't really afford to pay more than we are at the moment, although if my husband was to gain permanent employment this would change. We've had a few years of struggling financially due to redundancies and being on maternity leave and are really keen to start making our way out of this hole but struggling to find a solution due to our circumstances.

All suggestions appreciated.