Hello

I'll make this brief. I'm looking for a loan to consolidate 4 credit cards all of which I don't use but have been on 0% deals that are about to run out. Nowhere to turn as far as other 0% deals and want to get them cleared once and for all.

Looking for the best deal over about 7 years for approx. £8k. Can anybody recommend to bank most likely to give me the best rate? I have a good credit rating but I am not a homeowner. I still live at a home. My income is approx £12,500 a year gross.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I am looking to get this sorted today or at least before christmas.

PS. My bank is Lloyds and they offered 11.9% as it was over the normal maximum of 5 years that I wanted to borrow it, which I thought was pretty high. Are Abbey any good?

Have you considered a "life of balance" credit card? Dunno if they'll give you sufficient limit though as your income is low. There are 8 such deals on moneysupermarket today (from c.5.5% to 12%). Minimum payments could give you a very long term. There would no doubt be a balance transfer fee though. HTH

Hello

I have already moved part of the amount to a life of balance Citi card at 4.9% but they only took 1300 of what I then owed and so it meant I couldn't move the whole balance off my MBNA card and so I then inherited yet another credit card to my name.....making 5!!! My fault entirely in the first place I know. I should have got a loan ages ago. I have 5 cards because every time I tried to move from an expired 0% offer card to another, the new card only took part of what I needed to move. I don't want to apply for any more otherwise I will end up with 6 then 7 then 8!! I need a loan.....I best try Abbey or maybe my own first. There rates are high compared to Abbey though.

Thanks anyway.

it seems you should keep the citi card balance where it is. Have you asked them for a higher limit, explaining your situ? have you been a good payer? if you've been with them a while and been good they'll no doubt grant you a limit increase. Shift more balance over to it (if possible at that good rate??!) to keep down the loan amount you'll need, then maybe you can afford to repay the rest on a standard 5-year term, opening up the market a bit for you.

got any savings? you should use that to pay off the debts asap, as there's no point saving with the current rates!

just some ideas for you, hth