To CLOSE my Barclay Visa or not to Close ? .....

[Anonymous]

Hi all!  So, I have amassed a debt of $3,000 on my terribly high interest Barclay APPLE Visa .. 26.99% interest rate!  I have lost my full time job, and am only working part time now, so I want to CLOSE this card so the temptation to keep charging is gone. the CL is $3,200 (almost maxed).. so my question is:  If I close with a balance, will it report as a $0.00 CL with a $3000 balance OR will it still show the $3,000 CL and simply state CLOSED BY CONSUMER?  I called Barclay Credit Analyst and she stated it would not report as a $0 CL and it would show closed by me, not the grantor...she seemed a bit unsure though.

If I close it and it updates to a $0 CL, my UTIL overall will show at 100% or over, as my other cards are at 50% UTIL or a bit more.  My lineup is:

CreditOne:  $300  / 400 CL

Barclay Visa:  $3,000 / $3,200 CL

CareCredit:  $1625 / $3000 CL

NFCU:  $430 / $700 CL
FingerHut:  $210 / 250 CL

Also, I may use a credit counseling agency (DEBT HELPER) to negotiate a interest rate of 5.9% as I pay it down.  I have researched them and they are verified by Barclay... so any and all input would be great!!  If this will kill my UTIL and therefore my score, I dont know about it...if there is a way around it, let me know.  The Debt Helper agency requires the card is closed to set up on this plan.  So does Barclays!  :-0 Thank you !

SCORES:

TU:  550 (FICO)

EX:  490 (FICO)

EQ:  525 (FICO)

[longtime_lurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all!  So, I have amassed a debt of $3,000 on my terribly high interest Barclay APPLE Visa .. 26.99% interest rate!  I have lost my full time job, and am only working part time now, so I want to CLOSE this card so the temptation to keep charging is gone. the CL is $3,200 (almost maxed).. so my question is:  If I close with a balance, will it report as a $0.00 CL with a $3000 balance OR will it still show the $3,000 CL and simply state CLOSED BY CONSUMER?  I called Barclay Credit Analyst and she stated it would not report as a $0 CL and it would show closed by me, not the grantor...she seemed a bit unsure though.

If I close it and it updates to a $0 CL, my UTIL overall will show at 100% or over, as my other cards are at 50% UTIL or a bit more.  My lineup is:

CreditOne:  $300  / 400 CL

Barclay Visa:  $3,000 / $3,200 CL

CareCredit:  $1625 / $3000 CL

NFCU:  $430 / $700 CL
FingerHut:  $210 / 250 CL

Also, I may use a credit counseling agency (DEBT HELPER) to negotiate a interest rate of 5.9% as I pay it down.  I have researched them and they are verified by Barclay... so any and all input would be great!!  If this will kill my UTIL and therefore my score, I dont know about it...if there is a way around it, let me know.  The Debt Helper agency requires the card is closed to set up on this plan.  So does Barclays!  :-0 Thank you !

SCORES:

TU:  550 (FICO)

EX:  490 (FICO)

EQ:  525 (FICO)

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Hey buddy,

Rough stuff. Sorry to hear about that. Life sucks sometimes. It would report as 3000/0, so you're utilization would just way over 100%.

I don't have any information about DMPs, so will not comment on that. The only thing I've heard is that it does affect manual reviews because it is reported to CRAs.

I genuinely don't know if NFCU would do anything for you, but that would be my 1st choice. Ask for a CLI (I believe they counter, but wait for others who actually have them - and explain why you want the CL to the LO). I struggled for a while, and my CU raised my CL twice when it was maxed.

Best case scenario, BT barclays and Credit one, close Credit one. SD (destroy card if you have to, but I wouldn't to make sure it stays active), and aggresively pay off NFCU.

Hope this helps! I wish you the best of luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the very kind reply -- sometimes I see a lot of judgment on these sites.  Actually, my NFCU is a secured card, so I set that limit and CAN increase it by adding more funds. . which obviously if I had, this would not all be an issue LoL.  I'm using that as a rebuilder, and because in 12 months it should graduate, and I've heard/seen that NFCU will raise your CL exponentially if you treat them right!   (A friend opened secured $1,000 -- in 9 months, they unsecured it and raised limit to $10,000!!!!!).   

I will wait for others to chime in before I make a decision... that reporting as $3000 / $0 CL could kill my score for a long time if I pay it off slowly, no?   I'm lost, and Barclay is useless

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for the very kind reply -- sometimes I see a lot of judgment on these sites.  Actually, my NFCU is a secured card, so I set that limit and CAN increase it by adding more funds. . which obviously if I had, this would not all be an issue LoL.  I'm using that as a rebuilder, and because in 12 months it should graduate, and I've heard/seen that NFCU will raise your CL exponentially if you treat them right!   (A friend opened secured $1,000 -- in 9 months, they unsecured it and raised limit to $10,000!!!!!).   

I will wait for others to chime in before I make a decision... that reporting as $3000 / $0 CL could kill my score for a long time if I pay it off slowly, no?   I'm lost, and Barclay is useless

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Don't close the card.  It will destroy your scores if you do that.  You're just going to have to not use it as you pay it down

[taxi818]

in most cases it will show as you said. closed by consumer. but your terms will just remain the same until it is paid off. in most cases. now they can balance chase you. which will hurt you. but in most cases. barclays actually love high usage. there is something else you can do to prevent from using it. without closing it. CUT IT UP> will still help your credit until you get that balance paid down. I also have this card. but my apr is 22.99. as i just found that out when i asked for another -0 percent offer. which they gave me. but for sure because of your circumstances. i would not worry to much. just keep paying like you are. who knows if the hard times are over. but as i said. you can cut it up to help you stay strong. you don't have any other cards with 0 percent right now. or lower interest rates??. good luck in any case.

[Anonymous]

Taxi -- so it will report as $0 CL or $3,000 CL if I close the card ?? The interest is killing me. I'm so confused over all of this and don't know what to do. Let the debt Helper assist me in getting interest to 5.9% and pay them, who will pay Barclay or pay it down as I can and leave it open so my UTIL isn't affected ? By the way cutting it will do no good as I do all my shopping online and my card info auto saves

[Anonymous]

Pay if off, wait for report to update, then close.

[taxi818]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Taxi -- so it will report as $0 CL or $3,000 CL if I close the card ?? The interest is killing me. I'm so confused over all of this and don't know what to do. Let the debt Helper assist me in getting interest to 5.9% and pay them, who will pay Barclay or pay it down as I can and leave it open so my UTIL isn't affected ? By the way cutting it will do no good as I do all my shopping online and my card info auto saves

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hehehe. you have to remove it from all those online profiles. i understand. as i have friends with little discipline as well. but yes. it will report. 0 cl. available. because of closed account. and will always be 100 percent utilization. you can forget about getting any other cards while that is there. at least if it is opened. and below 80 percent. you will have chance to get other cards. and more than likely barclay will give you cli. because they love to be the big dog in the wallet. which in your case you will spend more. another option. is to simply. pay it down. below 80 percent. and apply for a 0 percent card. like Discover or freedom. and transfer that balance. to kill the interest you are paying. which im sure is over 60 bucks a month. in interest alone. with your current balance. thats why. before you close. use things in your advantage. take time to get that balance between 60 and 80 percent. so you can app another card and stop feeding the piggy.

[longtime_lurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for the very kind reply -- sometimes I see a lot of judgment on these sites.  Actually, my NFCU is a secured card, so I set that limit and CAN increase it by adding more funds. . which obviously if I had, this would not all be an issue LoL.  I'm using that as a rebuilder, and because in 12 months it should graduate, and I've heard/seen that NFCU will raise your CL exponentially if you treat them right!   (A friend opened secured $1,000 -- in 9 months, they unsecured it and raised limit to $10,000!!!!!).   

I will wait for others to chime in before I make a decision... that reporting as $3000 / $0 CL could kill my score for a long time if I pay it off slowly, no?   I'm lost, and Barclay is useless

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Yeah, but I hope this forum isn't one of those. Like I mentioned, I can certainly emphasize with your situation. 

I would still +1 to call NFCU to see if they would do anything, but they may not given the situation (it being secured, job loss)

It would kill your score as long as there was still a balance on it, yes. By closing it, you lose the biggest CL you have. Barclays isn't useless as much as they just don't have to play ball. As a lender, one of their goals is to make money XD

[Anonymous]

Got it. I'll be keeping it open and try to pay it down first. They did say if I go a few days past due (but before 30) they will work with me on payment plans and lower interest. So we will see.