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Persistent Debt

Find out more about persistent debt and how it impacts you
Couple sat on couch reviewing finances together

What is persistent debt?

Persistent debt is when you have paid more in interest, fees and charges over an 18-month period than you do towards the amount you’ve borrowed on your credit card. This can happen if you’ve been making minimum or low monthly payments over a long period of time. This will take you longer to repay what you owe and cost you more in interest.

How can I prevent getting into persistent debt?

Pay more than the minimum payment

If you're able to pay more than the minimum payment, or set up a fixed monthly payment, this will help to prevent you from being in persistent debt, pay your balance more quickly and reduce the amount of interest you pay. 

To see how doing this could make a huge difference to your balance, try it out with the balance and interest rates on your latest statement using the calculator at cardcosts.org.uk.

This table shows an example of the positive impact it has on the interest you pay and the time it takes to repay.

Say you repay a balance of £5,000 at a single fixed interest rate of 23.9% p.a. without spending any more on the card. 

If you make monthly payments of…

…how long will it take to clear your balance?  …how much interest will you pay?

£141 

minimum payment – this decreases as your balance goes down 

32 years, 7 months   £8,799  

£142 

fixed payment  

4 years, 9 months  £3,003 

£160   

fixed payment  

3 years, 11 months    £2,419  

The easiest way to pay the amount you can afford is by setting up a fixed Direct Debit.

If you're unable to move to a higher monthly payment, but would like to make additional payments when you can, view alternative ways to pay.

Complete a budget planner

Completing this budget planner will give you a clear overview of how much income and outgoings you have, and you'll be able to review your current monthly payments accordingly.

Speak to us

We understand that everyone's circumstances are different. If you're in persistent debt and would like to discuss your options, please contact us.

Alternatively, you can reach out for third party financial advice.

How will I know if I'm in persistent debt?

The following timeline shows how we'll communicate with you when you are in persistent debt. 

18 months

We’ll contact you to let you know that over the past 18 months, you’ve paid more in interest and charges than towards reducing the amount you’ve borrowed on your credit card.

The communication will set out options for you to take so that by month 36, or before, you’ll no longer be in persistent debt.

27 months

We’ll send you another communication that will let you know if you’re on track to be out of persistent debt in the next 9 months. If you’re not, we’ll remind you of the options you can take, so that by month 36, or before, you’ll no longer be in persistent debt.

36 months

We’ll send you another communication to let you know whether you are still in persistent debt. If you are we’ll set out different options to repay your credit card balance within a reasonable period of up to 4 years. If you don’t take any action at this point, it may result in your credit card being blocked.

I'm in persistent debt, what can I do to get out of it?

Pay the voluntary payment on your statement, or a fixed monthly amount.

When we contact you at 18 months to advise you that you’re in persistent debt, we’ll give you information relating to a voluntary payment. The voluntary payment will appear on your statement every month for the next 18 months and will change each month depending on how you use your card. Paying the voluntary payment will help you pay your balance more quickly and reduce the amount of interest you pay. You can start paying it at any month although it’s worth bearing in mind, the later you start the higher the voluntary payments will be.

If you're able to pay more than the minimum payment, or set up a fixed monthly payment, this will also help you to get out of persistent debt and pay your balance quicker.

To see how doing this could make a huge difference to your balance, try it out with the balance and interest rates on your latest statement using the calculator at cardcosts.org.uk.

This table shows an example of the positive impact it has on the interest you pay and the time it takes to repay.

Say you repay a balance of £5,000 at a single fixed interest rate of 23.9% p.a. without spending any more on the card. 

If you make monthly payments of…

…how long will it take to clear your balance?  …how much interest will you pay?

£141 

minimum payment – this decreases as your balance goes down 

32 years, 7 months   £8,799  

£142 

fixed payment  

4 years, 9 months  £3,003 

£160   

fixed payment  

3 years, 11 months    £2,419  

The easiest way to pay your Voluntary Payment or a fixed amount is by Direct Debit.

If you’d like to make additional payments yourself, view alternative ways to pay your M&S Credit Card.

Look at alternative ways to pay

Credit cards give you flexibility on how you repay your balance but aren’t designed for long-term borrowing. Depending on how you use your card, there may be cheaper ways to borrow over a longer period e.g. repaying the balance with a loan at a cheaper interest rate. If you’d like to discuss other options available to you, please contact us.

Use a repayment calculator

A good way to explore what a difference increasing your monthly payments could make to the time it takes to repay your existing balance and the interest you'll have to pay is by using a repayment calculator like the one StepChange have available. It's important to remember that the calculator won't take into account any further spending on your card. So you'll need to factor that in when deciding what you can afford to increase your payments to.

There are different ways to change the way you pay to get yourself out of persistent debt.

Reach out for advice

We understand that everyone's circumstances are different. If you're in persistent debt and would like to discuss your options, please contact us.

If you'd prefer to get independent advice, here are some free services:

StepChange

Free debt advice from impartial experts.

Use their Money Health Check to get back on track or call 0800 138 1111

Money Helper

Offering free and impartial money advice as well as tools to help improve your finances.

Visit Money Helper
or call 0300 500 5000

National Debtline

Offering free and independent debt advice.

Visit National Debtline
or call 0808 808 4000

Citizens Advice

Offering free, impartial advice on debt and money, work, benefits and more.

Visit Citizens Advice
or call 03444 111 444

Set up digital banking for your credit card or Everyday Savings Account, and access your accounts safely and securely at your convenience.