Stoozing...Forgive my ignorance.

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Hi.

Hi, my name's CannyJock, how can I help you today?

consumers_revenge wrote: »

I suspect there is a wealth of info on this forum but eventually it gets too much to take in for me ( being far to simple! )

Yes there is, the stoozing bit is especially useful for those starting to stooze. There's a good guide with more detailed articles at: http://www.stoozing.com/g_stooz.htm

consumers_revenge wrote: »

From what I understand I contact virgin and basically ask for a credit card ( the 15 month 0% one ) and ask for their ( balance payment ) cheques?

Yes on the card, no on the cheques. When you call to activate your card you ask them to transfer the "maximum possible" to your current account, and from there you move it to your high-interest savings account. When the cheques come through, best to shred them.

consumers_revenge wrote: »

When I get these I write one out to my high saving interest account and keep it there ( for 14 months just to be on the safe side :-) )

Quicker to do the balance transfer during the activation call straight to your current account and then move it from there to your high interest account using online banking.

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Now when I get the statements through I pay only the minimum amount ( or set this up by DD ) and at the end I pay the whole lot off.

Yes, setup the direct debit for the minimum. Be sure to pay it off before the end of the introductory period to avoid interest. During the activation call, ask the customer services person to confirm the exact date that you will be charged interest from if there is still a balance on the card. The first minimum payment will be roughly 3% of the balance after adding the balance transfer fee, subsequent payments will be £ 25.

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Now whats this balance transfer fee thing?

It's what they charge you for the 0% loan - currently 2.98% with Virgin. So if you get a credit limit of £ 10,000 and you balance transfer the "maximum" of £ 9,500, they will charge you £ 283.10 giving you a balance to repay of £ 9,783.10

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Am I correct? Please enlighten me stoozing guru's!

Basically yeah.

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Many thanks.

You're welcome. Have a nice day.

Well said Steve, the info on stoozing was good though