Revenge! Make free cash from credit cards/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

Joclam

Have always closed accounts down when finished with i.e. when transferred. Must admit, not been checking if "settled". Need to get the credit report....(anybody use 'mycreditzoo'? Is it reputable & accurate?).

Available credit/salary ratio pretty much 0%, as all current cards near to limits, but will be higher if some old cards not 'closed off' with CRAs and full credit limits therefore available although I have told card companies to close accounts and I have destroyed cards, no longer use etc.?

Used credit/salary ratio nearer 60% and higher if old cards not 'settled'. No other debt except mortgage though and obviously zero debt in reality as all funds available to clear all card debt (although card companies dont know that of course!).

Co-op was one of my last successful applications although credit limit was low (7500)! But still allowed me to transfer 15k from Virgin along with RBS & Natwest (currently @ 0% and again couple of last I got).

I have a list of credit card companies v brands from 'The Motley Fool'.

Thanks and let me know ypur thoughts.

Ciao

YorkshireBoy

Joclam wrote:

Must admit, not been checking if "settled". Need to get the credit report....(anybody use 'mycreditzoo'? Is it reputable & accurate?).

Thanks and let me know ypur thoughts.

I know lenders have been tightening up recently, but it's also possible that some of your cards might not have been marked as settled with the CRA's. If I were you I wouldn't apply for any more cards until I'd checked my credit reports and addressed any issues on them.

I've not used the one you ask about above - I've only ever obtained the £2 statutory reports from Equifax & Experian which tell me everything I need to know. You can order them from here...

http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/index.html

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/sitepage.ehtml?forward=gb_elearning_credit14

ads_2

Hi,

This is just a warning to anyone thinking of taking out a Lloyds Credit Card.

I applied for their credit card online and everything seemed to be going well when I recieved an email stating my application had been succesful. However the email didn't state anything about the £8000 balance transfer I had requested.

I also recieved a letter asking me to sign a credit agreement but still no mention of the £8000.

I decided to ring Lloyds to check. I was then told I had only been allocated a £6000 credit limit. I don't know when they were going to tell me this.

I cancelled the application and complained that I had'nt been told about the reduced limit. It could really have screwed me up if I hadn't rang to check as it could have taken too long to sort another credit card out.

Anyway, thought I should let people know just in case anyone comes across a similar situation. It seemed that it was only an issue because I applied online.

Cheers,
Ads

YorkshireBoy

ads wrote:

I cancelled the application and complained that I had'nt been told about the reduced limit.

Many lenders work like this. Capital One and LloydsTSB (as you've found out) immediately spring to mind.

Whether you're stoozing or managing real debt, I fear you may have made a bad decision here in cancelling your application. To see why, have a look at Martin's "Special Briefing: Didn’t get the credit limit you want – DON’T screw them!" article here...

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1121180622,51973,

ads_2

Thanks for the info YorkshireBoy.

I was stoozing but I think I've had enough now.

Time to pay off the debt and move on.
Cheers,
Ads

Longjob

So there I was. Virgin coming to an end, new Lloyds card approved and debt transferred FOC. Got a call today from Virgin offering to extend the 9 month period by another six months (until June 15, 29006) and providing me with the facility of 0% on balance transfers. They even advanced $12,000 into my bank account and finally waived the 2% (max GBP35) transfer fee. I was so gobsmacked after the call that fearing it a hoax I called back Virgin on their 0800 number. IT WAS ALL TRUE! I've managed to double my stoozing balance which had been slowly been reduced with the introduction of the transfer fees.

rudedog_2

Longjob wrote:

Got a call today from Virgin offering to extend the 9 month period by another six months (until June 15, 29006) and providing me with the facility of 0% on balance transfers.

Thats great! My virgin 9 month deal will expire Jan 11th. How long should i leave it in the hope that they will call me with this deal? What was the date that your deal was due to expire?

dog

Longjob

rudedog wrote:

Thats great! My virgin 9 month deal will expire Jan 11th. How long should i leave it in the hope that they will call me with this deal? What was the date that your deal was due to expire?

dog

If you have no card to go to then you could leave it to the last moment; in my case it was 14 days before the end of the offer period.

MoneyLovesCompany

I have two observations to make regarding "stoozing". One is good and one is bad.

I am disgusted to note that FIRST DIRECT are charging customers who "overpay" their credit card via Balance Transfers from other credit cards a massive 2% to get their money transferred into their current account.

Legal it may be; moral it ain't. "This is not what credit cards should be used for" is what I was told. It seems that this bank, maybe there are others out there doing the same, want a piece of the action under the guise of trying to stamp out stoozing. Yeah! Right!

I have complained and I hope others will too. After all, it is the voice of the people that stopped the banks charging customers for using ATMs. We need to stop this too.

Rip-Off Britain is alive and kicking in Leeds. Thank you FIRST DIRECT.

2. If one has a flexible mortgage which allows payments into and out of the account at will and no transaction costs, it may prove more beneficial to use Balance Transfers (ultimately) to reduce borrowing at mortgage rates. This is how it works.

For example, if one is a basic rate taxpayer with a mortgage at (say) 5% per annum, this is the equivalent of sticking funds into a deposit account offering 6.25% p.a. before tax. A higher rate taxpayer would need to find a deposit account offering a whopping 8.33% p.a. before tax to better this.

The best deposit account rate I have seen recently is 4.90% p.a.. That is the equivalent to 3.92% p.a. for a basic rate taxpayer and 2.94% p.a. for one taxed at the higher rate. Tax on interest is 20% for basic rate taxpayers; 40% for higher rate Inland Revenue "customers". I am assuming that non-taxpayers will elect to receive their interest gross, i.e. without deduction of tax.

Selby_Dave

Using the Middle route from the website (The Egg Route). How exactly can I end up with money in my savings account, or egg card ? I am currently debt free on cards. Think I need a simpler explanation of the "transfer" procedure.