I need advise as think I've made a boob!

voucher_fairy

Can any one help.
I've applied for two credit cards both offering 0% for 6 months and requested balance transfers.

One has gone through OK but today I got a letter to say that the other on has now also gone through and they have transferred the balance.

The thing is the two amounts that have been transferred from my old credit card are more than the balance I owed on it.

Will I get charged for having a credit balance on my old card. Do they class this as a cash advance??

I only meant to take up one of the cards but applied for two and was ging to use the one that came through first. I think I've got it wrong!!!

zcaprd7

No and No,

Just phone up and explain the mistake and they will send you a cheque for the amount in credit.

It is your money after all...

funkymonkey

yes that should be fine - most companies will give you a cheques no problem - then store that card away and at the end of the 6 months ring them up and say you are thinking about transfering a large balance to them and ask them what rate can they offer you - most will give you a decent rate!

voucher_fairy

Thanks but I'm still confused.

Tesco is the original card. Egg and Capital one are te two new ones.

The balance from Tesco has been transferred to Egg but £900 has also gone to capital one. £900 more than what Tesco had as a balance owed.

So if I phone Tesco andexplain they will send me a cheque for £900 ? Are you sure they don't see this as a cas advance and will charge me?

I'm new to this credit card transfer thing

Figment

Ring Tesco and explain that you made a mistake with the Balance Transfers. They should refund the money to you without charge - they are not advancing (lending) you money, they are giving back what you have given them in error (ask them before finalising the transaction, I'd be very surprised if they charged).

When you've got the money back into your account you can decide whether to repay on of the other cards or stick the cash into an instant access high interest account. Which decision you make depends on how good you usually manage your finances. If you are not likely to dip into the money on a rainy day then stash it, and SBT the rest of the Egg credit limit into the same account.




Codicil: This is not financial advice - you need to make your own decision.

voucher_fairy

Thanks for that. I have the money but just didn't want to part with it yet. So will ring Tesco then do as you advised.

I just didn't think it would work like that

Thanks Very Much

Leia_Stephens

I need advice as I think I MIGHT MAKE a boob .

I have just applied for, and got accepted for, an
Egg card ;D ;D.

When my Egg card arrives am I correct to assume that I proceed as follows:

phone Egg and BT from Mint to Egg

phone Egg and BT to my current a/c and then to savings for stoozing ;D.

Leia

voucher_fairy

Hi LIEA

I don't really know. I only really intended to do a balance tranfer from one card to another and keep the cash and then pay it off in 6 months.

I just made a boob applying for two at the same time and got accepted for both and thats when it went wrong!!

If it all goes like people above suggest it might maybe it will turn out to my advantage in the end even though I never intended to do it like this in the first place. ::) ::) ::)

Rafter

Leia,

Although your plan looks like it will work, you shouldn't use balance transfers unless you have an existing debt.

Strictly speaking stoozing is not allowed under the terms of the credit agreement you signed with Egg and Mint and could land you in trouble if you need to remortgage or really borrow at some point in the future.

R.

dthyer

I don't know about Mint, but I'm pretty certain that Egg's Ts&Cs do allow stoozing.

See http://new.egg.com/visitor/0,,3_33970--View_1070,00.html for the legal info for people who applied from 01 October 2001 onwards.

If you look at point 1.3 a transferred balance is defined as

the amount you owe us on any sum you transferred to us under condition 2.4.

If you look at point 2.4 you see

You can ask us at any time:

• to pay off an amount you, or your Additional Cardholder, owes to another UK lender and transfer it to the Account, as long as the amount transferred would not make you go over the Individual Limit and is £100 or more and is not used to discharge your or your Additional Cardholder's indebtedness to any part of the Egg plc group of companies;
  
• to transfer (by direct bank transfer) an amount from your Account directly to a specified current account held by you or an Additional Cardholder as long as the amount transferred would not make you go over the Individual Limit and is £100 or more.

So the second option under point 2.4, direct bank transfer, does not have the pre-requsite of an existing debt.

But I of course people should check their own Ts & Cs. I would be interested to know rafter if there is some other factor that you know of that I haven't taken into account?

I hope this helps,

DT

nh

How can it affect your ability to get a mortgage in the future? It doesn't show on your credit file whether you have SBT'd to pay off a debt or whether you have done it to get hold of the cash. So how could anyone in the future know?

If it is against the T&Cs then fine, but speeding is against the law but I know I did 32 mph down my road this morning. Bending of the rules (ie stoozing) is OK because what are they going to do to you anyway if they find out and take exception? They could take your card off you, well boo hoo, you just pay the money back.

The only way it could affect your credit rating is because you may have a big 'debt' ie. money stoozed and that may put some lenders off.

Someone I know (an accountant no less!) told me the other day you could get blacklisted (and anyone who knows the slightest thing about credit files etc knows there's no such thing as a blacklist) anyway, he said you could get blacklisted for moving debt from one card to another after your interest-free period runs out! Where do these people get their information?

Rant over, sorry.