I want to be a tart, help.

happyhero

Hi everybody, just joined, been reading this site for days and now I am hooked. I want to go the whole hog, be a tart or stoozer. I have an offset mortgage with FD and and a bit of a lump sum from a job redundancy a couple of years ago which helps my mortgage, but I'm about £20,000 short of making my mortgage equal my lump sum so I'm now wanting to get a 0% credit card or 2 to sort this out. I should have no problems with the min. balance payments due to the lump sum.

Right I have read everything to the point where I thought I understand everything, only to carry on reading and probably read far too much getting into some of the more complicated things people do or warn of, which now makes me doubt my full understanding.

Anyway this is what I thought, get an Egg card and get my wife to do the same. SBT all toward mortgage and then reaccess what to do next, i.e. how close are we to the required figure, and what can we do next.

Should we both sign up for cards at the same time or leave a gap? How long if so? When should I SBT and how much, ie full amount straight away which could possibly be £10,000 or in bits? Do they put up with you transfering this amount straight away or do you have to make it look good?

Thinking ahead my next wish is to sign up for more 0% cards to make some cash to further help paying off the mortgage. What card do you recommend here bearing in mind when the 6 month Egg deal runs out I will need to have a card in mind to pay off the Egg until it's anniversary.

All help and guidance greatly appreciated.

Reaper

Sounds like you've got the idea.

Transfer the whole amount straight away. No point in hanging around.

As you have a relationship with FD you could apply for their credit card next. People you have a financial history with tend to give much more generous credit limits (providing your account has been well run).

However note that the minimum payment with the FD cards is 3% so make sure you have that covered. Also they only give 6 months interest free, however at the end of that time you can clear the debt and ask to switch to their other credit card to start the 6 months off again with the same credit limit.

Other popular cards are Mint (for the SBT), and LLoydsTSB (because they give 12 months 0%). Strategies vary but you could start with about 2 cards each and then apply for a new one every 1-2 months. If you get a rejection don't apply for any new ones for 6 months.

That's it in a couple of paragraphs. You'll pick up on the finer points over time if you keep reading the forums.

happyhero

Thanks Reaper for the quick response. Just to clarify, so from what you are saying take out the Egg, max it out, then clear the debt by taking out the FD one, soon after. Could I then SBT the Egg to max again? And do all of this within a few days or how ever long it takes to get the FD card without any costs i.e. SBT more than once on the Egg in one month?

Martinslovechild

Could I then SBT the Egg to max again? And do all of this within a few days or how ever long it takes to get the FD card without any costs i.e. SBT more than once on the Egg in one month?  

Yes.  Get them both up to max.  Any amount over the £20K can be deposited into a high interest savings account earning you interest.  In fact, make sure it's instant access and you can then also use this for the monthly min payments.

Egg has a max credit limit of £15K whereas FD is £25K. Therefore, if FD offer you the full £25K, your minimum payment would be £750 - ouch!! Not such a problem though if you've got £5K hanging around in a savings account while the other £20K is nicely bringing down your mortgage interest by around £90 per month ;D

You can do all of this within a few days.  I've SBT'ed several times in one month with Egg without any probs.

Reaper

Just to clarify, so from what you are saying take out the Egg, max it out, then clear the debt by taking out the FD one, soon after.

Yes

Could I then SBT the Egg to max again?

Yes, if you are still in the 0% period.

And do all of this within a few days or how ever long it takes to get the FD card without any costs i.e. SBT more than once on the Egg in one month?

Yes

If FD give you a higher credit limit than Egg do it in 2 steps. Or you can even put a positive balance on the Egg card to pass it through in one go (strictly speaking not allowed in most T&C but nobody has had a problem).

Rafter

If you don't have credit elsewhere and as you bank with HSBC (first direct) you may have trouble getting enough credit straight off. HSBC don't share their credit information with Experian or Equifax so their customers often find it tough to get credit as a result.

Make sure you don't overdo it and leave yourself some options in 6-9 months time with alternative suppliers to go to.

R.

happyhero

Thanks all appreciate all the advice, but Reaper there is something you said that i do not understand.

Or you can even put a positive balance on the Egg card to pass it through in one go (strictly speaking not allowed in most T&C but nobody has had a problem).

Why would you want to pass it through in one go i.e.what would be the benefit?
Also where would be the place to get the money to do this?
Assuming limits of £10,000 on the Egg and £25,000 on the FD, am I write in assuming you would want to put Egg £15,000 in credit to do this?

Sorry for all the questions, i can be a bit dumb some times. I need it broken down.

I appreciate any info.

happyhero

Hi Rafter, thanks for the info, do I understand you right?
You are saying that the place everyone goes for references will not have much to say about my credit worthyness if I have everything with HSBC, because they keep it to themselves? Why do they do this? Also because I have some savings elsewhere but not colossal and a Goldfish credit card for regular use will this help or not count when I am being checked out?

Reaper

Why would you want to pass it through in one go i.e.what would be the benefit?

Just quicker than doing it in 2 goes.

Assuming limits of £10,000 on the Egg and £25,000 on the FD, am I write in assuming you would want to put Egg £15,000 in credit to do this?

Yes. Or if you had no debts on the Egg card to start with you could put it briefly £25,000 in credit.

As I said strictly speaking not allowed in the T&C, but nobody has ever had a problem doing it.

In answer to your other question about credit worthyness - lenders like to see you have other borrowings and that you don't miss payments. This reassures them that you are a responsible person to lend to. Of course if you have too much debt it can put them off too.

Now a few credit card companies choose not to tell the credit reference agencies that they have given you a card unless you miss one or more payments. The reason is that they don't want their competitors to have that information. The companies include HSBC/FD and LLoydsTSB. This can work for or against you. If you are suffering from a lack of credit history then hiding the lending works against you. However if you have lots of credit cards from all your stoozing then hidden credit cards are just the job.

Recently the lenders had a conference and agreed to submit more data to the credit reference agencies so they may not stay hidden for long. I don't know any more details on it than that.

We are getting on to more advanced subjects now though. Don't worry about all this, start with just a couple of cards to get the idea. Keep it simple for now.

happyhero

but how can you put your Egg in credit?

Reaper

Say your Egg card had £0 on it. You now take out a FD card and get a £10,000 credit limit.

Ask FD to Balance Transfer £10,000 from Egg, even though you don't really have a debt on it (but they don't know that). To do a balance transfer what they actually do is pay Egg £10,000.

Now you have a £10,000 positive balance on your Egg card.