Charity Cards - BTF

ciaron

I just got off the phone with Card Services (0845 300 0323) and they quoted me defintely no fee on my card and did a BT right there and then.

I also queried her about the details of the BT fee. Apparently the fee can depend on your individual card and can vary depending on your credit check (just like the APR can vary) so you can only find out if a fee applies when you phone.

Note the t&c's only say no fee "other than a special promotional rate when your account was opened" so basically the no fee bt is only offered to you once a credit check has been done and only if they think you're suitable for the no fee offer. There is NO guarantee you will get a fee free BT from these charity cards.

Also please note that the Cardiff call centre I was put through to by the 0800 number on my card to activiate didn't seem to be too savy about BT's and could not confirm that no fee would apply. According to card services, if no fee details show up on your card details on their system that means no fee applies to your card, however the guys at Cardiff didn't seem to know this.

Hope this helps some people,
Ciaron.

Manchester_Lucy

I received my Harley Davidson card this morn (ok, I went for the cool/rebellious card rather than a nice charity), and was told 2% fee and a 90% cap when I asked about a BT.
Like everyone else I thought it was on a freebie since we heard about it on here.

The customer services lady gave me her colleague's email address and I explained the problem along with including links to the relevant info Martin posted on here and his 16/3 email, so they should be getting back with a response.
They've already replied to say that it's been passed onto the complaints dept.

NiciD_2

Just to let you know, my Macmillan Card came through at the weekend, with the limit of £5300 that they agreed at time of application. I called them straight away to activate the card and transferred one and a bit balances from my other cards. I checked that there was no fee – again was told no fee for balance transfer and 0% for 9 months. All sorted! Really good customer service as well. The girl I spoke to couldn’t have been more helpful. Just waiting on my Barclaycard to come through now to transfer the rest of my balance!

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi folks,

Just a quick note to let you know that this has been double and triple checked with HBOS, who have confirmed that the card we state in the balance transfer article will not attract a BT fee during the intro period, if you apply for them through the links in our article.

They are currently passing this message down to the customer service team, but as we've seen with other cards before, this process often takes some time. The best tactic for the time being is, if you are told you'll get charged a fee, then replace the receiver and try again till you get someone who knows the right answer.

Cheers guys

Dan

leaphaze

Just received by Great Ormond Street card on Saturday. Phoned to activate it and operator confirmed (after disappearing off to check) no charge for BT.

I think most issuers have a 90% cap on BTs.

Former_MSE_Dan

In case anyone missed it, here is what Martin said in another thread

I know some have been questioning whether the charity cards listed in the Balance Transfer article are BT free - primarily because the call centre has been giving out erroneous info.

This concerns the following cards: Great Ormond Street, Guide Dogs, Harley Davidson, Macmillan Cancer Relief, Mencap, NSPCC, RNID, The Scout Association

To clarify I asked HBOS who manage the cards to send me an official note (to regular moneysavers if you see people asking about this, please link them to this post)

Alex Barnett, the Press Officer has written this

"Hello Martin,

Hope all is well.

Further to our earlier conversation, the charity cards featured on www.charitycard.co.uk don't have a BT fee on the introductory offer. As per the summary box on site, no BT fee is made during the introductory offer period. Should a BT be made after this introductory period then a BT fee of 2% (£2 min) may be charged.

I understand some of your site users have queried this and we apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our standard charity cards do carry a BT fee and this may be where the confusion lies. We will emphasise this difference to colleagues taking applications to avoid further confusion. These cards are predominantly designed for online or postal applications and we are still accepting applications via this route.

I would encourage anyone wishing to apply for this card to do so via www.charitycard.co.uk.

As discussed, please put any comments on your site down as coming from a 'press officer'.

Kind regards

Alex

Alex Barnett
Media Relations Officer
Press Office
HBOS"

ceejam

I have a Harley card, and have completed one BT on the phone (for 90% of credit limit), which the CA said would have a fee (but which didn't appear on my online statement) and another online (for 90% of remaining credit ), which has just gone through, also without BT fee showing!

MSE_Martin

Hi folks - if its ok - can we continue the discussion

IN THIS THREAD

I'm going to close this one for now so all is in one place

Thanks

Martin