Advice needed on balance transfer

theowl_2

Apologies to those who read this twice - I posted it in reply to another thread. I am hoping for quick advice as I would like to send back my credit agreement today...

I received a letter from Barclaycard today stating that 'though they were unable to offer the card I applied for I have been offered a classic barclaycard instead.' Since they are still giving me 0% on balance transfers for 10 months with no fee, I couldn't give two hoops about what I orginally applied for as I am using this card solely for the BT.
Though there T&Cs are quite clear regarding BTs, they only inform you of your credit limit when you receive the card. It states however that you can only apply for the balance transfer on the application form which forms part of the credit agreement that you have to return to Barclaycard. This may well be the normal process, as I have not done this before, but as mentioned by others, I will be charged for any BT exceeding 90% of my credit limit.
Seems a bit of a vicous circle to me. I want to BT 3K, but if that will exceed 90% of my credit limit then I will request less. Somewhat sly of Barclays to do this. There is no reason that they cannot advise you of your credit limit on the application form, and then you could know how much to BT without incurring a fee.
Say I do request 3K and when I receive my card I am told I have a CL of 3K. I assume Barclays will already have authorised it and charge me 6.9% on the £300 excess? What are my options then? Can I tell Barclays I want a BT of £2700 instead?
Obviously they do this to make some profit on BTs, but I am wondering whether I should just ask for a £2500 BT just in case. Judging by my other CC, Barclaycard will probably give me a 3K limit, so what do you guys think?

Clariman

That is a bit naughty of Barclaycard - I didn't realise that they did that. I would do 2 things. Firstly, I would telephone them and ask them if they can tell you what your credit limit is. I would say that there is a fair chance that they could. If they can't/won't tell you, then I would explain your predicament and ask them what you should do about it. It may be that they have a standard process in place to deal with these events.

If you get no joy from them but want to still sign up and request the BT, I would write on the application form that you do not wish a BT to go ahead if it is > 90% of your credit limit. I would sign the credit agreement and sign by your amendment. I would also add in a covering letter explaining what you have done and why. I would keep a photocopy of the amended agreement and your covering letter and keep on file. That should cover you if they do put through a BT that you will get charged for.

Clariman

YorkshireBoy

I agree it's not 'conventional', when compared to the way most credit cards operate. However, if you've had the search, and you're handling debt, at least you know that the worst case scenario is you'll be paying 6.9% APR on £300.

The impact of this will be reduced somewhat due to to the Barclaycard order of payments - which mean that all your payments will go towards clearing your 6.9% debt before they are applied to your 0% debt.

I agree it could cost you more but, at such a low rate and such a small amount, the consequences might not be as bad as you fear.

Good luck.

theowl_2

Thanks for the reply guys. I could pay this debt off now, but I am trying to stooze. Barclaycard might mess it up, but I'll call them and find out.

theowl_2

Today I called Barclaycard and was told my credit limit would not be known until I return the credit agreement and they run checks. However I was also told that condition 8 on the BT T&Cs ('the BT offer is only available when you apply on this application form') is 'just what they write', and that should I not ask for the BT now, I will still have 60 days to complete the BT from the date of account opening. So he told me to wait until I receive my credit limit and then apply for the BT. That makes sense but I am still a little cautious because of the above T&C. I will send the form back today, look at my CL when it arrives and go for it then. Thanks for the advice. Certainly, I feel that customers who do apply for a BT using Barclaycard's suggested method would probably find their CL is manipulated around their BT request. Or maybe I'm a bit too suspicious.