incompatable balance transfer!

Moggles_2

I've applied for a Tesco 0% balance transfer credit card and have been accepted. When i''ve tried to transfer my argos and next account over to this i was told by tesco that these companies plus homebase don't allow balance transfers.

To return to your original query, transferring a store card balance to a credit card is not straightforward.

Store cards ARE credit cards and they are usually operated by credit card companies on behalf of the retailer (with the stores being given back a % of the profits), but for some reason their account numbers are formatted differently from credit cards. I suspect that's the problem.

There's a way round it, but you need the right 0% BT card

Moggles_2

Aha, you type faster than me, YB
:beer:
Cheers

MRS_TO_BE_2

Moggles wrote: »

The current Tesco deal offers 0% on BTs for 6 months and you would have been charged a 3% BT fee.

If you put as much of your outgoings on the Tesco card as poss, you'll have 0% for 12 months on your purchases and of course there are no handling charges to pay. That's not a bad deal in the present climate, IMO

Thanks Moggles I have applied with the intention of doing just that!

ashley01_2

thanks moggles. The 19 digit number was mentioned and argos told me to knock the first 3 digits off but tesco still said it was being declined when then tried to transfer it.
I am thinking about closing this one and applying for another card but i'm not sure how to go about finding out what credit card companies can transfer argos and next accounts. Failing this and if i have no other option, then i may enquire about getting a small short term loan as the interest will still be loads less than i'm paying now and therefore the debt will still be paid off quicker.

Moggles_2

ashley01 wrote: »

thanks moggles. The 19 digit number was mentioned and argos told me to knock the first 3 digits off but tesco still said it was being declined when then tried to transfer it. I am thinking about closing this one and applying for another card but i'm not sure how to go about finding out what credit card companies can transfer argos and next accounts.

You need:
a card issued by MBNA (e.g. Alliance & Leicester, MBNA itself, Sony, Virgin), Egg card or the Post Office card and route the funds via your current account

Which option is best depends, to some extent, on which cards - besides Tesco - you have at the mo or have held recently. To maximise the 0% period, 16 months is currently available to new customers from Virgin. There's a 4% handling charge though.

http://uk.virginmoney.com/credit-card-v3/

ashley01_2

i only have a tesco credit card, although i used to have a barclaycard but it's closed now. So basically if i was able to get one of these cards then i could transfer the funds from the card to my current account and pay the argos and next off that way rather than an actual balance transfer? and i'd still not be charged interest? i'll be having a look at some of these cards tonight. Thanks again

Happydaze

I had exactly the same problem with Next. The reason was (or so I was told), that the account number includes letters as well as digits and is not recognised as a valid account number for balance transfer. This was both with Virgin & Tesco. the only way around it was to use credit card cheques which are more expensive so in the end I didn't bother with either of the credit cards.

ashley01_2

i know, i wish i had known about these problems before i applied with tesco. Or at least had the sense to ask tesco first!

Moggles_2

So basically. if i was able to get one of these cards then i could transfer the funds from the card to my current account and pay the Argos and Next off that way, rather than an actual balance transfer and i'd still not be charged interest?

Yes, a few rather special cards will allow you to transfer an overdraft to them, (in other words, transfer cash from the credit card to your current account), at balance transfer rates. A handling fee applies, but there are no other charges during the introductory 0% period. You then have funds in your current account with which to pay off the store card(s)

Moggles_2

Happydaze wrote: »

I had exactly the same problem with Next. The reason was (or so I was told), that the account number includes letters as well as digits and is not recognised as a valid account number for balance transfer. This was both with Virgin & Tesco. The only way around it was to use credit card cheques which are more expensive, so in the end I didn't bother with either of the credit cards.

Thanks for your feedback.

There is another way round it, provided that you have the right balance transfer card. [See #16, #20 above]