Negotiating current rates....

jamminca69

Hi all first post :beer:

Looking for advice with some credit cards i have - at the moment i have outstanding balance of £6,400 with MBNA and my interest free period ends in November.

I also have a Post Office Platinum card with a 8500 limit that has £16 credit, and a Tesco Clubcard which is on 0.

I hadnt applied for credit card or missed payments etc for a good year so had a quick look to see if any decent card deals about and found the Captial One Platinum offer of 6.9% until Jan 2012 and no BT fee. So i applied for that, i got accepted and got credit agreement which didnt mention credit limit. I rang them and was told it was provisionally £2000 but they couldnt confirm until i returned agreement. They did say though as i hadn't put details of any BT's on application form that if i had any that could rise so gave them details of the MBNA one but have to wait 48hrs to see if they allow it. I'm not that hopeful but there we go.

In meantime i thought id use advice on here to see if i could either extend my MBNA deal or get a better offer than the current 5 months 0% (2.98% fee) from the Post Office card.

MBNA - rang and explained situation and spoke to retentions department, they said they couldnt do anything as cant change rates on existing balance. They wouldn't budge and said they can offer the BT (0% to May 2010 2.9% fee)offer to existing customers but nothing else.

Post Office - Rang and explained that i have 6k on another card and potentially wanted to transfer it but at better than the 5 months on offer. They again flatly refused saying that's best they could offer. Asked to speak to retentions but they again would not budge, i tried everything but no joy.

I thought one of them could do something but neither would budge at all - i know credit card companies have done stuff before but have they changed their policy? Is there a clampdown?

I have the post office as backup before November but was sure they may offer me something to get my business? i even said at end doesn't have to be 0% offer maybe a fixed % for longer but nothing. Im now hoping that Capital One comes through and says ok as get def up of all the changing of cards as in 5 months ill be doing it all again otherwise!

Finally not sure if this would work but potentially if Capital One don't increase limit, could i BT say £2000 (or whatever max is) from MBNA, then BT it back to MBNA - and do it say 3 times?!? i would pay fee for it to go to MBNA but not to Capital One. Or do they limit no. of BT's to one card? Otherwise i could in bits shift everything out and back in to MBNA so effectively have it all on 0% until May 2010 but paying the 2.9% fees each time) :mad:

Sorry for long post but thought id fully explain

Moggles_2

Welcome to MSE!

I wouldn't ask MBNA to extend an offer/reduce your rate(s) at the mo. Trying to negotiate, while a promotion is still running, is doomed to failure. Just so you know.

Usual advice is to pay down the debt on your MBNA card either yourself or courtesy of a new 0% BT card. MBNA has a reputation for regular, follow-on offers, which you can use to your advantage once your balance is paid off in full. Also, you'd be in a stronger position to negotiate further offers over the phone at that point.

jamminca69

Moggles wrote: »

Welcome to MSE!

I wouldn't ask MBNA to extend an offer/reduce your rate(s) at the mo. Trying to negotiate, while a promotion is still running, is doomed to failure. Just so you know.

Usual advice is to pay down the debt on your MBNA card either yourself or courtesy of a new 0% BT card. MBNA has a reputation for regular, follow-on offers, which you can use to your advantage once your balance is paid off in full. Also, you'd be in a stronger position to negotiate further offers over the phone at that point.

Cheers Moggles, thanks for info regarding MBNA.

With regards to Post Office though, why were they so adamant they couldn't offer anything better? is that again because they have the 5 months offer on table? Problem being they will always seem to have that on offer for existing customers they don't seem to change it.

Moggles_2

Post Office - Rang and explained that i have 6k on another card and potentially wanted to transfer it, but at better than the 5 months on offer. They again flatly refused saying that's best they could offer. Asked to speak to retentions but they again would not budge. I tried everything but no joy.

Perhaps that's just as well. If I've understood your post correctly, you had already arranged a BT with Capital One. If both requests had been met, you could have ended up paying the same credit card (MBNA) twice over.

Please be aware that BTs are not easy to reverse. If you want to keep your options open, it's safer to wait until receipt of the card and credit limit before requesting BTs. That way you avoid unwanted partial transfers and retain some control over what happens when

jamminca69

Moggles wrote: »

Perhaps that's just as well. If I've understood your post correctly, you had already arranged a BT with Capital One. If both requests had been met, you could have ended up paying the same credit card (MBNA) twice over.

Please be aware that BTs are not easy to reverse. If you want to keep your options open, it's safer to wait until receipt of the card and credit limit before requesting BTs. That way you avoid unwanted partial transfers and retain some control over what happens when

No - Capital One BT hasn't been arranged, i deliberately didn't put BT details in application for above reason. Still haven't signed the agreement on that one yet.

Moggles_2

jamminca69 wrote: »

With regards to Post Office though, why were they so adamant they couldn't offer anything better? Is that again because they have the 5 months offer on table?

That's right. This much is fairly standard across the industry.

That said, I have a Post Office card too and I haven't found the Bank of Ireland so amenable to telephone negotiations as MBNA, unfortunately.

Moggles_2

jamminca69 wrote: »

No, Capital One BT hasn't been arranged, i deliberately didn't put BT details in application for above reason. Still haven't signed the agreement on that one yet.

Right, that was wise, IMO.

Moggles_2

Finally not sure if this would work, but potentially if Capital One don't increase limit, could i BT say £2000 (or whatever max is) from MBNA, then BT it back to MBNA and do it say 3 times? I would pay fee for it to go to MBNA but not to Capital One. Or do they limit no. of BTs to one card? Otherwise, i could in bits shift everything out and back in to MBNA so effectively have it all on 0% until May 2010 but paying the 2.9% fees each time)

Credit limit permitting, the card companies do not limit the number of BTs.

Unfortunately, I suspect this activity would not help. I would check your MBNA Ts & Cs carefully under order of payments.

Unless stated otherwise, you can bet that C1's payments would be allocated to your outstanding balance in a way that benefits MBNA, not you. There's every prospect that the same £2000 worth of transactions would be paid off with each BT, leaving the remaining balance attracting interest at your standard rate.

jamminca69

Moggles wrote: »

Credit limit permitting, the card companies do not limit the number of BTs.

Unfortunately, I suspect this activity would not help. I would check your MBNA Ts & Cs carefully under order of payments.

Unless stated otherwise, you can bet that C1's payments would be allocated to your outstanding balance in a way that benefits MBNA, not you. There's every prospect that the same £2000 worth of transactions would be paid off with each BT, leaving the remaining balance attracting interest at your standard rate.

Figured it may be a long shot

Think ill wait and see what Capital One say - if no go with them then ill BT to the Post Office card and then see what offers MBNA give me once balance is cleared

Moggles_2

jamminca69 wrote: »

Think I'll wait and see what Capital One say. If no go with them then i'll BT to the Post Office card and then see what offers MBNA give me once balance is cleared

Sounds like a plan

Very best
M

PurpleJellyFish

You said you had a Tesco card - is that a zero balance or a 0% offer on that one? If it's a zero balance, give them a call to see if they have any LOB deals - they're usually 6.9 or 7.9 with no fee. May be worth a call.