The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Elljay_2

jjmurfin wrote:

Hi
First post on message board - hope you can help. I have recently transfered £5000 to Lloyds TSB Platinum at 0% for 9 Months, for which they charged me 2.5% Fee - £125. So far, so good. However I received my first statement and there is an 'estimated interest charge' of £1.36 even though I have added no other debt to the card. I phoned and was told that this charge is interest at 14.9% APR on the £125 fee. Of course the repayments will reduce the 0% amount first so I will be paying compound interest on the £125. This was not made clear to me at the time of taking the card, in fact I was told that there would be 'no interest payable', and the small print makes no mention of it either. I asked if there would have been an alternative way of paying the fee (e.g. by cheque) so as to avoid the interest but told it had to be added to the card - this makes the 0% impossible of course and therfore the offer misleading.

It is only a small amount but will only get bigger, and there is a principle here. Does anyone else have experience of same?

.

This happened to me also. I was advised by the Lloyds financial advisor about the cc and so took it out. I went back to her, after receiving my statement and calling the cc company who gave the same reply given to you. I was lucky. She worked out what my interest would be and credited my bank account with £20. Like you say, a small amount but it's the principle. It is misleading.

Warsaw

Hi, all.(First posting)
I've just received my new M&S & More credit card, and immediately arranged a balance transfer over the phone. (I'd already set up a direct debit for minimum repayment every month.) Then I asked for the minimum monthly repayment figure to be fixed, at a higher amount of course, following Martin's advice. I was informed that I couldn't do that; the only amounts allowed by direct debit were the minimum monthly payment or the total amount outstanding. Any additional payments would have to be made over the phone by debit card (or by post, I suppose). (I think M&S are going to get into internet banking in the near future also, so that'll be another option.)
Are CC companies allowed to dictate the amounts of DD repayments? Doesn't seem fair to me

Cooley

Hi, this is my first post - thanks for an excellent site. If this is a stupid question I apologise.

In the article the interest calculations for an M&S card use 3.9%. On the M&S site the 3.9 refers to p.a. and in their Q&A section it has the following:

You can transfer balances from other credit cards and store cards FEE FREE at a special rate of 3.9% p.a. fixed for the life of the balance, however long it takes to clear. Transfers must be made within 6 months from date of account opening - typical 16.9% APR variable.

I am confused by the 16.9% APR, which would suggest we will pay more interest than on a loan at say 5.9% APR.

Can you clarify, please?

starwarsdebs

Hi everyone!
This is my first post on this board and I wonder if anyone could help me as its all a little confusing...
I have around £1000 on my MBNA CC and I want to move to a 0% balance transfer card (hopefully with no transfer fee).
But, I am out of work at the moment following my degree, so will I actually be accepted for a new card? Or will I have to wait until I get a job and carry on paying high inteest rates?
If I could get one, which are the best offers at the moment?

TIA!

viken

I'm looking to buy a car, upto £4000.
If I buy from a dealer, I can use my existing credit card and then transfer this balance to the M&S card for which I have been accepted. The interest is 3.9% APR. for life of balance. Is this option better than a loan ??
If I buy private, I can use cash raised from existing credit card, and then transfer the balance.
It all seems too easy. am I missing something ??

Thanks.

viken

Hi Cooley. I've just posted a question, and came across your post. I have just applied for the M & S card. The 16.9 % refers to any balance transfer done after the six months. I had to phone them to clarify about any fee and APR.

Cooley

Viken, thanks for the reply. I have applied for the M & S Card, but was a little irritated when I read in the email from M & S that I will find out what credit limit they have given me when I receive the card!! I would have preferred to know before signing the credit agreement paperwork!! Still beggars can't be choosers!!!!

Phoenix79_2

Have you still got the yellow copy of the agreement? You will be able to work out what your limit will be on there.

Look for the 'total charge for credit' figure under financial info. What does it say?

lil-lou_3

Hi everyone,

Wondering if anyone can help me. My boyfriend has not been the best with his previous finances. He has a store card with around £5400 on it and a credit card with a huge interest rate with again £500. We were thinking of doing a balance transfer for a lower interest rate to enable him to pay all this off quicker. However, he has not been the best in keeping up his repayments and to say the least, i would imagine he as a very very poor credit history.

He has not realised that he cannot simply run away from his debts and needs to get them sorted.

There are loads of these 0% balance transfers and life balance transfers out there but do any of these accept people with poor credit history??? He is willing to pay off as much as he can afford every month, more than the min repayments. He is in full time employment and has no other debts.

If there is no credit card company that will accept him, what are the other options? Would it make a difference if I went as joint cardholder with him?

Any suggestions would be a huge help

Thanks

S0ck3t

I wish to do a new 0% balance transfer and have a few credit cards with zero balances on them that are useless now (previous BT cards).

Should I close them before applying for a new credit card or is this unlikely to have any bearing on my application process?