The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Chihiro_2

Owing £2K @ 17.9% hurt. I still owe £2K but now at 3.9% - for the life of the balance. I got the M&S card and have moved the majority of my most horrible debt (I'm pretending I don't have a student loan for now since it's deferred) leaving a small-ish amount I could clear fully with some of my savings if I wanted to and I'm still considering it...

The student loan is the one chain around my neck but I'll worry about that later. If I can stop myself spending money I don't have (the credit cards are in the freezer and I have no overdraft) I'll get my wish of being debt free by 30 (minus the SL, anyway).

Chihiro_2

Svennie wrote: »

I have just applied to get one of the &more credit cards which was advised to transfer my balances to for the life of the transfer...but nobody said whether I should accept the payment insurance when it was offered...will that make a difference to anything

Isn't PPI about paying extra money to the lender to ensure that your payments are made each month in case you are rendered unemployed or unable to work for whatever reason and can't make them yourself? Everything I've heard and read tells me to avoid having PPI and that the terms are very selective meaning you may not be covered as easily as you might think. Perhaps if I hadn't been in a situation where I couldn't pay my minimums I would feel so strongly against them but I chose not to take out PPI and then found myself on the dole. I contacted my creditors and explained the situation and negotiated a lower payment and interest freeze in some cases. I think I did better in the long run than paying extra each month - which I later found out wouldn't have covered me anyway.

noticeboard

Moggles wrote: »

Have any MSEs signed up for the Ulster Bank card, which is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group?

I signed up for the Visa (not the Gold Card). I've received it and now they are telling me there is a 2% fee for balance transfers. I thought it was free. I could have paid the same fee and got one for 18 months, this only lasts 6 months.

Is it the Gold Card that is BT free?

amberdow

Trying to help my daugther out. She has a credit card owing £1,000 and only ever pays the minimum payment. She has tried applying for a 0% card but got turned down. Would it be worth her trying another one or will it effect her credit score. She is not yet 20 years of age.

Nome_2

I have been looking for a 0% balance transfer card with a low BT fee. Found the tesco clubcard credit card: 0% BT for 12 months, only a 2% transfer fee AND 0% 12 months on purchases. Plus it earns clubcard points. Is this too good to be true? Can I break the usual golden rule of tarting and make purchases on this card as long as I repay in full at 12 months?

bumbledave

I applied for this card and was accepted on the 5th March, I signed the credit agreement and returnrned it on the 8th. MS changed the fee from 2% £50 capped to 2.5% uncapped on the 12th. They have not honoured their agreement with me and have now delayed my balance transfer and expect me to sign up to the new terms. Anyone else suffered the same way??

JCR

Afternoon.

The head gasket on my car went on Saturday so I was going to pay for it on my credit card but wanted to spread the payments with 0% interest, so I am about to try and transfer from my M&S card to the Post Office credit card. I am a newbie on this balance transfer stuff and in the small print I noticed that it said there would be a fee for doing this. Does anyone have any idea how much this may be as I can't find any indication of it anywhere on the paperwork. When advertising these things they put all the plusses in big writing and the negatives they hide away without giving you the full picture.

The information is probably on the site somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Sorry

thumshie

JCR wrote: »

The information is probably on the site somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Sorry

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=34100665&mediaId=22100390

2.5%

quantocosta

I've been number crunching but I am tying myself in knots....can anybody help??

We have around 7500 to balance transfer and we have been accepted by HSBC with a transfer fee of 2%. We reckon that's about a £150 for a year's interest free credit.

I was about to post the signed application when somebody pointed out that M&S are offering 4.9% for the life of the balance. What I can't get my head around is how much that works out at over a year with the debt decreasing by around £150 a month.

Can anybody advise whether we would win or lose in the long run by joining M&S instead of HSBC???

Yours most brain hurtingly, quantocosta

thumshie

quantocosta wrote: »

. What I can't get my head around is how much that works out at over a year with the debt decreasing by around £150 a month.

Use http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

I make it £328.29 in interest taking 56 months to be DF. Bear in mind going the 0% route, you rely on being excepted for a card after 12months to move the debt again. Depending on your circumstances, you might find your 'stuck' with hsbc - in which case using the same link above paying 150 every month would take 65 months.