The Best Balance Transfers article discussion area

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Nickie_Sue
Its the Amazon and Asda I want to consolidate (£4500). Paypal is fine, only £180 on it and HSBC is my bank's card, at £600 maxed. I don't want to ask the bank for a higher limit on my HSBC and besides this wouldn't really help. I have two loans in addition to this, one currently at 9800 and one at 2700.

Have you considered Egg Visa? This card offers 0% balance transfers for 14 months. There's a 3% handling charge. Alternatively, 15 months 0% is available from Virgin. A 2.98% BT fee applies.

Nicki_Sue

Hi - considering the Egg, had a loan and card with egg in the past and had a not too bad relationship and always paid on time etc so might ring them.
Thanks!

Daft question - new to this moneysavng but blooming determined to get back on the straight and narrow..... if they accept me, do I need a 4500 card (amount of debt) or 5000 to cover the bt fee? How does that work?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Nickie_Sue
If they accept me, do I need a £4500 card (amount of debt) or £5000 to cover the bt fee? How does that work?

Whilst you can spend right up to your credit limit, when requesting a balance transfer, most lenders reserve between 5-10% of your credit limit to cover BT fees and other possible charges.

In the case of Egg and Virgin, normally 5%. Barclaycard insists on a 10% margin.

Nicki_Sue

Thats good to know - I'll ring them today and let you know how I get on.

dancer105

I applied for two of the best balance transfers, life balance which were Goldfish and Barclays. Barclays was no problem. Both of these cards demand a 5-10% margin. In Matin's tips he says to look at long term transfers Goldfish is 2010, this may help to keep you focussed and disciplined whilst giving you a longer period than usual.

I would not recommend Goldfish, the application was done online and the transfer balance requested. Three days later I had a letter of acceptance for two thirds of the transfer and a third left with the original card. I phoned to cancel as I was unhappy at a partial offer and asked it to be cancelled. I asked about the legal cooling off period and was told I did have that right but with penalties.... I was told it had already been processed and the only way to resolve was to ask for my original company to take it back and an pay additional fee to Goldfish. I have a friend who has just had the same thing happen......This is therefore a beware, don't do this business with Goldfish on line.

Despite having a good credit rating and and a high credit limit 10,000, I was offered 2600, I think there may be some financial gain to Goldfish to leave a balance with the original card holder!!!!:mad:

dancer105

I applied for two of the best balance transfers, life balance which were Goldfish and Barclays. Barclays was no problem. Both of these cards demand a 5-10% margin. In Matin's tips he says to look at long term transfers Goldfish is 2010, this may help to keep you focussed and disciplined whilst giving you a longer period than usual.

I would not recommend Goldfish, the application was done online and the transfer balance requested. Three days later I had a letter of acceptance for two thirds of the transfer and a third left with the original card. I phoned to cancel as I was unhappy at a partial offer and asked it to be cancelled. I asked about the legal cooling off period and was told I did have that right but with penalties.... I was told it had already been processed and the only way to resolve was to ask for my original company to take it back and an pay additional fee to Goldfish. I have a friend who has just had the same thing happen......This is therefore a beware, don't do this business with Goldfish on line.

Despite having a good credit rating and and a high credit limit 10,000, I was offered 2600, I think there may be some financial gain to Goldfish to leave a balance with the original card holder!!!!:mad:

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by dancer105
I would not recommend Goldfish. My application was done online and a balance transfer requested. Three days later I had a letter of acceptance for two-thirds of the [balance] transfer and a third left with the original card. I phoned to cancel as I was unhappy at a partial offer and asked [for] it to be cancelled. I asked about the legal cooling off period and was told I did have that right but with penalties. I was told it [the BT] had already been processed and the only way to resolve was to ask for my original company to take it back and pay an additional fee to Goldfish. I have a friend who has just had the same thing happen......

If I've understood your post correctly, you completed a balance transfer request during an online credit card application to Goldfish.

Until you've been accepted for a credit card and told your credit limit, it's best to keep your options open, IMO, and leave the balance transfer section of your application blank or, if asked, state you may be interested.

Of course, you might want to commit yourself to a BT if you believe it could influence the credit limit eventually offered.

Personally, I feel the possible advantage gained is outweighed by the disadvantages. An horrendous story involving LTSB and Capital One was posted on this thread last year. Incompetence on this scale is fortunately rare but, for peace of mind and to avoid the above aggravation, I would wait until safe receipt of your card & credit limit. Then request your BT(s) by phone when you call to activate your new card. There's usually a Freefone number for this

gargoyle

Our first credit card 0% ends in February - we would like to transfer the balance onto another card but not sure how to do this and when. What is everyone's advice?

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by gargoyle
Our first credit card 0% ends in February - we would like to transfer the balance onto another card but not sure how to do this and when. What is everyone's advice?

It normally takes a minimum of 14 days to process a credit card application and balance transfer request. That's if you're lucky. The best 0% deals attract a flood of applications, which tends to slow things up. To avoid a last minute rush, it's best to allow 5 weeks.

May I suggest you read Martin's *Best Balance Transfers* article on the main site? This explains how to do BTs. Then come back here with specific questions

lidibeth

Hi,

My first post!!!

I am just about to buy a house with my boyfriend and we have set aside some money to pay off an outstanding loan he has for £5000. However we are not going to have this money untill March.
Is there an intrest free credit card that we can transfer the Egg loan to for the next few monthe to cut down on the intrest we will pay.

Thanks in advance for your help (sorry if the details are elsewhere but I couldn't find them).