Super Balance Transfer?

spethmeister

Evening all,

I wandered onto this site this evening wondering about possibilities for reducing our monthly costs as (as i'm sure most people have probably noticed!) times are hard at the moment and we're needing to make every pound stretch as far as possible.

My main issue is a loan I took out around three years ago. Biggest mistake ever, was pregnant and desperate and honestly not thinking straight - but you live and learn, my mistake and I have to live with it.

It costs me £195 per month and I recently crunched a few numbers to see how much the interest was costing me - I was going to ask my parents to lend me the money to repay early, then repay them at the same £195 a month - I think it would have worked out as thousands cheaper!!

On this occasion, the bank of mum and dad told me to jog on (fair enough, I was asking for a LOT of money!!) so I accepted and am continuing to repay monthly.

But I have now seen on here the idea of SBTs, and was hoping someone with a little more experience might be able to help me figure out a few of the finer details.

If I were to apply for the MBNA card, do I have any way of knowing in advance what sort of credit limit I can get? As I don't want to go through the rigmarole of applying, credit checking etc if the limit I get won't be sufficient.

I don't propose to do anything until I thoroughly understand, but I think with lower interest rates I could either repay lightly less and free up some money at a time where we need every possible penny, or reduce the term by carrying on at £195 / month!!

I'm sorry if i've waffled. I can feel the inevitable request for more details so i'm just off to dig out some paperwork so I can actually provide it!!

Thanks in advance to anyone who is able to offer me any advice x

[Deleted User]

I suppose the question is how much credit limit do you want?
But the answer will be that non of us have anyway of knowing what limit you would get,or even if you would be accepted for a cc

spethmeister

I don't have a settlement amount yet but I would estimate maybe 6.5k?

YorkshireBoy

I can feel the inevitable request for more details

Happy to oblige!...

£6.5K may be considered a 'decent' limit in the current climate.

What was the original loan amount?
Over what term?
What's your income?
Married?
Financial Association with partner?
Partners income?
Total debt between you (excluding mortgage)?
On the electoral roll?
Homeowner?
Ever viewed your credit report?

Apples2

Before the crunch came along when I had some credit card debts which I was tarting on 0% deals, a new card I received had a £3k limit.
I had no idea what the limit would be until it arrived through the door.

I have (and did have at the time) an unblemished credit file.

From my experience, I think you will be lucky to obtain a £6k+ limit unless it comes with a hefty apr attached these days.

spethmeister

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Happy to oblige!...

£6.5K may be considered a 'decent' limit in the current climate.

What was the original loan amount? £10,000.00
Over what term? 8 years
What's your income? £1,130 / MONTH
Married? Not married, live with partner
Financial Association with partner? Joint account for bills, and I am named on credit card account that is in his name (Tesco, paid in full monthly)
Partners income? £1,100 / MONTH
Total debt between you (excluding mortgage)? Not sure. He has a loan of about £200 / month due to be repaid early next year and a credit card with maybe £1k on it. I have a credit card with around £150 o/s, and the loan with around £6.5k o/s
On the electoral roll? Yup
Homeowner? 50% shared ownership - mortgage is £400 / month (paid by me) rent is £230 / month (paid by him)
Ever viewed your credit report?

Not recently but historically it has always been good as I have generally been good at maintaining at least minimum payments. Not checked it recently though if i'm honest.

This super transfer may not be the best option for me, i'm just keen to reduce the long term cost of this wretched loan - especially having just reviewed the loan agreement and seen that the total interest over the whole term will be £8,750!!!!

YorkshireBoy

I think your chances of a near £7K limit are slim. However, if you've no other credit applications planned in the short term then the effect of a search won't matter?

M&S are known to like the 'fairer' sex so maybe give them a go. You can buy Sterling TCs from M&S with the M&S card for a 1% fee and pay them into 'some' bank accounts (LTSB and Nationwide are two I've used). These are treated as a purchase so currently qualify for 0% for 15 months. You'd obviously need to be able to shift this debt on next year otherwise you'll revert to circa 16.9% APR.

spethmeister

The only other application I have planned is for a new bank account as I want to change banks. I have just done a simple spreadsheet to see how my repayments are progressing - with all the interest, I still have more than the original loan amount left to repay!! That's a fairly depressing concept but I am glad to be more aware of where I am than I was this morning!!

I think I will phone Santander next week and find out what the settlement amount would be so I can look into my options a bit more thoroughly.

It's remarkable what a difference it makes to be completely honest with yourself about where you are financially - my situation is not ideal but I think I will keep my head out of the sand from now on!!

Thanks for your help so far everyone!

YorkshireBoy

spethmeister wrote: »

The only other application I have planned is for a new bank account as I want to change banks.

If you've held the existing account a long time your credit rating will dip if you close it (that's if it's your only account?). You may wish to consider keeping it open because 'time with bank' is a key stability criterion in credit scoring.

drewdrop

Hi, what are ' sterling tcs' ?

CHR15

Travellers cheques