best bet for 0% for retired person? and potential credit limits?

brians_daughter

Hello,

Looking for best cc for my mum.. details below

My Mum and Dads endowment matures next month and has a shortfall of around £3600. They do have some savings but most of them are tied up in accounts with redemption charges ie if they withdraw they loose the interest accrued (6%) plus some fees for withdrawing.

Ive suggested looking into a 0% cc with the ability to draw the cash to pay the shortfall.

Mums just took early retirement and her pension isn't much, £8000 PA. Dad had to also take early retirement and has an income of £2200 PCM. This is made up from pensions and DLA.

Mum would be applying for the card not Dad as he gets very confused and debt is one thing he wouldn't be able to understand
Apart from this endowment shortfall that shes looking to pay she has a spotless file with no outstanding debt . Has had loans and overdraft facilities in the recent past so has a history of managing credit

Based on this could anyone give a good guestimate on who would accept her and at what limit? She's just done the 'soft search' on MSE for the MBNA 0% for 22 months and had a 90% acceptance chance but there was no inclination of the limit she may get.

TIA
Anna

zerog

Why does it need to be a card? Can they get an overdraft or loan?

BTW you are looking for a super balance transfer, i.e. a card that sends money to your bank account. You don't get 0% on ATM withdrawals. Nobody is going to know the limit and I expect she doens't really care about her credit rating any more, so she might as well just apply for the MBNA. I don't know any cards which will do money transfers besides that one.

Or you could just lend them the money yourself.

bigadaj

If there is a shortfall then presumably the endowment is still linked to a mortgage

Your parents should speak to their lender and discuss this, the lender may agree to extend the mortgage for a year or two to allow the debt to be paid, interest would still be due but even standard rates are very low.

This ,ight be better than cards or loans, as they can spiral out of control.

YorkshireBoy

bigadaj wrote: »

This ,ight be better than cards or loans, as they can spiral out of control.

With the thick end of £3K a month NET income, and savings available if necessary (albeit at a penalty), any £3.6K credit card/loan/overdraft should be repaid in no time...I would have thought?

There may be a fee chargeable to extend the mortgage, as well as circa 4% APR interest? OP needs to compare this with the 4% MT fee charged by MBNA for 2 years of 0% interest.

In the OP's parents' position I'd go with the credit card.

jonesMUFCforever

I don't understand what fees would be levied by extending the mortgage>?
I would go down this route especially as it looks like the money could be found within a year.

brians_daughter

Hi all, thank you for taking the time to respond.

The mortgage has been a nightmare over the past 18 months (Its a long story). Mum has no intention of having to deal with the building society a second longer than necessary. They have also been told that a fee would be payable to extend the mortgage- hence the CC.

She's looked into a loan but she likes the idea of being able to over pay every month at a rate that suits them more appealing than a loan.

Overdraft - they bank with the halifax and can a have large o/d (£2750 and the rest could be found by borrowing from me) but i think they were quoted £2 a DAY every day they were overdrawn, if only by 1p- so thats out the window. Suggestions of changing banks were met with horror.

There no chance of a cc spiralling out of control or even ever being used again apart from the purpose of paying the endowment

My brother and I offered to loan them the money until the savings could be withdrawn without penalty but to be honest we are both looking to move house this year, its not as if we wouldn't or we wouldn't have offered, but if they could borrow it with ease at little cost this would be preferable to all parties.

Thanks so much, i think i will help her apply when she's here next.