0% balance transfer con .... WARNING

sfax

mat5664 wrote: »

If you are going to insult people, you could at least learn to spell.

I have had balance cards for years, yet was not aware of this rule until I read the thread. It was a perfectly reasonable question.

Thenudeone's response was because the OP did the usual rant without checking the terms first. If the OP had simply asked the question "is it right that I was charged interest?" they would get a more measured response. As it happens, no question, reasonable or otherwise was asked at all. Re-read the post

mat5664

sfax wrote: »

Thenudeone's response was because the OP did the usual rant without checking the terms first. If the OP had simply asked the question "is it right that I was charged interest?" they would get a more measured response. As it happens, no question, reasonable or otherwise was asked at all. Re-read the post

No need for the 'why don't you grow up' comment, which tends to be made by people who..er...haven't grown up themselves.

This is a forum where people should be encouraged to ask questions - however silly they may or may not seem. We were all new once.

sfax

mat5664 wrote: »

No need for the 'why don't you grow up' comment, which tends to be made by people who..er...haven't grown up themselves.

This is a forum where people should be encouraged to ask questions - however silly they may or may not seem. We were all new once.

And young once

JimmyTheWig

I agree that there is no need for the rudeness.
The fact that so many people ask the same question actually backs up the OP's point - that it isn't clear.

Now, it's clear to me. It's clear to other people on this board. But it's not clear to the OP and many like them. So it should be clearer.
However, I agree with the consensus that it is clear enough that you wouldn't be able to claim they shouldn't be allowed to charge the interest that they are doing.

OP, as has been said use a different credit card for spending or use a debit card.
Out of interest, if you had done the same thing a few years ago then you would have been charged interest on the purchases for the life of the balance transfer. Which can mount up quite quickly.

ISCB wrote: »

I don't see any mention of this on the the Money Saving Expert site either (although I may have missed it).

You missed it! On http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards it does say

Don't spend on cheap balance transfer cards. It's not usually at a cheap rate

though to be fair to the OP it does then go on to say

To avoid interest, you'll have to repay the full amount you spend each month.

which isn't quite true.


The overriding answer is, as it has always been, not to spend on a balance transfer card.

ISCB

As I said in my original post I was told by an employee of the card company that I would not be charged interest if I cleared the purchases made each month even though I had a 0% transfer sum on the card.

Added to this is the fact that I've been running the card like this for a year and they have only now started to charge me interest.

These two points make me feel that I have been deceived.

ISCB

Cornucopia

ISCB wrote: »

Added to this is the fact that I've been running the card like this for a year and they have only now started to charge me interest.

There might have been a 0% on purchases offer that had a shorter duration than the 0% BT.

chattychappy

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

The fact that so many people ask the same question actually backs up the OP's point - that it isn't clear.

I thought the same at first. But on reflection, I disagree. If people were reading summary boxes/T+Cs and then making this mistake then I would agree that this is evidence that the rules are not clear.

I suspect it is more a case of people reading and understanding the basic rule as it applies to their normal intended usage when they take out a card and then making assumptions when they later take out a balance transfer.

sfax

Which credit card was this and what wasn't clear about the terms? As an example for Nationwide on the first page:

We will not charge you interest on new purchases that appear on your current (i.e. most recent) statement if, by the close of business on the 25th day (15th day for Cash Reward cards*) after that statement date, we have received payment of the full account balance shown on that statement.

If you pay less than the account balance by this date, we will charge interest on the outstanding balance from the date of each transaction at the rate shown above, based on the daily balance on your account, until full repayment is made.

If you mix a balance transfer and purchases you cannot pay the full account balance and so you will be charged interest on new purchases. That is why the advice on this site is not to mix the two.

JimmyTheWig

ISCB wrote: »

I was told by an employee of the card company that I would not be charged interest if I cleared the purchases made each month even though I had a 0% transfer sum on the card.

Have you said this to the card company since being charged?
I suspect that what they are now doing is applying the rules correctly, but if you were told differently then you may be able to get them to change it for you - or at least credit back the interest charged as goodwill.