Transferring balances problem

Sully316

Hey people Im very new to this forum and was wondering if you can help me.

About a year ago I had 4 credit cards which I refinanced into a personal loan ontop of a personal loan i already had, clearing almost all cards with the exception of 1 that still has about £2k on it.

Now I hadnt used any of these cards for years and was simply paying off a fixed monthly fee off each card, so when new cards were sent to me I simply cut them and threw them away before I refinanced.

I never closed any of the credit card accounts though and they are still open to this day. When I have tried to transfer the card that still has a balance on it to a 0% balance transfer (like Natwest at the moment), I keep getting declined.

So my questions is, is this because I still have these other card accounts open, where because I have the ability to borrow/spend more, that they are refusing, or is there another reason ?

CLAPTON

what exactly do you mean...do you mean that you get refused when you apply for a new credit card or do you mean you get accepted for the card but they wont do a BT?

Sully316

I get refused when I apply for a new card ! Sorry for the confusion.

CLAPTON

what does your credit file say?

how much in total do you owe

how much do you earn

what are the credit limits on the cards

obviously you are on the electoral roll

Sully316

I will get a credit report from experian or somewhere and check it out. I owe about £25k in total, I earn £35k and the limits on the cards vary from £3k to £8k available. But I have never missed a payment on any cards or anything like that, and 3 of the cards have nothing on them now. My £25k outstanding is made up of a personal loan £23k, and an egg card £2k outstanding.

I just thought the credit card accounts still being open may be stopping me from opening a new credit card because of the amount I have the potential to borrow.

Robflh

Hi Sully316

In all provability, you will be turned down for one of two reasons. You already have a large unsecured debt and or you already have four credit cards that you can use to run up even more debt with.

Adding up the credit limits on the cards will tell you what your total unsecured debt could be if you maxed out all your credit cards.

If you never intend to use your current cards, cancel them. A period of time latter you will be able to apply for a new 0% credit card and stand a much better chance of getting one.

However, if you have three unused cards you should be able to transfer the £2,000 to one of them for a low life of the balance APR and then you can kill the other cards.

Go to www.creditexpert.co.uk and sign up to their 30 free day trial. You can then view your report on line.