I am an idiot

pcman1985

You were probably declined due to affordability.
The lenders look at the worst case scenario, that you balance transfer 5K to your new card, and you then run up debt on the old card, rather than closing the old card.

Also lenders seem to be hesitant of you having more than half of your yearly income on credit.
The lenders would see you having potentially 10K of debt on a 15K income, which is over half your yearly income.

Finally the credit score of 966, which may look good to you; means nothing.

lindamcgraw

If it means nothing, then what is the point? It says Excellent but if it makes no difference, why did Halifax recommend I look at it?

I did apply to Tescos and MBNA and they both approved me but they won't cover the full amount I owe on the Barclaycard. Also, I haven't applied for more than half my yearly income, just enough to cover the outstanding balance.

I guess I am stuck then! If they won't approve me enough to transfer the balance, there is very little I can do about it, I will just have to keep paying off what I can and try and scrape together more each month!

I wish I could go back and have strong words with my student self - I have ruined my finances for nothing!

redux

I'd say go for the Tesco then, as at least you'll have zero interest on the proportion that you can transfer.

Then just minimum monthly payment there for the time being, and work hard to cut the remaining current card.balance.

Ebe_Scrooge

lindamcgraw wrote: »

If it means nothing, then what is the point? It says Excellent but if it makes no difference, why did Halifax recommend I look at it?

The point is that the Credit Reference Agencies can try and tempt you to purchase extras in a bid to improve your score. In reality, the only people that see your score are you and the CRAs - lenders will not see it.


I very much doubt that Halifax will have recommended you check your score - they may well have told you to check your credit history or credit file. The important things that a lender will be looking for are :


A history of managing credit responsibility.
Being on the Electoral Roll.
No missed or late payments.
Roughly no more than 50% of your income as available credit.


If you've been accepted for Tesco and MBNA, just transfer as much as you can from Barclaycard, pay the minimum each month on the lower rate cards and as much as possible to the higher rate card. This will at least begin to reduce the debt and save you paying so much interest.

thriftylass

lindamcgraw wrote: »

Also, I haven't applied for more than half my yearly income, just enough to cover the outstanding balance.

But the banks see your current debt PLUS the new card you apply for = 10k as there is no guarantee in their eyes that you close the old card etc.

Dobbibill

lindamcgraw wrote: »

Thanks everyone who has replied, I appreciate it.

So I sat down and applied for a new Halifax card with 41 months 0% interest.

But I was declined? I checked my credit score and its 966 out of 999...how is this possible?!

Experian gave you a score of 966 but Halifax didn't. Your credit file/history is the important information rather than the score, that is just their marketing gimmick.

I applied for a Tesco credit card and got accepted but they would only balance transfer £3080, which isnt enough! I am only paying off interest on my current card. This is a mess!

BT £3080 of the £5k and that will only leave you paying interest on just shy of £2k, which is only 40% of what you were going to pay interest on. Chip away as much as possible on the interest bearing debt first, with minimum payments on the BT.

Don't take any rejection personally, on paper you are asking a company to double you credit facilities while earning £15k even though your initial line of credit is maxed out.

They don't consider if you are going to pay off the initial debt. There is nothing physically stopping you from running up the second CC and being saddled with double the debt.

You've told us that's not your intention but companies only see your application.

All the best.

Philipgreen

Look around for a new job either less hours or more money ( or both)

downhillfast

lindamcgraw wrote: »

I applied for a Tesco credit card and got accepted but they would only balance transfer £3080, which isnt enough! I am only paying off interest on my current card. This is a mess!

lindamcgraw wrote: »

I did apply to Tescos and MBNA and they both approved me but they won't cover the full amount I owe on the Barclaycard. Also, I haven't applied for more than half my yearly income, just enough to cover the outstanding balance.

Ok. So you have applied for two cards and been approved for a certain amount on each of them - £3080 on Tesco.. how much on MBNA? Do the two cards combined cover the full amount? There is nothing to stop you taking out both cards and splitting the debt.

Do not pass up on these new cards - getting as much of your debt, even if not all, onto 0% will help you pay this debt off much quicker.

The reason you cannot get the full amount is because lenders see you already have £5k debt and once you apply for another £5k limit, that puts you over the 50% of your income threshold.

lindamcgraw

Thank you to those of you who have offered good advice, I understand what you are saying and whilst it doesn't help my situation, most certainly makes me feel less panicked.

Even though this outcome isn't quite as I had hoped, it has definitely given me the kick up the backside to start making changes that I really need to make and watching the pennies!

Thank you all!

agrinnall

lindamcgraw wrote: »

With regards to my job, it isn't illegal as it is unpaid overtime. It is in many contracts and in mine. I know what it sounds like but its the position i am in and I am staying there.

I believe you are wrong. It's not illegal (but is rather unethical) to insist on unpaid overtime, but if that means the rate paid for the total hours worked is below NMW then it is illegal. I can see why you might not want to complain if you want to keep the job but you need to ask yourself whether it makes any sense to aid an employer who will do this by continuing to do the unpaid work.