Balance transfer

Chesterly_frank

So after YEARS of avoiding it, I decided to try and do a balance transfer to shift £1300 of credit card debt. I did a soft search and checked my credit score. My score is 999, no adverse factors, yet when I searched the only ones I was likely to be accepted for were credit builder ones? I don’t understand?! Can anyone enlighten me?

[Deleted User]

It's because your score has nothing to do with lending decisions.

What do your credit file show? What debts are you carrying and what's your income?

If you're struggling to clear £1300, it suggests you're going to fail on affordability.

Chesterly_frank

Thanks for your reply. There’s only a few small debts, a store card of £600 the credit card I want to clear and my mortgage.

I work part time, earning about £8000 p/a and our household income is £43k jointly

[Deleted User]

That's your answer - you're going to struggle to get anything on that income.

If your partner is willing to take on your debts, that may be a solution.

Chesterly_frank

Thanks again! What’s confusing me is that a year ago I got finance (0% for 1.5k) for a sofa on the same income (now paid off) and the credit card I have now I got when I was a full time mum with £0 income!

Terry_Towelling

Don't forget, (and these are just musings from me) you got your card years ago when perhaps there was no other debt in your life and the starting credit limit may have been quite low.

I guess the sofa finance could be secured against the sofa - which could be repossessed if you failed to pay - although hardly likely - but the sofa finance is also finite and you can't continue to borrow on it, whereas as a credit card can be used to borrow continually and the amount of debt you carry on it may never actually reduce each month depending how you use it. On its own that is not necessarily a bad thing for a card company because they make interest out of you but it still represents a risk. Credit card companies will doubtless also have a different view of risk to sofa finance companies.

You may tell the card companies (that you are now approaching) that you intend to do a balance transfer of existing debt, but that doesn't stop you running up more debts on the original card and so you may be seen as a higher risk.

Add to that, your self-confessed 'slow progress' clearing your existing card debt will be visible on your credit file and that could be scaring some lenders off.

Ben8282

As I see it you have a credit card with an interest bearing balance of £1300 on which you have been paying interest for YEARS. You also have a store card with an interest bearing balance. What do you imagine this indicates about your financial situation and ability to repay?