working out tesco interest on 0% credit card

mummytwinton

HI i have taken out a 0% tesco credit card in September.

did a balance transfer which is 100% for 12 months.

i have just spent some on it in Nov which they say is 0% for first 3 months?

is this first 3 months after spend or only if it's on the card in the first 3 months?

also when i make a payment each month how do thye work out if you are paying towards the transfer or the purchase?

will i end up paying interest on this card now & lose out on the 0% for 12 months????

missile

I suggest you read Martins guide and the sticky on this forum re stoozing.

You should never make purchases on a card used for a balance transfer, as most cards set money against the balance transfer first. You will need to check your card agreement.

In effect, your balance transfer is now 0% for three months only.

YorkshireBoy

missile wrote: »

In effect, your balance transfer is now 0% for three months only.

Won't the balance transfer remain 0% for 12 months, but the purchases will start to accrue interest after 3 months (from account opening) at the standard rate - until the entire balance is cleared?

mummytwinton

have just phoned them & paid off the purchases so no interesed paid on them now

GeorgeUK

Well done. I'd make sure to keep an eye on the banks statements though - just incase, but it looks like you've had a good result there.

King_Of_Fools

mummytwinton wrote: »

have just phoned them & paid off the purchases so no interesed paid on them now

Are you sure you can do that? I would have thought the money you paid would come off the balance transfer first.

jonesMUFCforever

I agree with King of Fools.

I would definitely check future statements.

In almost all cases the freebies are paid off first then the expensive bits.

riad_2

mummytwinton wrote: »

have just phoned them & paid off the purchases so no interesed paid on them now

I can guarantee to you that the amount you have paid (even if it is exactly equal to what you have spent) has paid off the balance transfer balance first. None of the call centre staff nor even the managers there have any control over the order in which payments are applied.

The only people who have any control over this is the "Re-pricing" department... and an account would only be sent through to them to "re-price" purchases at a BT rate only in cases of bank error.

rfallows

We did the above with Tesco and made purchases - lo and behold after 3 months our payments started coming off the free balance transfer and not the purchases and on went the interest. On doing some serious complaining we got a verbal admittance from them that we were misled at the time of taking out the card and that the erson we discussed it with was probably not sufficiently trained to explain it correctly. Waiting to hear the answer to our letter!!

Milarky

ALWAYS read the Terms and Conditions FIRST!!

(That said, this is an RBS issued card and they are not the most straghtforward on 'fees')

We apply payments we receive to your account in the following order:

1. Interest on special offers
2. Other interest, any fee and charges
3. Purchases and Balance Transfers
4. Cash Advances and Money Transfers
5. 'Tesco Buy Now - Pay Later' promotional offers shown on any statement

See section 2(D)(b) in your Credit Card Agreement for full details.

(I had to sweat blood and give a lot of rubbish personal info to fish up '2(D)': )

2(D) How we use your repayments

(a) We will not take any repayment off the balance of your account until cleared funds reach the account. You will find on the back of your statement information about the normal clearance period for the methods by which you can make payments to your account.

(b) When we receive a repayment we will use it in the following order:

• To pay any interest on special offers;
• To pay any other interest, any fee and charges;
• To repay special offers shown on any statement;
• To repay all balance transfers and purchases (except special offers) shown on any statement;
• To repay all advances and money transfers (except special offers) shown on any statement;
• To repay special offers not yet shown on any statement;
• To repay all balance transfers and purchases (except special offers) not yet shown on any statement;
• To repay all advances and money transfers (except special offers) not yet shown on any statement;
• To repay 'Tesco Buy Now – Pay Later' promotional offers shown on any statement.

If you have taken up any special offer we may decide to repay transactions relating to these in a different order. When this happens we will tell you when we provide details of the special offer.