Citi Bank 0% balance transfer offer

Lapadore16

I took Martins tip to transfer a balance of £2,500 from my Halifax Mastercard to Citibank's 0% transfer for the life of the balance.
Silly me. The card arrived yesterday and I have only been granted a £1,000 and they are charging me interest on it @ 5.9%. No reason stated. I said that I only took it out to take advantage of the offer. Now they have taken only £900 as a transfer which is no good to me. What is the best thing to do? Pay it off and close the account or what? I am so mad, why don't they explain things properly. I have an excellent credit rating. All they did say was my account could be reviewed in six months time. But they did not say why I couldn't get the £900 transfer interest free.

GeorgeUK

I wouldn't close the account - just make use of the 900 they are allowing you to use.

If you have more than about 3 credit checks in a 6 month period, it can affect your scredit score. Citibank has already done a credit check on you so it would be sill to waste what they are allowing you to transfer.

You say you have an excellent credit rating - can you tell us why you believe this? It may be true, but just curious. All organisations have their own methods to calculate a credit score so different places will have a different score for you.

If you haven't had too many credit searches, could you apply elsewhere? I'd check your credit report at experian (free) and see what it has on it. Late payments or defaults will count against you - and they also take into account the amount of available credit you have and what your wage is.

Moggles_2

I took Martins tip to transfer a balance of £2,500 from my Halifax Mastercard to Citibank's 0% transfer for the life of the balance.

Citi run two separate promotions to attract new customers:

the Travel card offers 0% APR on balance transfers for 9 months.

the LOB card recommended in Martin's *Best Balance Transfer* article charges 5.8%.

AFAIK, Citi have not offered interest-free BTs for the life of the balance.

Moggles_2

Citi is not known for generous credit limits.

That said, the above situation can arise with any credit card if you complete a balance transfer request during a credit card application.

Until you've been accepted for a card and told your credit limit, it's best to keep your options open, IMO, and leave the balance transfer section of your application blank or, if asked, state you may be interested.

Of course, you might want to commit yourself to a BT if you believe it could influence the credit limit eventually offered.

Personally, I feel the possible advantage gained is outweighed by the disadvantages. An horrendous story involving LTSB and Capital One was posted on these boards last year. Incompetence on this scale is fortunately rare but, for peace of mind and to avoid unwanted partial transfers, I would wait until safe receipt of your card & credit limit. Then request your BT(s) by phone when you call to activate your new card. There's usually a Freefone number for this