Can a bank reverse a balance transfer?

Sandtree

steddy_eddie said:
Haha, no. 

Because:

A) They have initiated a Santander > Santander transfer when their terms don't allow it. Seems sloppy. I'm the little guy. They're the big bank corp. Should be their responsibility to protect against this kind of pitfall. When I queried with them how long the transfer would take they said it wouldn't process as the sending bank is Santander. Transfer is now complete, but ambiguous.

For a start there is nothing to say that you cannot do a transfer between two Santander credit cards, it effectively just doesnt count as a "Balance Transfer" as per the contractual terms and therefore wouldnt qualify for the promotional rate on Balance Transfers. Even if it was against the T&Cs if you ask to make the transfer anyway they are always in their rights to agree to it, you just cannot legally force them to accept it as you've agreed to the terms which say its not possible.

steddy_eddie

Sandtree said:

For a start there is nothing to say that you cannot do a transfer between two Santander credit cards, it effectively just doesnt count as a "Balance Transfer" as per the contractual terms and therefore wouldnt qualify for the promotional rate on Balance Transfers. Even if it was against the T&Cs if you ask to make the transfer anyway they are always in their rights to agree to it, you just cannot legally force them to accept it as you've agreed to the terms which say its not possible.

OK. So the capitalisation used in the term "Balance Transfer" is important and makes it different to a "balance transfer".

In their recent email to me it was written in lower case as "Your balance transfer request was successful".

Is this really the case?

They've moved the balance but will not apply the 0% interest promo period rate?

If so, maybe the MSE key info / FAQ section mention this quirk and use the correct Balance Transfer / balance transfer terminology?

Again, I hold my hands up as being a dumbass who didn't read the small print

Sandtree

In general terms if a word/phrase is written in lower case in a contract/T&Cs then the plain english (aka dictionary) definition should be taken whereas if its written in title case (first letter of each word is capitalised) it means, or it should mean, that it is a defined term in the contract (alternatively it can sometimes be done with bold rather than title case) and that definition should be used rather than a plain english one.  Ideally a contract shouldnt use lower and title case of the same word/phrase and so synonyms are normally used if you wish to revert to plain english meanings.

So if I look at a home insurance policy book I happen to have on my desk it has Family as a defined term meaning "Your husband, wife, civil partner, partner, children, foster children, parents and any other relative who permanently lives with You at Your Home address. " (note the other defined terms with the capital letters). It goes on to say that personal possessions owned by You or Your Family are covered anywhere in the world up to the amount shown on Your schedule.

Without the contractual definition of Family and clear indication they are using that term rather than the dictionary definition you could claim off of your insurance if your brother who lives in Australia happened to have their watch stolen... the definition limits the term to only those permanently living with you and avoids having to explain that the other 74 times the term Family is used in the document.