New Balance Transfer Regulations.

loobylou28

Hi All, 
I wondered if anyone had any advice. 
My husband and I have a number of credit lines.   Over the last 5 years we often rack up large bills such as medical treatment and special occasions on my card (which has a preferencial rate for travel abroad) and then when it gets large enough transfer it onto a 0% balance transfer deal and then gradually pay it off.  We have done this 5 times over the last 5 years from my Halifax Card to various other deals, inc. HSBC, Santander, Barclaycard and Sainsbury's, but all in my husband's name. 

We recently tried to do this again, and didn't see any reason why we wouldn't be able to do this as we have been approved for a Virgin card with a great BT deal. 

However both banks have now told us that we cannot do this as the first card is in my name, and the card to be transfered is in my husbands name.   We have tried to add me as an additional card holder onto his credit card account - but Halifax has told me categorically that they will halt the transfer if we try to request it becuase the legal owner of the debt would be the primary card holder, and they would consider it a 'third party transfer' - which is now not legal. 

My husband has a moderately-high income, but I am a post-graduate student and won't qualify for the credit limit we need on my own (or to be honest possibly any credit card). 

Is the bank's interpritation correct?  - It feels like an excessively strict interpritation of the law which seems unnecessary. 
Why has the law changed to not allow this? I do understand that for true third parties it does appear to be a loophole, but for a married couple - why is that not OK? 
Is there anything else I can do?  I was unaware that they changed their t's and c's without me knowing. 

[Deleted User]

There's are no new BT regulations.

It's simply that some lenders allow BTs between different names and some don't.

You just need to find a lender who does - which is most of them.

loobylou28

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

D3xt3r5L4b

Having a second card holder on the account doesn’t change things. 

The main account is in the main account holders name. 

[Deleted User]

loobylou28 said:

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

Because lender criteria change.

There is still no change in the law.

loobylou28

Deleted_User said:

loobylou28 said:

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

Because lender criteria change.

There is still no change in the law.

So they lied? 

D3xt3r5L4b

loobylou28 said:

Deleted_User said:

loobylou28 said:

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

Because lender criteria change.

There is still no change in the law.

So they lied? 

No. More than likely they were misunderstood or mis-quoted.

[Deleted User]

loobylou28 said:

Deleted_User said:

loobylou28 said:

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

Because lender criteria change.

There is still no change in the law.

So they lied? 

No.

You spoke to a minimum wage call centre agent. 

loobylou28

Deleted_User said:

loobylou28 said:

Deleted_User said:

loobylou28 said:

Thanks, 
So why was it OK last year and not this year? 
Halifax made it very clear when I logged a concern that it was not their choice but the law that had changed.  

Because lender criteria change.

There is still no change in the law.

So they lied? 

No.

You spoke to a minimum wage call centre agent. 

Haha - Agreed - unforutnetly I did speak to a supervisor, but still made no effort to make any resolution.  
But they were very hostile with it - and very quick to blame it on financial regulations.   I was told 3+ times that this was not them but all banks.  Adamant that it was not a bank change, that they were legally not able to do anything about it, could not use their discretion as that would be illegal. 

loobylou28

What do I do though?   
Becuase I now have a 10k debt which I can't pay off on my own, and a credit card (primary account in my husbands name), with nothing on it and a 0% BT offer  and apparently no way to transfer it.  I won't qualify for any card at the moment on my own, and if we had known that they had decided to change their terms we would have used a card in his name to put the balance on (and then transfer). 

[Deleted User]

It really doesn't matter what they told you.

Bottom line is that even though regs permit them to do so, if they won't do it, then it won't happen.