We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Sainsbury's Credit Card: Balance transfers. TLDR You will get the worst rate. Avoid!

Options
I have just applied for, and got, a Sainsbury's credit card. I have an immaculate credit rating but I still got the worst rate. Moreover the way this has been done leaves a bad taste. It seems like sharp practice to me. Sainsbury's offers three cards with balance transfers for 29, 26 and 18 months. These have associated charges starting at 3% for the 29 month card and going down to 0% for the shortest time period. I applied for the 26 month card with a rate of 1%. I was accepted, but with a period of 18 months only. At this point my assumption is I will pay the lower rate (so 0% to 0.5%), however I cannot find this anywhere on the documentation. After much searching, I find in the documents the rate is variable and I must call Sainsbury's bank to find the rate. Do they give their number? They do not. After searching the Web I find a number to call and find out I am paying 1% for 18 months. They say I will not get the 18 month/ 0% as that is a different card. I can cancel the application, but that will impact my credit rating. If this is not sharp practice, why do they make it so hard to find out what rate you are paying? Once you find out the (poor) rate you are committed. If you do not take the card you damage your credit rating. AVOID SAINSBURY'S CREDIT CARDS. 

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 3 September 2021 at 1:35PM
    Your immaculate credit rating has no bearing on the rates you're offered for credit,  That's down to a lender's assessment of your risk.

    There is also no damage in not accepting the card. So if you don't want, don't have it. But you did in fact get the best rate for the card you applied for.
  • y3sitsm3
    y3sitsm3 Posts: 399 Forumite
    100 Posts Name Dropper
    You applied for a card with "up to" 29 months and a 1% fee.  You got a card with the same fee you applied for and 18 months (which qualifies as "up to" 29 months.)  I'm not sure how this is sharp practice.

    Sainsbury's are right, the different "up to" rates are different cards, you made an incorrect assumption that you being offered a different rate meant you were being offered a different card.
  • Ebe_Scrooge
    Ebe_Scrooge Posts: 7,320 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 3 September 2021 at 1:41PM
    Strange that.  A couple of years back I applied for a Sainsbury's card for a BT.  Got accepted straight away with the longest advertised period, 0% APR and zero fee.  And a £15K limit to begin with.  I guess that my credit rating must be better than immaculate :-)
    OP, your credit rating, as dished out by the CRAs, is meaningless tosh.  Clearly, you do not have a "perfect" rating in Sainsbury's eyes.  And I'd be mightily surprised if the precise T&Cs, including the APR you'd been allocated, were not clearly stated on the offer letter which you would need to sign.
    It's not sharp practice at all.  Standard industry practice.  Only after they've run your data through their systems will they decide how much and at what rate they will lend you.
  • WillPS
    WillPS Posts: 5,120 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Newshound! Name Dropper
    I do find this talk of 'immaculate credit records' fascinating, as if there is a level after which you can just have any offer/limit/rate available.

    Smacks of unwarranted self importance.
  • I wouldn't call 18 months at 0% interest with a 1% fee the worst rate, in fact in current climate it's a pretty decent deal.

    FWIW I applied for the Sainsburys card quite recently and was given 26 months at 0% with the 1% BT fee but even if I had been offered 'only' 18 months I could have made that timescale work. You don't like the deal, don't take it.
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I applied for a Saino's card for a BT a couple of years ago and was accepted for 18 months - even though my financial status was just starting to recover at that stage. In other words, my credit score was pathetic - but as others have said that means nothing as nobody else can see it.

    But you are asking us to boycott Sainsbury's bank and according to the forum rules, that's not allowed, viz -

    "We appreciate emotions can run high should you experience poor service from companies, but we cannot accept active calls to boycott organisations as we are unable to verify the service you received."

    I also think the information on Sainsbury's website is very clear -

    https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/credit-cards

    All with disclaimers such as 'depending on your individual circumstances' and 'The charge will depend on your current offer thereafter'.
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • Alex9384
    Alex9384 Posts: 980 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic

    So if I decide to apply for this one, it says a transfer fee 0% or 0.5%. It definitely will be one of those, right?
    Only months are "up to" so it can be less than 18 months.
     
    EPICA - the best symphonic metal band in the world !
     
  • jay1804
    jay1804 Posts: 464 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Alex9384 said:

    So if I decide to apply for this one, it says a transfer fee 0% or 0.5%. It definitely will be one of those, right?
    Only months are "up to" so it can be less than 18 months.
    Yes, fee will be 0%b or 0.5% but BT period will be 18 or 12 months.

    https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/credit-cards/summary-box/cca-summary-box-lowfee18
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 20,291 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    I have just applied for, and got, a Sainsbury's credit card. I have an immaculate credit rating but I still got the worst rate. Moreover the way this has been done leaves a bad taste. It seems like sharp practice to me. Sainsbury's offers three cards with balance transfers for 29, 26 and 18 months. These have associated charges starting at 3% for the 29 month card and going down to 0% for the shortest time period. I applied for the 26 month card with a rate of 1%. I was accepted, but with a period of 18 months only. At this point my assumption is I will pay the lower rate (so 0% to 0.5%), however I cannot find this anywhere on the documentation. After much searching, I find in the documents the rate is variable and I must call Sainsbury's bank to find the rate. Do they give their number? They do not. After searching the Web I find a number to call and find out I am paying 1% for 18 months. They say I will not get the 18 month/ 0% as that is a different card. I can cancel the application, but that will impact my credit rating. If this is not sharp practice, why do they make it so hard to find out what rate you are paying? Once you find out the (poor) rate you are committed. If you do not take the card you damage your credit rating. AVOID SAINSBURY'S CREDIT CARDS. 
    Yes, but how many other credit cards do you have & what is your debt in income ratio?
    Life in the slow lane
  • cymruchris
    cymruchris Posts: 5,562 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Alex9384 said:

    So if I decide to apply for this one, it says a transfer fee 0% or 0.5%. It definitely will be one of those, right?
    Only months are "up to" so it can be less than 18 months.
    No you won't 'definitely' get it. It depends on your risk profile in the bank's eyes. This is one of several products they offer - and it might be the one you want - but there's no guarantee you'll get that exact deal. You may (or may not) qualify for it - and if you don't they'll likely offer you a similar product more matched to your circumstances from their point of view. 
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 257.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.