Help! Zopa balance transfer

Frevell88

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read. My promotional period with Zopa is coming to an end. I saw a good deal for a sainsburys card to transfer my balance to. After having the card approved, it turns out they won’t process a balance transfer from Zopa! I had another credit card with capital one already so I thought I would try and transfer the balance there instead…turns out they don’t accept them either! Pulling my hair out…I feel trapped. Has anyone else had this issue with Zopa? Did you find a solution or know of a credit card that willl accept balance transfers from them? Sorry I’m not very good at all this! 

Frevell88

Update… I called Zopa for help and to ask which lenders would accept a balance transfer from them. The guy on the phone told me only a small handful don’t and said he could help me to use the app to transfer the balance to another credit card provider (sainsburys). Throughout the process I kept asking him are you absolutely sure as it kept saying things on the app that didn’t add up. I followed his advice regrettably and now I have ended up increasing the amount on the balance transfer on my Zopa card as he advised me incorrectly. I am so upset. They’ve said they can’t do anything about it so now I owe Zopa hundreds more! I’m an sick with anxiety. I am a lone parent and struggling as it is, he has just nearly doubled the amount I owe them! 

jay1804

Frevell88 said:

Update… I called Zopa for help and to ask which lenders would accept a balance transfer from them. The guy on the phone told me only a small handful don’t and said he could help me to use the app to transfer the balance to another credit card provider (sainsburys). Throughout the process I kept asking him are you absolutely sure as it kept saying things on the app that didn’t add up. I followed his advice regrettably and now I have ended up increasing the amount on the balance transfer on my Zopa card as he advised me incorrectly. I am so upset. They’ve said they can’t do anything about it so now I owe Zopa hundreds more! I’m an sick with anxiety. I am a lone parent and struggling as it is, he has just nearly doubled the amount I owe them! 

Make a written formal complaint to Zopa, if they guided you incorrectly.

You will need a money transfer offer.

SuperAllyB

I agree about making a complaint.

Some of your terminology is confusing but it sounds like you have possibly made the balance transfer in the opposite direction from which you intended.  Possibly the guy on the phone at Zopa also misunderstood what you intended.

You should be able to phone Sainsbury's and explain that there has been an error and ask them to reverse the transaction.  That's assuming it was on a zero balance before, if it was carrying a balance it may not be that straightforward.

arod_jj

I was faced with the same issue as my promotional rate is coming to an end in 7 days. 

This really helped me find answers so thank you for that! As it turns out, ZOPA is an American company, and UK credit card companies will not complete a balance transfer. 

I then realised I had a Money transfer offer which was identical to my balance transfer offer. So I transferred the required moneys from my Virgin Credit Card into my current account and then paid the ZOPA outstanding balance in full. I had to pay Virgin 4% for this transaction, but totally worth it as I have extended my promotional balance transfer for another 12 months with no interest. 

CliveOfIndia

arod_jj said:

I was faced with the same issue as my promotional rate is coming to an end in 7 days. 

This really helped me find answers so thank you for that! As it turns out, ZOPA is an American company, and UK credit card companies will not complete a balance transfer. 

I then realised I had a Money transfer offer which was identical to my balance transfer offer. So I transferred the required moneys from my Virgin Credit Card into my current account and then paid the ZOPA outstanding balance in full. I had to pay Virgin 4% for this transaction, but totally worth it as I have extended my promotional balance transfer for another 12 months with no interest. 

Just to play Devil's advocate - you may have effectively extended your 0% BT but it's come at a cost, namely the MT fee.  Had you cleared the original card in full it would have cost you nothing.

The reason I point this out is that constantly shifting debt from one card to another is great in theory - and if the 4% fee saves you money overall, compared to paying the standard APR, then of course it's worthwhile.  But there may well come a time (especially in these times of economic uncertainty) where you're unable to secure either a BT or MT offer.  For this reason, it's always wise to have savings put aside to clear the card in full at the end of the promo period, rather than just assuming you'll be able to shift the debt elsewhere.