Can I balance transfer from a closed credit card account

MikeG1603

I see this has been asked before over the last few years but I couldn't find anyone who said they had actually done it.

I took out credit cards with Halifax and MBNA within a few days of each other for the sole purposes of a 0% balance transfer.  A couple of weeks later I got notices that both cards were being closed. I complained but got no explanation other than sorry we're doing it.  The interest free offers will of course still run their course but my concern is, when they end will I be able to balance transfer to a new card with a 0% offer if the original accounts are long closed.

Has anyone actually managed to do something similar?  The advisor at MNBA thought it wasn't possible to balance transfer from closed accounts.

Thanks

Ebe_Scrooge

MikeG1603 said:

The interest free offers will of course still run their course but my concern is, when they end will I be able to balance transfer to a new card with a 0% offer if the original accounts are long closed.

The safest and most prudent approach, in that case, is simply to make sure to repay the full balance by the time the promotional rate expires.

And an account cannot be "closed" whilst there is still a balance on it.  Unless the debt has been completely written off, the account is still open.  They may decide to stop any further spending on the account, for whatever reason, but the account is still open.

That aside, it would be worth checking all 3 of your credit files (and possibly CIFAS) to see if there's anything amiss.  It sounds a little strange - if there were any red flags when you applied then they wouldn't have given you the cards in the first place.  Not sure if something dire might have been added since you applied?  But definitely worth checking.

martinbainbridge1975

have they given a reason as to why?

MBNA are hopeless you are best off getting away from them, I would escalate that as usually finance organisations will give an explanation if they refuse then log a complaint and they will issue a final response that may include the information you are looking for

seems a bit odd

Ebe_Scrooge

martinbainbridge1975 said:

have they given a reason as to why?

MBNA are hopeless you are best off getting away from them, I would escalate that as usually finance organisations will give an explanation if they refuse then log a complaint and they will issue a final response that may include the information you are looking for

seems a bit odd

Depends.  If a customer is suspected of fraud or money laundering, then a bank is actually legally not allowed to tell the customer that.

born_again

Should be no reason not to, as at the end of the day. They are getting the debt paid off, rather than sitting on it. 

Only sticking point will be how other lenders will view the debt to income given these 2 accounts. As well as a possible CIFAS marker, if they feel something was not right.