Balance Transfer Nightmare

nevakno2much

Hi all. Kind of new to this so apologies in advance. I work full time, no dependants, no ccj's, no missed payments at all, and a mortgage. I have a cap1 card with just over £2k balance and a fluid with nearly £4k balance. I have been receiving persistent debt letters from fluid as I am only paying the minimum. I have pretty decent credit score so applied for a balance transfer card and Natwest came up top so went to apply and got a notice straight off without completing saying I couldn't go further with the application. So went back and Santander was on the list I tried them they said no later on the same day?! I just didn't see the email at first. Only others on the top of the list tailored to me is Virgin, who I have my Internet with and Halifax, who I have my mortgage with. But it says pre approved unless you have a current existing contract with them so does this mean I cannot apply to them? I cannot fathom why I am being rejected other than the balance being higher than they will lend, from what I have been reading. Its a nightmare, plus I don't want to be applying left right and centre affecting my credit score. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

MorningcoffeeIV

Your credit score isn't real,  so ignore that.

Your credit history is showing you to be very high risk. You'll need to pay the debt off the old fashioned way, with your own money.

Head for the DFW boards for help.

grumbler

So called "credit score" means nothing. What matters is your income, your available and used credit and your history. AFAIK, miniumum payments are reported and affect the history negatively unless it's a promotional 0% balance. Frequent recent applications have negative effect too - be carefurl with further applications.
What's the interest rate of you Fluid card? It' worrying that you make only minimum payments and started thinking about transferryin the balance only because of their persistent letters.

born_again

At a guess your income is to low given the available & current debt & the persistent debt letters. Which is pointing towards you can not afford to pay any more.
Add in high interest rates & many lenders are cutting back on offers.

Might be worth posting in debt board with a SoA if you are really struggling to cope with the current debt.

nevakno2much

Hi, thanks for the replies. I cannot even see a statement to see what my apr is!! 😡 as all I have in my inbox is persistent debt letters! What annoys me is I haven't used the card for ages, I have a £7.5k limit, my balance is £3,421.00. My minimum payment is £150. Their recommended payment is £287 or a boosted payment of £1,100. I may have to try bung an extra £20 but cannot afford to pay what they're wanting. I'd understand if I was near my limit or using it regularly and taking the mick. That's why I thought of a balance transfer card as I can afford the minimum but having a balance transfer card would mean it all paying the balance. I just don't know if I dare to apply for another 😟 and as I mentioned the only others recommended were ones I already have business with, I thought possibly having one with my current mortgage provider would be okay as they know my payment history (never missed a payment on my mortgage) but I wasn't sure if that would go against me instead. Urghhh 

nevakno2much

Oh and I did forget to add to that, I have scored a 591 out of 710 on their own credit score on their app!! Lol.

th081

Persistent debt means you have paid more on interest over a long period of time than capital. So the rules were introduced to help you even though it may not feel like it. Half the issue is you have not engaged with them 

MrFrugalFever

You have to see it from a lenders perspective....long term minimum payments on an interest bearing debt doesn't look great, exposure to a £7.5k limit on one card and XX on others with just minimum payments being made, again, doesn't look great. When applying for a CC with other lenders for Balance Transfer, they may assume at this stage that you will increase your debt (by transferring your £3,421.00 debt, bringing your balance to £0, then exposes you to going out and spending £3,421 again or worse, £7.5k whilst the new lender has taken on the debt with no guarantee you'll pay them back - other lender who's sold the debt is home dry and not at risk of you missing/defaulting).

Balance transferring is a milder form of debt consolidation in my opinion and should only really be done by those who have greater financial flexibility (i.e larger disposable income) to ensure that balances can be paid off before interest becomes applicable.