When Doing a Balance Transfer, Is the Fee Due Straight Away or Added to the Balance?

StevieOnTheGo

Hi,

I've recently moved four credit card balances to TSB with total fees around the £200 mark. They've added the fees to the first statement produced after the transfers went through. Is this normal practice? I thought the fees went onto the balance so you could pay the debt off over time.

Thanks.

MorningcoffeeIV

It's correct.

Min payment has to be 1% of balance plus fees and interest or more..

TadleyBaggie

Always been added to the balance in my experience. 

CliveOfIndia

Perfectly normal - and one reason why the maximum amount you can transfer is typically only 90% - 95% of your available balance.

Must admit it's been a long time since I did a BT that charged a fee, but I've normally been given the option of adding the fee to the balance or paying it separately.

Brie

always added to the balance on mine but I've never been with TSB.  M&S, Barclays, Santander, MBNA.

Nasqueron

M&S, Barclays, Santander all add the fee onto the balance.

IIRC one or two of them have it listed separately but still at 0%

StevieOnTheGo

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I've looked at TSB's terms and online FAQs and can't find anywhere that states the fees will be added to the first statement after completing the transfers and therefore must be paid when that first payment is due.

born_again

StevieOnTheGo said:

Hi,

I've recently moved four credit card balances to TSB with total fees around the £200 mark. They've added the fees to the first statement produced after the transfers went through. Is this normal practice? I thought the fees went onto the balance so you could pay the debt off over time.

Thanks.

Is that not adding the fee's to the balance???

Statement is listing the transactions in that period, that form the balance.

Nasqueron

StevieOnTheGo said:

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I've looked at TSB's terms and online FAQs and can't find anywhere that states the fees will be added to the first statement after completing the transfers and therefore must be paid when that first payment is due.

Read the statement, it might have the fee as a cash payment or something odd like that - I recall Santander did treat it that way, but it was part of the balance, still at 0% and paid off as you went along. I am 90% sure they did the balance first then the BT fee at the end but my process is always balance (inc fee) / number of months of BT offer so it's always paid by the end.

I have never seen a BT card that had a fee that was paid separately and especially not one that was not on 0% as well

StevieOnTheGo

@born_again Yes, that's what's happening but when I called TSB to query the amount of the minimum payment (which was 9% of the balance) they told me the transfer fees were included in the requested amount. I opened a complaint and that's been sorted today - they admitted there was an error (I don't know exactly where or how), removed the BT fees and paid me compensation. 

StevieOnTheGo

@Nasqueron They've admitted there was an error on their part. I don't know exactly how or where but they've reduced the minimum payment. The statement shows the transactions and fees but a CS person told me the amount requested was high because it included those fees. It's all been sorted today and TSB have handled it well, tbf.