Warning - B/Ts to Virgins 9 month 0% may have fees.

[Deleted User]

There ARE balance transfer fees - but until you apply it seems you don't know if you will get charged.

I have looked at the T&Cs and they state in the Summary Box under Other Charges -

2% handling fee (min. £2, max. £35) for credit card cheques and some balance transfers.

This is too vague to know if you will be charged or not - so I phoned them. Vague answers from the disinterested person I spoke to were not enough to convince me I would categorically not be charged a fee - hence I shall not be applying for this one.

It seems if you do not stipulate AT THE TIME OF YOUR APPLICATION that you wish to balance transfer an amount - then it will be too late to avoid a fee later on.

Also, it seems there is no guarantee you won't pay the fee anyway - but I coud not get the person I spoke to, to clarify it - especially when I reminded him the call was being taped (as undoubtedly it was - for training purposes...)

Detail_Merchant

Hi Deleted_User

As far as I know, Martin's last comment on this (which was posted back in March) is here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=40701

Basically although the Ts&Cs allow for the 2% up to £35 charge at any time, Virgin are not applying this during the initial 9 months.

However, sometimes the customer service people get this wrong, and of course this could change in the future.

I've done several SBTs during my free 9 months and never been charged, but the most recent was a couple of months ago, so things could have changed since then.

I hope this helps,

Detail Merchant

W1zz

I've just recieved my acceptance for a Virgin CC and returned on Saturday.

Just been on the phone to ask if I do a BT when I get my card, other than the one I put on my application form, would I get charged the 2% handling fee.

To which the cutomers services person said that some cards issued by MBNA do carry the a 2% handling fee, but the one I've applied and been accepted for doesn't. I followed up with asking if the 2nd BT I wanted, was to be be transfered from a RBS Mint card, would that carry a 2% handling fee. Again he replied, no the card I've got won't carry a 2% handling fee.

I'm slightly confused now - Is it because I have no other cards issued by MBNA that I won't get charged. He seemed to emphasise more on that it was the card I'm getting that doesn't have the 2% handling fee rather being linked to the card I'm transfering from.

If it's correct and I don't get a 2% handling fee, do Virgin allow transfers into you bank acount or would that count as a cash transaction or should this be done via the cheques (assuming there's no handling fee on these too)?

W1zz

[Deleted User]

I've steered clear altogether now and gone for Intelligent Finance 0% 9 months on purchaes & B/ts and it cateorically states NO B/T fees. (Offer excludes any B/Ts from Halifax & Bank of Scotland cards.)

worldtraveller

Just to confuse the situation more (apologies!), when I applied online for the Virgin credit card (MBNA Mastercard) I was telephoned about a week later by a representative to advise that I had been accepted and told my credit limit. I asked at that point if I could do a BT and if there would be a fee. She said that provided I phoned the freephone number (which she advised), after I received the paperwork, but prior to sending it back, I would not be charged the fee. I subsequently received the paperwork and immediately phoned the freephone number and asked them to make a BT to my bank account. The representative told me that there would be a 2% charge (max £35). I said that one of their representative had told me that I would not be charged provided I requested the BT before sending the paperwork back. She said that that the other representative was wrong. I insisted that that was what she advised. She eventually agreed to waive the charge. The BT went through last week and no fee has been charged.

As some of the previous posters say, I think that the reps are often unsure of this point themselves and of course this is very confusing for the customer, but definitely worth pushing them on.

YorkshireBoy

Please bear with me on this one...

Having applied for 2 Virgin cards back in March/April (me and mrs), and following several telephone conversations with Virgin/MBNA staff (names/dates/times/detail logged), I considered myself to be somewhat of an expert on the Virgin T & C's, and have posted regularly on Virgin query threads on this board.

However, I'm really concerned at the number of times posters are being told of late that there IS a fee payable.

I can't tell (from the posts) whether it's simply that the MBNA staff administer so many variants (Abbey/MBNA/A&L/etc/etc) that they get confused when someone brings a Virgin to the party (if you pardon the expression!). Or, whether they are in fact trying to standardise on applying the fee without making a public song and dance about it and FORMALLY announcing that they WILL apply the fee.

I do know that I have a potential problem looming for my own stoozing activities...

My (£12K) Egg introductory period runs out on 1st October, and my (£10K) Virgin offer runs out next January.

I'd planned to apply for the Cap One 18 month offer mid-July (carries £50 capped fee) and BT both the above balances to Cap One. The idea then was to pass the £12K through Egg to current account/stooze pot and bring it back to settle Egg at the end of September. Also, *MULE* £10K "through" Virgin and onto current account/stooze pot, bringing this back next January to settle the Virgin account.

Whilst Egg won't be a problem, if Virgin are starting applying the fee (and I don't get a large enough limit on cap One to overcome it), then because I'd have two BT fees (Virgin & Cap One) I'll have to put Egg into a heavy positive balance to take ALL my Cap One limit.

Finally, although I'm unlikely to get a limit increase with Virgin, Mrs YB has some scope to request an increase which we'd planned to add to the stooze pot for the last 6 months or so of her Virgin deal. This would probably only be £3-4K so a £35 fee would make a severe dent in profit and might even mean we don't bother!

What does the future hold?

Thanks for bearing with me.

Any thoughts?

cronshd

Interesting - and confusing!

Mrs Cronshd put through a Virgin SBT on Saturday, with no charges.

Every time I've asked - and doubled checked, that has been the answer.

I know the T's and C's are ambiguous - but you think they would have straightened it out by now, to make it consistent.

Btw I always find the Virgin staff to be the best of all the CC agents.

Jeppo

My brothers did SBTs last week on their virgin cards - no fees were charged.

My current understanding is that no fees are charged during the 9 month offer period. However it is wise to confirm this before going ahead. According to their policies Virgin will let you know beforehand IF they are going to charge any fees.

GAJ_3

I organised a balance transfer to my current account end of last week and the call operator was very good. Before I even could ask if there was a fee he advised that no fee was applicable for balance transfers during the offer period....

It was with Virgin by the way

TheDink

I have activated my card this morning and called to make sure the BTs on my application form would go through. The operator was very helpful and processed them both straight away, confirming that the BT fee was being waived during the promotional period. He then offered to BT the remainder of my available limit to my current account, confirming that this would not increase my monthly repayments (great for stoozers but could be dangerous for those with real debt!). He also warned me about spending anything on the card because of the higher rate on purchases.

So, it looks like there are no fees but I will keep an eye on my statement.

humanbeing_2

I would also be interested to know if i can transfer a balance to my current account with no fees.
Theyve sent me a some cheques i assume you dont use those but ring them or do it online?