Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

dylanuk wrote: »

I heard the offer was going 'live' at 12pm today. It didn't actually go up until around 2pm though. I think it's probably worth asking, especially if you did apply today.

Well, there's no harm in asking obviously, but irrespective of what's advertised elsewhere, it's normally the Ts & Cs you agree to when you apply, which count.

Some lenders have different offers running simultaneously online, by phone and in branch, which is why it's important (whether you put pen to paper or "sign" electronically) to keep a copy of the Ts & Cs, which you've agreed to

spf_2

steelhorse wrote: »

is there away to get debt down quickly

I know nothing about the rules of this forum, but I suspect that this question is a bit too general for this particular one. Head to the main site and checkout the information in every single category that is relevant to you.

Maybe start here?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan

or here.....

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?s=&daysprune=&f=76

JimmyTheWig

steelhorse wrote: »

is there away to get debt down quickly

Agree with spf that there are probably better places to post this, and more detail is needed to be able to give any decent advice, but there is one way to answer this general question...

The most foolproof way to get debt down quickly is to pay it off quickly.

Briggsy.notts

Not sure if this is the right place. Well my mum applied for a Barclaycard Life of Balance card as I am trying to get my parents to address their debts too. The card arrived this morning but with only a £1770 credit limit. This is no where near what they needed and the paperwork says they will only reassess the limit after 6 months. But she only has 60 days to transfer any balance from another card. So the card is going back. Is there anything else I can do to help them?

Moggles_2

Briggsy.notts wrote: »

My mum applied for a Barclaycard Life of Balance card as I am trying to get my parents to address their debts too. The card arrived this morning but with only a £1770 credit limit. This is nowhere near what they needed and the paperwork says they will only reassess the limit after 6 months, but she only has 60 days to transfer any balance from another card, so the card is going back. Is there anything else I can do to help them?

If the worst happens, Martin's advice is to transfer what you can. Don't leave an offer unused out of exasperation. It's already on one of your parent's credit files, so they may as well use it (See Martin's *Credit Card Limit: didn't get what you wanted?* article) They'll still save money

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/bad-credit-rating

Briggsy.notts

Thanks for that but it would mean trying to pay off two credit cards and that would just not be possible. The credit limit on the new cards wasn't even half of the debt on the old card. I think she is just going to carry on as she is for now.

Just read the article which was very interesting and I'm feeling another conversation with my mum is needed.

JimmyTheWig

Briggsy.notts wrote: »

Thanks for that but it would mean trying to pay off two credit cards and that would just not be possible.

What is the old card that has the debt?
What is the APR on that card?
What are the monthly minimum repayments?
Are they just paying the minimum, or managing a bit more each month?

I would have thought that the life-of-balance transfer would significantly reduce the amount of interest added each month _and_ reduce the total minimum payments. Because minimum payments are usually worked out as a percentage of the balance (subject to some sort of minimum) and so by reducing the balance on the old card they will reduce the minimum repayment on the old card and free up money to pay Barclaycard.
I would be very surprised if the best thing to do was to not use the new card.

The credit limit on the new cards wasn't even half of the debt on the old card.

Do I take it from this that it is nearly half the debt? E.g. they owe about £4k?
What's your dad's credit history like? Similar to your mum's?
If he could apply for a life of balance card (or maybe even a 0% card for 15 months?) and get a similar limit to your mum then that would cover most of the debt.

Then they could really start to pay off some of the debt, rather than just paying off mainly interest each month and not getting the balance down.

Claw_back_money

I thought it might help someone to know that I have just done a BT to Egg, 0% until Dec 09. Interestingly, the fees for the transfer have just been applied, and they have been added to the transfer rather than being billed (which is what happened when I went to Goldfish). I have checked this out, and they said the fees are also going to be at 0% interest.
Which means I can concentrate completely on what is left on my Visa at 16.9%, so I'm very pleased.

Thanks for all your help with getting my BTs sorted.

Cbm

ashbart

I need to transfer the balances on my credit card & OH's as our interest free period will end in November. I'm just a bit nervous as with the current problems in the market, does it mean we have a smaller chance of being approved?!? Our credit ratings are fine, haven't missed any payments. I have 2 credit cards, OH has 1 open and 1 that has just been paid off and closed at the end of September.

Will the Virgin deal be ok or is it for excellent credit ratings only?? Are RBS or Barclaycard part of MBNA??

Thanks for your help. xx

NickX

ashbart wrote: »

Are RBS or Barclaycard part of MBNA??

RBS, Barclaycard and MBNA are all separate organisations.

RBS which is short for Royal Bank of Scotland own Nat West, Ulster Bank and MINT amonst others.

MBNA run various Credit Card operations in the UK including Virgin, Sony, Alliance & Leicester.

A detailed breakdown of who runs with card can be found here :

http://www.stoozing.com/cards.htm