Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

sanctuary

Hi there. I've posted in the Debt-Free Wannabe section and have received some truly wonderful advice, but I'm still stumped as to how to deal with what is my most pressing problem: transferring my balances on my maxed-out credit cards.

Due to overspending and bad housekeeping, and despite a very decent living that we enjoy from our self-employed business (of 15+ years - business is all in good order, btw - not so much our personal finances though!), I find myself with CC debts in the region of £20,000 across four cards - all with very high interest.
Capital One - 9,000
Virgin - 8000
HSBC - 1000
AmEx CC - 700

A bit information ...

Missing payments has not been a problem; however, due to personal problems last year there were several late payments on one of the cards that I foolishly neglected to set up a direct debit for.

We have enough money to meet our monthly payments but because of high interest (and other poor housekeeping) I've only been paying the minimum. Therefore, it's the same old sob story I'm sure you've all heard time and time again - I'm barely able to make a dent in the debts because of the high interest.

Three years ago, I transferred debts to 0% interest cards. Some good news is that I have not spent on these cards and accruing new CC debt is now firmly under control. Bad news is that these cards have long ceased to be interest free!

I now obviously want to transfer these balances to new cards and take advantage of 0% or very low interest. The plan is to then set up DD and throw as much as I can at all of them to clear the debts. However, my concerns are that (1) being accepted for new credit has changed since the recession, (2) my credit rating has been tarnished somewhat by the late (though not missed) payments.

On the advice of a friend, I applied for a Barclaycard with a low fixed-rate of interest for the duration of the debt. The instant decision was: We need more information. I have yet to hear back from them, and have not telephoned them myself. I thought I should post here first and see if anyone had any suggestions.

Over on the DFW section, two suggestions were: apply in my husband's name (all cards with debts are in my name), or ask my mortgage lender if I could switch the balance to over to them on a low SVR.

Any advice on balance transfers for my situation would be gratefully received. It's very distressing to emerge from denial and have to tackle such overwhelming hurdles, but I've been so encouraged by the good folks here on MSE.

Moggles_2

dalglish wrote: »

I'm afraid I did fill in the BT request form. This is my problem.

Oh dear...

I realise this advice comes too late to help you at the mo, but note for future reference, there's no evidence that BT requests on cc applications have any influence on acceptance rates/credit limits or speed up the transfer process. It's safer to wait until receipt of the new card and confirmation of your limit, before requesting your BT(s) when you call to activate. (There's usually a dedicated, Freefone number.) That way you keep your options open, avoid unwanted partial transfers, paying the same card twice etc and retain some control over what happens when. BTs are not easy to reverse and, in attempting this, you could incur two BT fees.

If you live/work within striking distance of a Santander/Abbey branch, your best bet would be to visit asap and see what staff can do to assist you. From feedback here, online applications to Santander are apt to vanish without trace. If yours cannot be tracked down, you may wish to cut your losses and apply elsewhere (eg. Play.com) for your Barclaycard transfer. IME, MBNA is a pretty efficient operation.

For anyone else reading: we've repeatedly warned of Santander's dire customer service on this board, but it cannot be stressed too often. If you decide to chance your arm, it's best to apply in branch. Online applications are apt to disappear without trace and telephone & postal applications are still subject to long delays, apparently. From feedback here, there's a four week backlog of applications for the Santander Zero card :rolleyes:

Moggles_2

kelbobs wrote: »

Hello Moggles, just read your advice to Caseyface. My husband is willing to take on a credit card balance in his name. Will lenders let you do this?

Yes, he can switch credit card balances from family, friends or Dave down the pub. He may be asked for the name on the card, but this is purely an additional verification check. At the end of the day, the cc company is after his business. They're not really interested in knowing who ran up the debt, as long as the card holder, their customer, pays up on time each month.

Caution: Santander/Abbey has been known to refuse BTs from a different account holder, so I'd avoid that one. Also, you cannot transfer balances between cards underwritten by the same bank (that would be trying to pay 'em off with their own money.) This table on the stoozing site (which is sponsored by Money Saving Expert) should help:

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

Moggles_2

kelbobs wrote: »

Hello Moggles, We were thinking of trying for the Barclaycard Simplicity?

A couple of reservations, unfortunately.

A life-of-balance card charges a fixed APR for the life of the balance(s) transferred. With Barclaycard Simplicity, the interest rate is not fixed, it's variable. This means Barclaycard reserves the right to raise the rate at any time.

Also, the advertised rate (currently 6.8% APR) is typical and subject to credit status. If memory serves, at least 66% of customers must be offered the "typical" rate (Is anybody checking?), otherwise it cannot be advertised as such. Then again, a third of successful applicants do not get the advertised rate.

Note: balance transfers at promotional rates are restricted to £5,000 or 90% of your credit limit, whichever is lower.

natheena

Hi,i have tryed applyin for 3 0% interest credit cards in the past few months but have been declined! I have 1 ccard with £2000 and realy wanted to swap to a 0% and get it paid off faster!! I have had a few late payments in the past but never failed to make a payment!
I have not done a credit check on my file,, should i?? and where do i go from here as minimum payment is gettin higher n higher :-(

Moggles_2

c0lc0l wrote: »

I used to have very bad credit, so originally I applied for a Capital One and they gave me a max £2k limit. A couple of years later (after perfect monthly payments on my Cap One card), I applied for a Citi card and they also gave a £2k limit. A couple of years later again, a default fell off my credit file, I applied for a card with Nationwide and was again given a £2k limit. Then more recently, a ccj fell off my file, which left me with a perfect credit history and Experian credit score of 997. I applied for a Halifax card and they gave me a limit of £2.3k

Congratulations on turning things round.
:beer:

The cards are with: Capital One, Citi, Halifax & Nationwide.

Unsurprisingly, cc providers put more resources into winning & retaining business than closing accounts. Of those listed, Citi is notoriously slow and Capital One even worse. My own cards were cancelled and reported to the CRAs in just on 8 weeks, but from feedback to this board, CapOne can take twice that long if you're unlucky :rolleyes:

IME, Halifax and Nationwide are relatively efficient so, if you would like to close an account before applying to Virgin, I'd plump for Nationwide. In general, if you want to reduce your available credit, it pays to plan well ahead

If I left all cards open, I would have an available credit of £8.3k. Bearing in mind I would want a credit limit of £3.5k from Virgin to transfer all my remaining balance over, would they be likely to give a £3.5k limit taking my overall available credit to £11.8k?

Sorry, only Virgin knows the answer. Lenders do not disclose the criteria they use to decide.

Your available credit in relation to your income is likely to be a factor, but a low usage ratio (used credit to total available credit) is important too and you've taken steps to address that.

It's not an exact science of course but, judging from feedback here, you're more likely to get a generous credit limit with Virgin than some providers I could name. That said, none of us knows in advance the limit we'll be handed. The only way to find out for certain is to apply.

Token_Skinhead

Thanks Moggles, that's an idea! I did have an egg card until about 2 years ago, hopefully they'll have me back...

EDIT: Just thought, the 0% on Egg relates to the interest, but I would still be charged 3% for the balance transfer. I would still be charged 2 transfer fees (overdraft and MBNA credit card to Egg card) wouldn't I? Sorry if I'm being thick...

benrashton

It doesn't matter..

3% of £1000 is the same as..
3% of £500 plus 3% of £500

Moggles_2

sanctuary wrote: »

On the advice of a friend, I applied for a Barclaycard with a low fixed-rate of interest for the duration of the debt. The instant decision was: we need more information. I have yet to hear back from them and have not telephoned them myself. I thought I should post here first and see if anyone had any suggestions.

Is this Barclaycard Simplicity? If so, please see #2878 on the previous page.

Three years ago, I transferred debts to 0% interest cards ...These cards have long ceased to be interest free. I now want to transfer these balances to new cards and take advantage of 0% or very low interest. The plan is to then set up DD and throw as much as I can at all of them to clear the debts. However, my concerns are that (1) being accepted for new credit has changed since the recession, (2) my credit rating has been tarnished somewhat by the late (though not missed) payments.

Have you looked at credit files to see what's actually on there? For help, see page 1 of the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky

Any advice on balance transfers for my situation would be gratefully received.

May I ask who you bank with?

Moggles_2

natheena wrote: »

I have tried applying for three 0% interest credit cards in the past few months, but have been declined. I have one cc with £2000 and really wanted to swap to a 0% and get it paid off faster. I have not done a credit check on my file, should I?

If you've not looked at your credit files, I'd make this your No.1 priority. (For help, see page 1 of the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky.) Once you know what lenders see, you are in a better position to improve their opinion.

I have had a few late payments in the past but never failed to make a payment.

There are any number of reasons why someone's credit history may be less than perfect. Presumably you have a bank account, a regular income and you're on the electoral roll at your current address.

For tips to improve your chances of acceptance, have a look at the *Credit Rating: how it works and how to improve it guide*, especially Martin's *Manage and Improve your credit score* article

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score#improve