Best Balance Transfers Discussion Area

Moggles_2

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

I was thinking about 'franchise' type cards like the Virgin one which is MBNA backed. They seem to block anyone who already has MBNA cards.

I would have thought that decision rested with MBNA rather than Virgin. Recently I applied successfully for a British Telecom card whilst holding two other MBNA cards, if that's any guide. Of course commercial relationships between lender and brand owner may well differ.

If you're concerned, I'd apply to a different lender entirely. MBNA hasn't quite cornered the market ...yet. There's no shortage of 0% BT cards to choose from

To help you further, we would need to know which cards you have at the mo or have held recently, also who you bank with.

Moggles_2

Catbells wrote: »

Thanks, will check out the credit reports. Do you know which is the best way to do this? I once spent a couple of quid to have it done through Experian but understand that it can be obtained for nothing.

That's right, although having tried the free trials, I'd rather pay £2 for the statutory report than hand over my payment details and face the struggle to cancel that some have experienced, only to be hit for charges anyway.

Experian encloses well-written guidance notes. The same info' is a available on the website for online customers. For more tips plus links, see page 1 of the *How to obtain credit reports* sticky

Moggles_2

sanctuary wrote: »

Thanks once again for your advice, Moggles, which I unfortunately can't act on because my Barclaycard saga has taken another turn. I had not yet got round to activating the card and in today's post I received a letter from Barclaycard informing me that 'as a result of our investigation and in accordance with Condition 09 (or condition 10 for some cards), we now consider you to no longer meet our current lending criteria and your Barclaycard has now been closed.' This is just a few days after I received the card!

I don't know whether it's any consolation, but Barclaycard has figured quite prominently on this thread recently and rarely for the right reasons. This lender currently turns away around 50% of its applicants. Of those accepted, roughly a third do not get the card they applied for.

They then invite me to phone them should I wish to discuss. Should I?

Provided that staff don't waste your time pushing a cc which doesn't meet your needs, I suppose you've nothing to lose. If you do decide to call, please let us know the outcome.

Have you been asked to ring a dedicated number? If not, I'd call Card Services on 0800 917 7277. That way, you'll avoid the perishing 0870/0844 numbers and, with luck, the overseas call centre. If that one's busy, you could try 01604 230230.
Note: this is not a static connection. During busy periods, it dynamically routes the call overseas.

millio_2

Don't know if anyone can help, but I am thinking about transfering a balance on an existing card, but have just realised that I may not be able to get a new card as I am no longer working, due to having recently had a baby. I was wondering if it's possible to transfer a balance from to a new card from a card that does not belong to you? In other words, if my partner gets the new card, can we transfer my old balance from the old card which is in my name? Maybe this is a silly question, but if anyone can answer it I'd be most grateful!

Kev64

Millio, I did something close to that, so I would say yes. My mum got a new Virgin card to balance transfer her old Barclaycard debt, and Virgin gave her a credit limit much higher than she needed, so I took advantage of the difference by balance transferring some of my debt onto her card. It went through no problem.

Talking of balance transfers, does anyone here know roughly how long they take, on average, to go through ? I have some debt on a 0% deal that ends next week and I need to shift it asap. One chap I spoke to at Lloyds told me that balance transfers between banks are done by paper cheques - in the post ! i.e. I get Virgin to pay off Barclaycard and Virgin don't electronically transfer it, they print a cheque and post it to Barclaycard !!! If he's telling me the truth, that could take weeks !!

What about payments between cards ? - i.e. make a 'one off payment' (i.e. not a BT) to Card A using Card B doing an electronic transfer (online banking) ? How quickly do these complete ? (can you actually do that ?).

Moggles_2

sanctuary wrote: »

Will this have damaged my credit rating?

Rest assured, no harm's been done. Credit files do not record credit refusals, only credit checks. These checks are viewed as negative if you attract too many in a short space of time. That said, each footprint drops off credit files after 12 months, so the effect is fairly short-lived.

I checked my report, but there is no way that everything is on there (I've seen some threads that suggest my middle name having been omitted on some of my CCs could mean I have two credit reports).

A newly-wed's use of a married name, when electoral roll, bank account etc are still showing maiden names, can cause a problem, ditto if you have foreign names and change the order or start using a different first name from that shown on the ER. Personally, I'd be surprised if omission of a middle name made a difference, but it pays to be consistent where finance is concerned.

Which credit reference agency did you check with? We cannot be absolutely certain which credit card providers search a particular agency's files (lenders do not disclose this information), but anecdotal evidence suggests most use Experian, so that one matters more. That said, Barclaycard uses Equifax evidently. Whichever, if some credit facilities are missing from the report you have, you may want to look up the other one

I'm now wondering if I should also avoid applying for a NatWest card as I fear this whole Barclaycard business will have blemished my credit rating. Maybe I should just accept that I've messed things up a bit and spend the next six months building up my credit rating on my existing cards? I would however dearly love to not be paying such high interest. Any advice very gratefully received. This has really taken the wind out of my sails.

Well, don't beat yourself over the head over it. Worse things can happen. I'd apply to NatWest if I were you, but it's your choice really.

gavinburgham

does anyone know anything about the post office credit card - who underwrites it etc - got a feeling it may be MBNA which would be no good for me as I need to transfer balance from another MBNA card

Moggles_2

sanctuary wrote: »

Will this have damaged my credit rating?

Rest assured, no harm's been done. Credit files do not record credit refusals, only credit checks. These checks are viewed as negative if you attract too many in a short space of time. That said, each footprint drops off credit files after 12 months, so the effect is fairly short-lived.

I checked my report but there is no way that everything is on there (I've seen some threads that suggest my middle name having been omitted on some of my CCs could mean I have two credit reports).

A newly-wed's use of a married name, when electoral roll, bank account etc are still showing maiden names, can cause a problem, ditto if you have foreign names and change the order or start using a different first name from that shown on the ER. Personally, I'd be surprised if omission of a middle name made a difference, but it pays to be consistent where finance is concerned.

Which credit reference agency did you check with? We cannot be absolutely certain which credit card providers search a particular agency's files (lenders do not disclose this information), but anecdotal evidence suggests most use Experian, so that one matters more. That said, Barclaycard uses Equifax evidently. Whichever, if some credit facilities are missing, you may want to look up the other one.

I'm now wondering if I should also avoid applying for a NatWest card as I fear this whole Barclaycard business will have blemished my credit rating. Maybe I should just accept that I've messed things up a bit and spend the next six months building up my credit rating on my existing cards? I would however dearly love to not be paying such high interest. Any advice very gratefully received. This has really taken the wind out of my sails.

Well, don't beat yourself over the head over it. Worse things can happen. I'd apply to NatWest if I were you, but it's your choice really.

Moggles_2

Kev64 wrote: »

Talking of balance transfers, does anyone here know roughly how long they take, on average, to go through? I have some debt on a 0% deal that ends next week and I need to shift it asap. One chap I spoke to at Lloyds told me that balance transfers between banks are done by paper cheques in the post. i.e. I get Virgin to pay off Barclaycard and Virgin don't electronically transfer it, they print a cheque and post it to Barclaycard. If he's telling me the truth, that could take weeks!

I don't know where that notion has come from. Most balance transfer requests are settled by BACS transfer and completed within 7-10 days.

If you have your new Virgin card, you'll be able to register on the Virgin site and monitor the transfer online. The transaction will appear on that account first and your Barclaycard account approximately 4 working days later.

There's always the risk of an unforeseen delay, but in practice there's little you can do to chase things up, so make sure you keep up any minimum payments required until your BT(s) are completed

Moggles_2

Kev64 wrote: »

What about payments between cards? i.e. make a one-off payment (i.e. not a BT) to Card A using Card B doing an electronic transfer (online banking)? How quickly do these complete? Can you actually do that ?

No, you cannot pay a credit card bill with another credit card. Your provider will only accept debit card payments, cash or cheques.

You can arrange to transfer a cc balance to another credit card, as you know. This normally attracts a BT fee of 2-3% of the sum shifted and is classed as a balance transfer.

Martin explains the basics here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/balance-transfer-credit-cards#what