Balance Transfer Fees – Misinformed by customer service?

grumbler

primera_man wrote:

i have just taken anamex ba card and done a balance transfer of £2850.
i've just rec'd my statement and it's the same as i was paying to lloyd's tsb on £5000!
i have been paying approx £90 per month and thought i'd be saving money by
transferring!now it looks like i'll be paying more!!

Take your Lloyds TSB statement and look what your APR is. I bet it is more than 10%. Then compare it to 4.9% that you have now with Amex BA.
Yes, minimum payments are now 3% instead of 2%, but most of it is your debt repayment, not interest as before.

Now look at Credit Card Calculator.

Balance £2850

Lloyds TSB 10% (actually more) and 2% monthly payments:
It'll take you 269 months (that's over 22 years) to pay back £2,850 if you only pay the required minimum of 2.00%. Over that period of time, you'll pay an additional £1,869.01 in interest.

Amex BA 4.9% and 3% monthly payments:
It'll take you 144 months (that's over 12 years) to pay back £2,850 if you only pay the required minimum of 3.00%. Over that period of time, you'll pay an additional £420.98 in interest.

Now think :think: . Next time compare APRs, not monthly payments.

P.S. Read also comments provided by the calculator and Martin's article: Danger! Avoid Minimum Repayments

maddyfharris

According to the back of my lloyds platinum credit card statement, The 'charges' for cash withdrawals, cheques and balance transfers are 2% or minimum £2.50. It's there in black and white.

Hopper_3

Hi Guys

Just to let you know I have been to LLoyds TSB this morning as part of my new money saving plan. I enquired about applying for the lloyds Platinum Credit Card on 0% for 9 months and asaked whether there would be a BT fee (this was the loans and credit advisor), and was told yes. I got her to check with her head office and she was told exactly the same thing, that the 2% BT fee still applies. If there is some way of getting round the fee, they sure aren't making it easy for us!

Hopper

grumbler

Hopper wrote:

...If there is some way of getting round the fee, they sure aren't making it easy for us!

If you don't have other CCs with them apply for Lloyds TSB Rewards American Express® Credit Card:

Lloyds CC really fee free?
more than one card from same company?

KwithanA

Hi

This is my first post, so hello everyone!

I was looking at getting an Abbey credit card, so I can do a 0% interest super balance transfer to my Lloyds current account in order to pay off my overdraft, but having read a couple of the posts, the advice Martin gave saying 'Abbey is the only one to give you a SBT straight away with no fee? (if you apply in branch)', seems to be incorrect.

Soooooooo my question is, is there anyway to pay off an overdraft by moving the debt to a 0% card, without incurring any fees??

Thanks in advance for anyone's help with this!

YorkshireBoy

KwithanA wrote:

...my question is, is there anyway to pay off an overdraft by moving the debt to a 0% card, without incurring any fees??

Use the middle route.

meandher_2

I have just applied for a Macmillan master card via the link on the web site. I have received the paper work to sign and it states that there is a transfer fee. I called the bank and after checking was told that there definately is a transfer fee.

NiciD_2

meandher wrote:

I have just applied for a Macmillan master card via the link on the web site. I have received the paper work to sign and it states that there is a transfer fee. I called the bank and after checking was told that there definately is a transfer fee.

aw no, thats the one I've just applied for on the advice of this site. :sad:

You might want to check out the other thread running on this subject:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=167353

debjay

Hi. Me too with Macmillan about transfer fee. Phoned this morning and spoke with various people getting more senior but still no joy so will prob bin application form. Maybe Martin needs to clarify as this was his recommendation for longest 0% with no fee

Bob_Terveuren

debjay wrote:

Hi. Me too with Macmillan about transfer fee. Phoned this morning and spoke with various people getting more senior but still no joy so will prob bin application form. Maybe Martin needs to clarify as this was his recommendation for longest 0% with no fee

I've just signed the paperwork and sent it back so I am now awaiting my MacMillan Card - I've tried to clarify the fee question with their Customer Services but, so far, my details are not on file - as soon as the card arrives I'll be able to quote them a vard number and (hopefully) get somewhere with them.

If they say there is a fee then I'll see if I can then get onto a supervisor at CS and quote the 'ambiguity' in their T&C - if they still stonewall then I'll tell them not to balance transfer & I'll just make use of the 0%.

Either way I'll let this thread know as it would seem that the MacMillan card has probably been charging a fee since last Summer and maybe it needs to be pulled from the MSE recommended list.