Morgan Stanley 5.9% for Life ERROR!

moni72

Hi all
I wondered if someone could advise me before I waste anymore time on Morgan Stanley (now Goldfish).

As an existing customer my husband received a balance transfer offer letter offering a rate of 5.9% for the life of the balance. We then discovered that their letter was a typo and it should have been 5.9% for 5 months.

We wrote to them in Feb 08, attaching a copy of the letter we had received, and finally received a reply last week (2 months later!). They said that it was a typo and that the terms and conditions on the back say for 5 months.

Can anyone tell me whether it is worth pursuing them? Do they have any obligation to honour this mistake or will the FSA side with them because it's in the small print??
Trouble was we had worked our finances out on the basis of what the letter said, I had it pinned on the board for 3 or 4 weeks thinking it was a great solution to the debt shifting!!! I didn't look into any other alternatives because I took the offer as it read in the main body of the letter.

If I can't pursue them further to honour the 5.9% for life do you think I should ask for a credit of the 3% fees charged as a goodwill gesture?

Any advice/help would be appreciated as I don't want to waste more time writing if they are acting within the law/their rights.

Thanks very much.

Kind regards
Simone

nomoneytoday

I would ask for the 3% back - 3% + 5.9% for 5 months is not cheap

moni72

Thanks, I think I will do that.

I know it's not cheap but we had to shift some debt around and it was the only option I had open to me at the time. We can't go for a personal loan because I'm on maternity leave and my husband is self employed with little income to demonstrate in accounts.

This is the first time I've paid such a high interest rate and hopefully the last!!