Credit Card Balance Transfer Discussion Area 3

A question about : Credit Card Balance Transfer Discussion Area 3

Continuing on from Credit Card Balance Transfer Discussion Area 2 which at 15 pages had got a little unwieldy.

Best answers:

• My Halifax 9 month interest free intro offer is coming to an end and i am looking for a new credit card to balance transfer the remaining amount.
  I have read through the various articles and trying to decide between a Virgin card or a Lloyds TSB card (both 9 month intrest free). Just wanted to ensure there are no hidden costs and if anyone can advise any alternative better cards.
  Thanks in advance.
• If you go for the LLoyds Advance card it is 12 months interest free, but don't ever use it for purchases as you pay interest from the day of the transaction.
  EDIT: I should have mentioned charges. Virgin may charge you a 2% fee (max Ј50) on balance transfers, although you might be ok if you transfer at the time of your application. I think LLoyds may have started charging a fee too, but I forget.
• Continued from previous thread:
  Attempting to gain a pecuniary advantage by deception? Not illegal?
  Johnllew: With respect if you know for sure this to be illegal please advise us and name your source. If you don't please can you stop speculating and allow others who are more informed to give an accurate and referenced reply.
  None of us want to break the law that is why we asking asking for informed replies rather than opinions.
• I know this still isn't necessarily the answer, but I have just re-read Martin's article.
  Quote:
  "Advanced Moneysavers Option
  Once you've started utilising this system, it's possible to use any 0% BT offer, not just cards offering "super BT's". Simply use the "super BT" card to pay more debt into your current account, then as soon as the debt shows on your card, simply transfer this balance to your 0% card. This process should be done quickly though as interest will build up in your account."
  This would suggest that you should have the debt first, wonder if I will get a knock on the door tonight! :-/
  johnllew - I would have thought this is quite an important discussion and approptiate to this thread.
  It seems to me that you have now come up with a clear statement with section 15A and its sounds to me that you are correct.
  If this was known earlier we wouldn't have all clogged up the thread, people only wanted advise.
• >
  Read the terms and conditions,and apply them,easy
• Good to hear ;D
• I'd stayed out of this one as it has been discussed several times before on both legal and moral grounds. I hoped that it wouldn't get transfered to the new thread, but since it has I may as well chuck my 2 cents in and say...
  I can't see what the fuss is about. When you want to do a BT or SBT never lie. Don't say "I want this money to pay off a debt", just say "I want to do a balance transfer". No need to say if the balance is positive or negative. Certainly NEVER put anything false down in writing. Best of all use cards that let you do it all online so there is no need to explain anything.
  If you haven't lied you haven't commited fraud because there has been no deception.
• Reaper you are right on,no lies :-/
• I can comment but please bear in mind I am not a lawyer and have no financial training, the position of moderator is both voluntary and unpaid.
  I believe that whether there is a criminal or civil offence is actually not too important - the fact is that the card issuers can bring any agreement to an end and demand payment so why get on the wrong side of them?
  Its a familar song - read the terms and conditions, understand them and stick to them. I have at times bent the truth but these are generally sins of omission or perhaps at times some slight exaggeration, I do not lie to lenders. I would not suggest that anyone else should either.
• Me too Smitty :
• The methods I have used to build up balances over time are:
  1) make regular transfers to cover spending on your 'regular spending' card. You don't have to have a card with interest free purchases, you just need to pay it off using balance transfers. Timing is something that takes a while to get right but I viewed the 1% cashback as a means to cover any slip ups. Unfortunately 0.5% doesn't offer so much of a margin for error but I'm a bit more experienced now.
  2) if you ever get cheques always scour the terms and conditions. If they are treated as purchases simply write them to your limit made payable to yourself or to cover any major purchases.
  3) I have also (inadvertently because of timing problems) transfered the same balance twice. The scenario: Card A carries a balance, apply for card B and ask them to transfer balance from card A. Card B drags their heels so much that an application for card C is made and a balance transfer to it processed before Card B finally gets their act together. Each time I applied for the balance to be transferred it existed, its only when they finally moved the money around that it didn't. I don't think this is a sustainable technique if it is actually the issuers of card A who are getting uppity about large credit balances.
  4) I have also written cheques on my current account to put money in savings. The fact that it takes some time to go through is actually the reverse of the above - the balance doesn't exist when applied for but does by the time the transfer is done. You really need to get your timing right and if you do should only be paying interest for a couple of days.
  5) not one I've used but for offset mortgages with an overdraft and/or credit card facility I understand it is possible to engineer a debt which can be transferred to a credit card by shifting your mortgage borrowing around.
  I would urge people to avoid using the method of simply making up fictional amounts. If a card issuer requests documentary evidence of balances it is always in your interests to be able to provide them. While they may not have a legal right to demand proof I believe they have every right to say they will not offer the facility to transfer balances at a preferential rate without first seeing evidence that the debts exist. I'm surprised this isn't being done regularly now.
• Alright, Gal's got me thinking. Lets say I have an Egg card (out of the intro period with Ј0 balance) and card B who offers 0% interest on BTs for 6 months. Card B says balance transfers take 7-10 days.
  If we do the following
  Apply to card B to BT from Egg
  10 days later
  SBT from Egg to your c/a (If SBTs leave Egg immediately - I cant remember)
  Your BT from card B may or may not have landed at Egg, but as they said it could take 10 days, you have made the provision for a debt to be there at that stage.
• I applogise if I got the wrong end of the stick. I guess I didn't read back far enough in the previous (huge!) thread.
  It seems to me the arguement is over trivialities. Everybody seems to accept stoozing can be done legally, depending on the mechanism.
  Given that, even if you do technically break their T&C there is no way a credit card company is going to bother giving somebody a hard time when a mechanism exists to do it legally. Besides the credit card companies know full well what is going on.
  Take the short cut or do it the correct way, whichever makes you feel the most comfortable.