Hi everybody.Does anyone know anything about balance transfers?My daughter had to use my card(rent,car tax etc)when her partner was struggling for work,and the balance is now at 4,000,as you can imagine,the interest is high.We thought about balance transfers,but my son said another card wont take on as much as that,and id need to use two cards.Anyone any experience of transferring large amounts like this?thanks.

Barclaycard had an offer not long ago...and they were taking a high balance up to £5000...don't know if they still are, but worth checking.

It really depends what your credit limit is to be fair. 

New cards often limit you anyway. 

I do have experience of transferring a large amount, but it was to a card that I already had, and they came up with an offer after I had been with them for years.  Not sure how I ended up with a credit limit of over £19,000 but I'm pretty sure that a first time card won't allow much over £2,000

Credit limits are given on an individual basis, taking into account factors like salary and credit history.  A highish balance won't count againt you - quite the opposite - unless you have missed any payments in the last three years.  However, I think that some credit card companies give more modest spending limits than others - it might be worth asking if anyone knows about this on the Money Saving Expert website.  I tend to chop and change credit cards quite regularly to use 0% offers and have had initial spending limits between £5k and £10k in the last couple of years.

I think I would be seeking professional advise.  Try your bank to start with.  Even if you pay some interest, ie not the 0% that I think you may be looking for, a regularised loan will put you on a lot more comfortable footing that trying to hop from card to card.

thanks for advice everyone.With it not actually me being the one who is paying,although I m liable(no way could I afford to,on state pension,and on my own)Im a bit scared to take out a loan,although I suppose its same difference(the bank did try and persuede me itd be best,but we said we d look into swapping over to a 0% interest card,that was a year ago and weve done nothing!(my daughter and I).Shes paying about £100 a month and most of that is interest,however ,i think we are now just below the £4,000 mark.The credit limit on the card is £4,700.She has made a few late payments as they are still struggling,will this scupper our chances?Money scares me in these amounts,and I think weve both been a bit ostrich -like!

Is the card in your name, then?  The late payments would certainly impact on your credit rating for both a loan and another credit card and it's likely that any future credit would be at an even higher interest rate than you currently have.  I think the best thing would be to get hold of your credit report (from both Experian and Equifax) and see if the late payments are marked on there (if the payments are just slightly late they sometimes don't bother recording them).  Do this before you start applying for more credit, since each application for credit is also recorded on your credit file and counts against you, so you don't want to be applying for lots of cards or loans and being rejected.  It's also best to set up a direct debit in the future to make the minimum payment (and then pay off some more manually each month) to avoid the late payments (which also aren't helping the balance as they incur fees each time).

I would really, really get professional advise.  Perhaps the CAB and suggest you go without your daughter to start with.

Moving credit card balances can be very effective but you do have to know what you are doing and make sure you keep an eye on things and pay the right amount. Always read the small print and if in doubt don't do it .

I wold suggest a visit to the CAB now is a good idea but in hind sight doing that when they had difficulties would have been the better time rather than paying through the roof interest  rates. People and companies are much better to deal with if you up front at the beginning. I was in the situation when I spilt up from my ex husband and had so many bills and the mortgage to pay .

I contacted everybody to say my husband had stopped paying anything so I was down to one salary and worked out a plan with everybody and we were all happy. Short term changes they are willing to deal with . Long term is a different matter but it is easier to deal with and less of a surprise as hiding things will only mean they will not be as willing to help.

>Moving credit card balances can be very effective but you do have to know what you are doing

Totally agree, and it can be very satisfying to buck the system!  :-)

Around 15 years ago I bought a car with a credit card cheque.  Really good offer of 0% finance for a year.  Naturally I paid off as much as I could each month, not just the minimum.

But, after a year I scouted round and found another credit card company with balance transfers at 0% for a year.  I transferred the balance, and did the same again.  After that 12 months was up, I had paid for the car with no interest. 

thanks everybody.

Balance transfers can be very useful we do them quite frequently but you do need to watch when the 0% finishes so you dont starts paying large amounts of interest. As for the amoiunts they will give you as has already been said purely depends on your income. £5000 is not much for some people others it would be far to much although you could try splitting the amouts between cards that are doing 0%
money saving expert ( martin lewis )http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/?gclid=CJD0_866wK8CFawMtAod3kG1vQ is a good helpful site as is national debtline if you want phone advice to hand hold you through.  http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/  and much easier to get in touch with than CAB

I think the lesson you ought to learn here is to never let your adult child's financial problem become your financial problem.

> Moving credit card balances can be very effective but you do have to know what you are doing

It is a risky strategy though as you are entirely dependent on the availability of a new card when you need it and that can be rather more of an issue these days. Knowing what you are doing can't help you there, you need a crystal ball :)
Nothing to move on to leaves you very exposed to very high interest rates.
The catch is, therefore, that those really needing to do this are the most vulnerable if the system lets them down so perhaps should look for more solid solutions if a little more costly in the short term.

maybe,but if you cant help your family out when they need it,its a bit of a poor show,and it was none of their doing,really,and theyve got 3 small kids-,but ,i take your point!