Tesco Credit Card & Balance Transfers.

[fatboyPee]

Just a heads up. I applied for a credit card online specifically to transfer to 0% interest for 8 months. Filled out the form, put in everything required including the amount to transfer. Got approved. Signed the agreement. Waited for my card etc..
Letter arrives saying "because of the credit limit we have given you, we are unable to transfer the balance...". WTF? I do'nt want the card if I have not sufficient a credit limit!! No option on the form to say "Do you still require this card if the limit we provide is less than the balance transfer amount?".

My naive assumption that "Approval" meant that I had been approved for the value of a card > or = to the value to be transferred was clearly wrong!

Notwithstanding the time it took to process this application (and the amount of contracts and approval letters I received (4 in total of each)), be aware that if you get caught out, like I did, you MUST cancel the card within 14 days of the application being approved, otherwise you are liable for the €30 government tax.

FBP.

 

[smiley]

was it a large sum you were hoping to transfer?

I have a Tesco cc and have a credit limit of €4500.

They are known to be paltry with their credit limits, which within reason is probably not a bad thing all things considered.

 

[niceoneted]

Smiley, do you mind me asking what sort of take home pay you have to achieve that credit limit? I am considering getting a tesco CC and am wondering what levels of credit limit they are willing to extent to based on pay and credit history.

Fat boy it is a shame that there is not the question "do you still require this card if the limit we provide is less than the balance transfer amount?".

You don't say what the actual balance is that you wish to transfer but are the willing to take the balance of the credit limit or less? ie you have a balance of 5k they are giving you a credit limit of 3k - can you transfer 3k or near to that amount to be able to benefit from the 0% transfer.

 

[fatboyPee]

...
Fat boy it is a shame that there is not the question "do you still require this card if the limit we provide is less than the balance transfer amount?".

You don't say what the actual balance is that you wish to transfer but are the willing to take the balance of the credit limit or less? ie you have a balance of 5k they are giving you a credit limit of 3k - can you transfer 3k or near to that amount to be able to benefit from the 0% transfer.

The letter stated I should make alternative arrangements for the transfer (whatever that means), I assumed it to mean they would not allow any on the 0% transfer. I wanted to move 4k, I have a card with a limit of 6.5k now. I use it mostly for business but, I'm sure, like a lot of people of late, things have got tighter and personal spending went a bit higher than expected.

In terms of what you're earning and what credit limit, my salary is mid range (above 60) a year, I have no other personal debt other than the mortgage (low) and I was given a 2k limit and was informed by the agent in the call centre this would not change.

I was amazed there was no option to decline the card if the transfer was above the limit. In fact I expected to be declined on that basis, or, offered the card but informed that no transfer would be available.

To be honest, from start to end I found Tesco Bank shambolic and its call centre staff unprofessional and ill mannered. There are a few reasons for my views, not least the barrage of offer letters, contracts and requests for personal statements etc after I'd signed and sent back the forms. Also that when you apply online there is no confirmation email sent, you hear NOTHING until you get a letter some 2+ weeks after applying. And then the issue of the transfer. They did not for instance ask about the credit limit on my current card.

In my view, the transfer offer is rather underhanded and they simply want people to take up the credit card at 19% apr and not avail of the transfer (hoping you'll keep the card once they do this). Perhaps its not sharp practice but in my opinion, its not very professional.

FBP.

 

[Aodhán]

Thanks for the thread. Did a search for anybody else having trouble with Tesco Credit Card. I found that too about their credit limit. They are not making that clear at all. Beware of wasting your time going through all the loops and then they land their arbitrary "credit limit" on you. Time wasters. (and after the initial 6/8 months the Tesco card interest rate rockets to over 19% so you won't want to stay around with them.)

I have a €3300 limit with Bank of Ireland. In recent months BofI increased the interest rate from @9.5% to 13.5%. So I looked for an alternative. Tesco was offering 0% on balance transfers. I applied. Rang up today to see the status and they said the Tax Credit statement was not an original. I told them that I printed it off the Revenue ROS website. They said that means it's a copy. WTF.

Then, and this part really is offending me, they said the address on my Meteor utility bill had been, and I quote, "tampered with". I sent the bill which Meteor posted to me, and which arrived at my address. I did not "tamper with" anything. I did not touch the address - I didn't even think of it. Meteor incorrectly had my address down as Baile Átha Cliatha, the address I gave Tesco Credit Cards was, of course, Baile Átha Cliath. Does this extra 'a' on Meteor's utility bill constitute "tampering with" the address?


By the end of that call, Tesco Credit Card "customer service" made me feel like I was some sort of crook trying to scam them. I told them to forget about the whole thing. And I hung up. Obnoxious idiots.

Does anybody have a realistic alternative to my existing Bank of Ireland Clear card (13.5% interest)? It can be 0% on Balance Transfers or 0% on purchases.

 

[herrdood]

Hi,

I too have experienced the Tesco shambolic application process. I applied online. Got letter back after 2 weeks approx requesting proof of identity etc..Sent them back. Got reply after 2 weeks saying some docs were in a different name. (Pat V's Patrick). Rang to explain. Told to send docs again with cover letter explaining situation. Got docs back again with Tesco Comp slip. Heard nothing. Rang again. Card denied because I sent no supporting documentation the call centre person said. Explained situation again. Told to send docs again with another cover letter.

I'm interested in the card purely for the points as my MBNA Pigsback no longer offers points.

Anyway, sent the docs again with cover letter. They came back again with a comp slip over a month ago. Nothing since. None of the comp slips were signed or acknowledged anything.

In a way I am glad as I imagine trying to clear up any problems with payments etc.. later would be a nightmare.

Considering having partner making application to see what happens.


HD.

 

[smiley]

I think all this explains partly why Tesco have put-off the launching mortgages in the UK recently. Their IT systems were not up to the job and the staff were probably not trained enough either.