Mums Finance

There have been times over the past two years where we just could not fathom out the mentality of those pulling the strings of the credit card industry. Where other people were seeing their credit card limits increased – without even applying – we had limits on two of our cards slashed…despite those same cards being paid off EVERY month on the dot for well over 12 years! but we were not the only people to have this done to them and at a time when spending was being encouraged we were being discouraged…or so it seemed.

Big changes are now afoot in the credit card industry and these changes are aimed at making the industries practices more transparent and the consumer more informed. This is also a good time – just after Xmas – for making a credit card comparison and seeing where you can start paying a lot less money. The best way to do this right now is to opt for the balance transfer route – but bear in mind you don’t want to simply ’start over again’ – you want to be paying less than before and to achieve this you need to take a look at and compare the 0% balance transfer credit cards that are on offer right now.

The best deal so far – and has been for quite a while now – is the Virgin Credit Card and to date this deal has outlasted all the other 0% balance transfer offers, which means it is not a ‘first in first served’ kind of deal in that it has been on offer now for 16 months. Often consumers will be so desperate to wipe the slate clean and take their balance elsewhere they will overlook the high interest rate they are being charged – it will simply take longer to pay off and be more expensive in the long run. The Virgin deal looks set to last for a while yet and I’d say plenty of new years consumers have already signed up with them and taken advantage of the 0% interest deal. And remember – aim to pay off the balance, pay MORE than the minimum each month.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Here’s a great deal we found from O2. You can get up to 4 free sim cards and once you have activated them and become a customer - bung about £5 on each one – you can then apply for the O2 prepaid Visa debit card.

This is a very good deal for UK customers who want another card for shopping, online and otherwise. There’s no charges if you use it within the UK. This is ideal with Xmas coming up.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I have been trying to get myself a paypal debit card in recent days and am just about at my wits end with all the ‘verification’ criteria that the apply. I would not really bother about it other than for the ridiculous length of time it takes for your money to transfer from your paypal account to your bank account – five days in my case and weekends are not included.

Surely in this day and age electronic transfers can be done in half that time!

First I had to verify my bank account – done; then I had to verify my phone number – done; then I had to verify my address – done. So I fill out the online application and wham - still not accepted!

I am being declined because I am not on the local electoral roll which is used to verify you, not everyone is who have not lived here all their lives and who are not British citizens. So for now I have given up, paypal can keep their bloody debit card.

Popularity: 26% [?]