In my last post I discussed the errors that credit card companies make. Mistakes typically fall into one of three categories: 

• something that should happen doesn’t 
• wrong information is generated by software
• the wrong thing happens

But an agent can also be misinformed and tell a customer that something can be done, when it can’t.

One example of this kind of “agent error” happens when a customer is told he can do a “balance transfer”  over the phone and that he can transfer funds from his credit card (take out a loan on his credit card) and have those funds deposited into his checking account. [Read more →]

Did you know you can make promotional rates on credit cards last longer? How?

You can extend a balance transfer introductory rate period by changing your credit card account due date. [Read more →]

There are ways to safeguard your balance transfers, and you should be aware of them. Balance transfer nightmares happen frequently despite the fact that all the big credit card companies advertise deals on balance transfers with this message: that they are effortless and cost you nothing.

But that’s not what I’ve seen.  Plus the consequences of having your balance transfer deal messed up can be devastating and expensive. 

First, a little backstory.

Millions of credit card customers take advantage of low interest offers on balance transfers. Perhaps it is because of the sheer volume of transactions that it seems almost inevitable that not all of them go well. [Read more →]

A couple of days ago I was writing about balance transfer problems. I had intended to write about balance transfers again today, but I could almost write a book on the topic. It’s huge and some of the problems that catch credit card users by surprise are really scary. So I promise to write about one of these balance transfer screw-ups tomorrow (it might be the worst one). But tonight I want to write about something else.

I’m postponing my intended topic of what to look out for when you’re going to make a balance transfer because of a customer who called in tonight. That call reminded me of something that is really important and valuable for credit card users who intend to go on vacation this summer. In fact, And if you’re planning on travelling to Europe and using your credit card, it’s critical for you to keep on reading. [Read more →]

Let me give you two warnings about balance transfer deals on credit cards.

Even if you are not planning on using a credit card for regular purchase transactions, but only to do a balance transfer, you should still make sure that the card is activated. If the card is not activated balance transfers usually will not transact. Even agents who are helping you to do the deal can fail to notice this problem because it can appear that the deal was approved only to be declined later.

Why does this happen? [Read more →]