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[MSE Dan]

Hi folks,

In our newly published Student Accounts 2009/10 guide, Barclays Student Additions accounts is one of our new top picks.

It offers 0% overdrafts of 'up to £2,000' for every year of study, and we're after feedback from people who have applied about what overdraft limit you are given to start with, and also whether this was upped if you requested more.

Thanks for all help in advance

Dan

[Touring]

I currently have a barclays student additions account. Im in my second year with the max overdraft that was allowed for a year 2 student at the time of £1250. Going into year 3 i was expecting to be able to extend this to £1500 as that was the most the account would give me at the time of me taking it. Does this new account now mean I will be able to get an overdraft of £2000 now then instead of £1500?
Getting pretty confused, sorry!

[lara_naomi]

I signed up for a Barclays Student Additions account today. The account was easier to set up than other student accounts, just one visit to the branch and it was all done within an hour. If you are setting up the account and wish to get the overdraft facility, remember to take two months' statements with you.

There is not £2000 0% overdraft available. It is £1000 at 0%, then another £1000 at 8.9% if you request it. However, this is apparently hard to get as a committee has to accept the request, and you need to have a good reason for needing the extra overdraft. I didn't bother. The 0% overdraft goes up by £250 per year during your course. So, I got £1000 overdraft very easily, and I think just about anyone can.

Good luck to you all!

[Vampiric Addiction]

er... the MSE guide info says £2k @ 0% with an additional £1k at 8.9%...

[lara_naomi]

Originally Posted by Vampiric Addiction

er... the MSE guide info says £2k @ 0% with an additional £1k at 8.9%...

Yeah it does, but trust me that is not the case.

[jd87]

Originally Posted by lara_naomi

Yeah it does, but trust me that is not the case.

I'd think it's more likely you were misinformed (or lied to) in the branch, than the MSE team getting their facts wrong.

[JammyP]

From the Barclays website:

Up to £2,000 interest-free overdraft*
Apply to extend your overdraft up to £3,000 at a preferential rate of 8.9% EAR typical variable if your other funds have been used up.

Made bold by me. MSE is right the first £2k is interest free, you can add another £1k but that is charged at the 8.9% EAR.

I doubt Barclays are lying on their website.

[aszczep]

Just been to my local Barclays branch. They said they don't offer a £2,000 overdraft and also they wanted to reduce my current overdraft of £450 to £250 because I wanted to upgrade to a student account; they said you start with £250 and when you've had your student maintenance go through, they'll look into increasing it.

The lady I spoke with was apparently a Student Accounts Manager so should have known what she spoke about. I mentioned their website and the MSE website and then she pulled out a load of papers contradicting that. So really I don't know. Either way, I'm off to Halifax.

[Felix Machina]

Applied at Barclays today, it would appear that it IS NOT A £2000 OVERDRAFT. For the first year anyway, they've given me a £1000 overdraft and it goes up to £2000 in future years at uni.

If I'd known this I would've gone for Natwest but I've done it all now, never mind.

[bdawg]

I've had a Student Additions account for the last 6 years and it's been £2k for the last 5 I think. I went into the branch a few months ago to ask what would happen with my overdraft when I graduated in July and was told that it'd be interest free for a year after I graduated. Now I've got a letter saying it'll be automatically switched to a regular bank account on 21st September 2009 and my overdraft will go from 0% to 19.3% EAR! Although I've had no trouble with them over the years and am fortunate enough to be able to pay back my overdraft, I wonder how many graduates who aren't able to get a job will find £2k in 3 weeks and out of principle I'm going to switch accounts.

[Accendo]

Yesterday set-up my student account with Barclays.
My letter of acceptance = £200 overdraft
Once £500 of student maintenance has gone in your O/D can go upto £1200 in your first year. Preceeding your first year you can get upto the £2000 shown, but obviously this all upto a credit check.

Not the biggest money upfront but I lost my passport and I was already with these guys so it worked out VERY well for me :P.

Cya money savers
Regards: RPT

[Freshergirl]

I set up a Barclays Student Additions account yesterday, and despite the bloke telling me I had a good credit score (as a mature student, they have more financial history to go on than most) they only offered me a measly £200! He said this was unusually high (huh?).

I can apply to improve this by up to £500 a day (he suggested I go in a few times on seperate days) up to £1500, but not for another 3 months.

Could it be because I don't have my Student Loan yet? :-/ I could do with the cash to live off, while waiting for my loan!

[j_jay4]

I'm a graduate and have finished my first degree, I had a student account with HSBC for 4 years but wasn't happy with their service and so closed the account and decided to find a graduate account elsewhere. MSE recommends the lloyds graduate account so I tried them first. I didn't realise that because I will be doing a PhD for another 3 years that I was elligable for a another student account which lloyds told me however lloyds student account has a tiered overdraft (Ie, goes from £200-1000+ over the space of the first year) however this wasn't any good for me as I already have some debt from my last student account and will need extra cash for deposits and first months rent so I need a decent sized overdraft straight off.

I therefore went to Barclays to open a student account assuming that if I opened the account and put in £500 I could apply to extend the £200 overdraft before I started my PhD. I had to wait a week to receive the official form from my uni to say that I was registered on a course there for three years. I then took my form with me to Barclays and had to wait an hour for an appointment. I arrived on time and there was a queue at the help desk after a few minutes I was seen to and sat at a desk. The man that had seated me was then in another room for 5-10 mins before he sat down. I said I wanted a student account and gave him my drivers license and proof of registration. he then said there might be a problem because the form didn't specify exactly that I was doing a PhD and that the course title, chemistry research wasn't sufficient proof that I was attending a course at university and he therefore couldn't open me an account today as I didn't have anything that said I was doing a PhD specidically. I had forms prooving my income and a years worth of statements, everything I thought I would need but the official prrof of registration from my university wasn't acceptable.

Anyway I couldn't afford to wait another week to get a new document that said PhD on it so I went to Halifax and was seen straight away without queing or booking appointments, I got an account opened and within an hour I had deposited some money and was given a £1000 overdraft and a credit card with >£2000 limit with interest free for 9 months.

I think Barclays missed a trick there, here's to happy banking with Halifax for 3 years, sorry Barclays

[Moneygeddon]

I opened this account the other day and was given £200 O/D on acceptance and was told that I could extend this once £500 had been deposited in the account and that and further increases would be based on need and a regular turnover on the account.

Not as good as the account with NatWest where I got £1250 on opening, but better than Halifax (the first) where they refused me an account becuase of my credit rating. To try and improve this I applied for a Nationwide CC and got offered a Gold Card with £8000 limit. I did try Halifax again before going to Barclays but I was still refused.

[Rosemary7391]

I got a £200 overdraft as an initial amount, at the same time as I opened the account I asked for it to be extended to £1000 so I could pay the first instalment of my rent (before my student loan gets paid), they asked for proof my student loan would be paid into this account, and then it was fine. I did already have an account with them, so I don't know if that would have affected it.

[Belisarius]

I've got it the full amount. Had it as an undergrad in my final year, had it during my Master's & have had it for past four years of being a PhD student. Never had to request it. Why was it so easy for me ... ?