HSBC bank student account 2012/2013: We want your...

[MSE Alana]

Hi all,

In our newly published Student Accounts 2011/12 guide the HSBC Student Account is one of our top picks.

It offers 0% overdrafts on £500 initially but amount of up to £3,000 may be possible, although not guaranteed.

We're after feedback from people who have applied this year and want to know your experience and if you had any trouble getting the overdraft.

Thanks for all help in advance

[Keith_F]

My daughter got £1000 O/D in year one and has just had this upped to £1,500 for year 2.

[lesadmick]

I went into HSBC and asked them to run their credit check as if I were opening the account, and it came back with an overdraft of 1750 in year 1. They said generally this increases year by year as long as you dont constantly exceed the limit. You do have to go through the process of opening the account to do this, but at the moment they just have my details on hold and I haven't formally opened the account so I could assess my options. Hope this helps!

[rho350]

I called HSBC today, have been with them for over 10 years now. Mentioned that it said I could claim up to £3000 on their website so applied. Took about 20 mins to fill out the form on the phone but to no avail. The reason for refusal was that the bank doesn't approve of an overdraft over 125% of my monthly income. Which means that for most students the overdraft should really be £500?? Seems to be many hoops to jump through. They did say it could be reviewed in 3 months time but it seems pointless really. I exclusively use HSBC for my finances and have never been over any limits or charged. Hope this wont affect my credit rating too much .

[winckles]

I applied a few months ago, and was approved for a £1000 overdraft and a £500 credit card. Both of which i'm happy with.
I was pleasantly surprised by the overdraft limit as i am a single mother and dont currently work, I don't know if becasue im a student nurse it makes a a diffence though....

[GSDog]

I applied online today and the whole process was very simple. I shall keep this updated with my experience.

I wasn't sure whether to take the credit card option as well so I said 'No'. I may change my mind on that, though.

[winchester_jp]

Don't apply for the credit card unless you are confident you will be accepted. I applied when I opened the account and was declined; eight months later in May I wanted to extend my £500 overdraft but was also declined. The reason stated was that the declined credit card application was 'bad past behaviour' so they won't be offering me anymore credit. Quite a strange reason to give. I was also disappointed by HSBC's unwillingness to help when I explained I needed the extension to pay an overlap in the rent (between moving out of halls and taking tenancy of my second year student flat) because I was already close to my limit.

However, my friend got an overdraft extended to £1500 because he is in credit. If you are living on the breadline close to your limit HSBC don't seem to think this is a valid reason to let you have more, even though in my case it would have been temporary to help me get back into credit!! All their decisions they make using a central computer system, as opposed to a bank manager who may actually have an understanding of the situation

[antoniarose]

I've been a customer of HSBC for almost 6 years now, so last year had my account changed to a student account for the first year of uni. £1000 overdraft and a £500 interest-free credit card were approved. For the majority of the time I was very happy with my account, but when I had a problem I found my new local branch very unhelpful.

Recently they took it upon themselves to order me a new contactless card which I didn't ask for. And it didn't turn up. 30 days after it should, my card stopped working. I went into branch and they didn't seem to think there was an issue "as you'll have another card within a week". Going abroad with no bank card was not ideal, and they offered no helpful solution apart from "use your credit card", which promptly cost me a small fortune in fees.

Great deal for a student account but attrocious service in branch.

[Keith_F]

Update.

Year 1 overdraft of £1000 and credit card with £500 limit.
Year 2, straightforward increase of OD to £1,500. At christmas of year 2, she applied for this to be increased further, after all, it did say up to £3,000 on the tin.
Rejected, with a letter whose explanation bore no relationship to her circumstances.
So I prepared a letter to the Customer care Team.
Initially a poor response, or to be more accurate, no response.
Followed up with a copy of the letter sent to them by e-mail.
3 weeks later, humble apologies and an increase in the OD to £3,000.

Moral of the story, don't accept the computer rejection of an OD increase.
Complain and get a real person to look at it properly.

[iAMaLONDONER]

Originally Posted by Keith_F

Update.

Year 1 overdraft of £1000 and credit card with £500 limit.
Year 2, straightforward increase of OD to £1,500. At christmas of year 2, she applied for this to be increased further, after all, it did say up to £3,000 on the tin.
Rejected, with a letter whose explanation bore no relationship to her circumstances.
So I prepared a letter to the Customer care Team.
Initially a poor response, or to be more accurate, no response.
Followed up with a copy of the letter sent to them by e-mail.
3 weeks later, humble apologies and an increase in the OD to £3,000.

Moral of the story, don't accept the computer rejection of an OD increase.
Complain and get a real person to look at it properly.

Did she 'stooze' or use the O/D regularly?