student account problem

Lily9

Hi everyone
i am a newbie - I had my head in the sand as money matters cause me great anxiety but i really need to sort all of these things out.

I was at university (with a student account) in the early 90s for two years and then intermitted during my final year to be a longterm fulltime carer for a family member (the student account went to a normal account). Then I went back to uni a few years ago (the family member had passed away) and completed the final year, opening up a student account with overdraft etc. After the end of the final year it went to a grad account - though i went on to do a postgrad degree and remain a student. Now i am in some financial difficulty as the £2000 overdraft has come to an end (I had assumed that the bank would let me have the student account for 3 years as is normally the case) and then the graduate banking terms for another 3 years, instead i have had the student account for one year and then the grad terms for three years.

Do you think I would be able to argue this with the bank?

sorry if i am clutching at straws

Lily

Sgt_Oddball

Hi Lily9,

can I ask what Bank you are with?

I did an undergraduate degree and had a student bank account at Barclays. Then I left Uni and got a job and the account automatically moved to a graduate one.

However, a year later I went back to uni to do a PhD. The bank were ok with me converting the account back to a student one (after showing them proof of my new student status).

I guess it boils down to your own bank's terms and conditions. Also, don't assume the person you spoke to in the bank knows everything - I found that some bank staff weren' t too familiar with the idea of postgraduate degrees. Ask someone else (a student specialist if possible).

If they are being awkward it might be worth approaching another bank since there is nothing wrong, legally speaking, from having two student bank accounts.

Hope this helps.