Hate my bank and cant seem to get solvent

andreweduk

I hated HSBC, I must have paid 1000s in overdraft charges over the last few years :@

jonnywatson

Well after yesterday and feeling very low about the whole situation, hence the title....:-s I am feel more confident today. Over the weekend i will sort out the SOA and post it up. Thanks for all the advice. My biggest problem is getting another account. I have tried in the past and with my poor credit score i was refused. But i suppose only the banks will know...anyone suggest a good bank to go with? I am thinking Natwest or A&L.

andreweduk

Try a Step Account with Nat West, I've just been accepted for one and my credit rating is dire

No cheque book and only a solo card though, but it's all I can get!

penguin83

I agree with Andrew - Natwest Step has no credit check and you can still have all your direct debits, standing orders and online banking - you can apply online as well and I didnt even need to send any proof of id or address (it actually shocked me how easy it was!)

I left HSBC for them and just paid a set amount to clear my overdraft with HSBC and so breaking the cycle of charges. x x

embarrassed_about_my_debt

You say you have numerous credit cards, do you have an empty one or one you can get empty?

Basically my thinking would be put your work expenses on a credit card each month then when you reclaim your expenses you pay this off in FULL each month, therefore no interest and not eating into your money.

Hope that makes sense.

Milly1974

Sorry to be blunt, but surely your expenses are somewhere in the region of the same each month. Unless I am wrong, you get the expenses paid back to you. eg. in March you spend £400 on petrol, which is then paid to you in April, so can therefore pay for your April petrol?

I don't think the expenses are necessarily the problem, it is more a case of organising yourself to manage your cashflow.

One last thought. Have you considered being in a shared house for a year or two. I should imagine with rent of £525 per month, the overall costs of keeping a roof over your head are £700+ a month. Why not rent a room, bills included for about half that? I know I would if I were single.

iolanthe07

.and i claim back 15p per mile

This is nowhere near enough. The Revenue & Customs accept 40p a mile for the first so many miles (can't remember how many) and this hasn't changed for years. Your employer should be paying you at least this much.

andreweduk

Close your HSBC account, get a new account and join the queue waiting to try and reclaim their bank charges?

I'm certainly going to try it, depending on whether I can claim CC and Bank charges when I'm on a DMP? (Anyone know?)

jonnywatson

with regards to the ppm....yes 15p is very little but at the end of the year i am able to claim the difference from 15p and 40p...so this year as i had only been working for 4 months i claimed £136 and got a tx code change.....15p isnt so bad i guess i worked it out as i had to do 40mpg inorder to break even added to this the £500 a month i get to buy a car and run it....i think??

My biggest problem is a) i am not very orginised b) for what ever reason i can not get my head around money, never have and i am trying to now...i can understand astrophysics and quantum mechanics but can i understand how money works?

I am working on it though!

Lemon_Tree

i agree with the people who have stated you should get a new account so you can pay your overdraft account back and not make the situation grow.
Years ago (before MSE) i set up a second current acount so i knew that what was left in it was what i had left to spend, for years i've been living to the limit of my o/draft, and still am to be honest, but i haven't gone over the limit for a long time which has taken lots of hard work. Now i'm trying to reduce my limit every month or so.
If i can do it then you will be able to, you've taken the first steps to try and change things, the next step is to find a basic bank account so you can take control of the o/draft. Good luck