i am in a bad situation with a halifax overdraft...

bobins

hi there,

ok i did have a £1600 overdraft which was changed to a £1000 overdraft on the 12h december as a temporary change. over xmas i have dipped into it and i am £500 overdrawn.

but i have just looked at my account online and my overdraft is now set to £200 which means thery have made me overdrawn passed my limit?! no doubt they will be trying to charge me for this aswell.. im not sure what to do, i will be ringing them tomorrow but what is the best thing to say?

i am in full time employment bringing in £1200 every 4 weeks, and there will be £400 going in on the 9th jan too,

thanks alot for any help

mummytofour

What I would do is contact the bank asap and get the O/D changed into a loan, get them to down grade your account and have no O/D that way I think you will find it easier to manage your money.

I did this a few yrs ago and it really helpped me.

bobins

this is an option but my overdraft at the moment is at 0% as it is a student overdraft so turning to a loan will end up costing me more?

Money_Man_Steve

I'd be careful about converting it in to a loan, as this could be inflexible. I'd try and pay the overdraft off with one of Martin's recommended balance transfer cards (either rotating 0% offers or getting a low percentage life-of-balance deal) as it would be more flexible than a loan - if you had extra money in any given month you could pay off more on the credit card.

I would however contact the Halifax ASAP to discuss the situation - they should not have reduced your limit without telling you, and maybe it was reduced to £200 by mistake.

I am currently in dispute with them over their massive unauthorised overdraft charges (on behalf of my partner) as they charge a £30 fee for each debit that they agree to pay when you're over your limit.

Stand up to them and don't stand for any nonsense! Good luck...

Money Man Steve

bobins

hi steve, thanks

is there anything i can say to them to stop them from charging me these overdraft fees? got a feeling they are going to be pretty unflexable with me, and im not very good with arguing with them as they never seem to listen,

Claudie

The Halifax call centre should be opened - I believe they only close on Christmas Day. I would call them immediately (using the number on the back of the card) and ask to speak to someone about it. Then I would as nicely as possible explain that you thought the OD was reduced to £1000 not £200. If charges are to be levied they can tell you but they are usually (in my opininion!) very understanding in waiving the charges if there is a good reason for it.

I did this for my other half a few months ago and they were very helpful.

Good luck.

bobins

i have just rang them and they have put it back to £1000, but it isnt interest free anymore she said which is abit crap as i only graduated in august..

anyway at least i dont need to worry so much for now..

thanks everyone

Money_Man_Steve

Glad you have made some progress... if it's not interest free any more, mabe you should think about moving the debt to a cheaper (or 0%) credit card!