halifax

jonathan50_2

my son, who is at university, accepted an interest free overdraft facility of just under £3,000 from the Halifax. He is within his limits but now, after receiving a letter that says he needs to renew the facility, he has been told to repay the rntire amount that is outstanding. As he is still at university and the amount involved is quite substantial, this does not seem fair. The Halifax seem to have changed their policy without warning and how can anyone expect a student half way through his or her course to pay back a few thousand pounds that they owe through a previously agreed interest free arrangement for the duration of their time at university. Any suggestions please ?

moneysavingallday

I don't understand.
So he received a letter out of the blue asking him to renew his facility?
THEN what happened?
He failed to renew it?
He handled his accounts well so Halifax withdrew the facility?
Or what?

jonathan50_2

he was given six days to respond, so he went into the local halifax branch and asked if he could fill in the form he had been sent for renewal. the local branch refused to accept it and referred him to a telephone number. he called the number and was told, sorry, we are not renewing your interest free overdraft. the woman he spoke to at head office said she would have to speak to the underwriters and it would be in their hands. at that point he asked for and was given the number of someone at customer services. they promised to get back to him and he is still waiting.

meggymoo87

Hello there I am an ex HBOS collection advisor and during my time there I saw this alot. My main advise is to check out the terms and conditions of the account and see is there is anything you can use to your advantage. As a collector you are told that we cannot accept on offer of payment on an account of less than 10% of the original debt per month which would be around £300 that would mean they would put the overdraft back on but it will reduce by £300. Other than that theres not alot the collectors will do for you as many of them are so preoccupied with getting the most money they can out of you they wont listen to circumstances. Do not get bullied into aqccepting more than you can afford. If you "promise" to pay something then you dont it goes against your name and 3 broken promises mean they wont negotiate anything at all and will ask for the full amount. The only thing we are told to suggest if you cannot pay 10% is to speak to CAB or payplan or CCCS but that often means an IVA which will go against you credit rating. Read your terms and conditions inside and out and see if there is anything there to help you.

jonathan50_2

hi meggymoo87, thanks for the advice. its just the underhand behaviour of HBOS that is so appalling. its almost like they set a trap that most students cannot see in advance. so they lure you in with the promise of an interest free overdraft for the duration of your university years. then they pull the rug out from under your feet half way through. actually, its more than underhand, it has a whiff of something not very nice. is there no way that we as consumers can penalise HBOS ?

meggymoo87

there are alot of underhanded tactics with HBOS it was a very dishonest job. There is not alot I can think of that will help unless consumers all banded together as a group and all say no more to this underhanded behaviour.

jonathan50_2

thank you for that. clearly, HBOS seem to be experts in sharp practice.mind you l thought that type of behaviour went out in Victorian times.

rb10

The Terms and Conditions of the overdraft (which are given at the bottom of each letter that your son will have had when he amended the overdraft limit):

Halifax wrote:

Overdrafts (interest and charges) are repayable on demand.

Overdrafts should never be seen as being relied upon long-term, as all banks will have a condition similar to the one above - they'll rarely, if ever, say that they will guarantee it for a fixed duration (e.g. the length of a degree course).

firsttimestudent

Hi Jonathan50, how was your son managing his Student Account? Did he pay his student loan into his account, any other credits? Did he have other accounts with Halifax like Savings?

I'd suggest he try and ask the customer service agent to fill in a form for him. It is a computer form, where they will interview your son and fill it in, then send it to Edinburgh by e-mail to the underwriters.

Also, my own experience is that the customer service at different Halifax branches can be very different - if your son finds the current one unhelpful, maybe going to a branch elsewhere will be helpful.

All the best!

opinions4u

Has the account been funded with student loans / parental contributions etc?

Has he at any time exceeded the overdraft limit?

Did he re-apply after the year was up?

Has something naughty appeared on his credit rating since the overdraft was first agreed.

These would all be reasons for the declining of the facility.

Not always a case of big nasty bank.

moneysavingallday

back in my student days most people never seemed to get their overdraft limits snatched away, not even 10 years after graduation!