Halifax overdraft

sazchik

Hello everyone, long time lurker first time poster! I hope someone can offer some guidance. We have a Halifax current account with all our direct debits in (including the mortgage)and a £4,500 overdraft. Somewhere along the line we started dipping into the overdraft more and more (stupid I know!) until it was almost up to the limit. Bit by bit we have been trying to reduce the amount and last month after both sets of wages had been paid we were only (:eek:only???) £1000 overdrawn. Our aim is to get back in the black and get rid of the cursed thing all together. I've just seen on the top of our last bank statement that our overdraft review date is 4th February. What is the likelyhood of Halifax withdrawing the overdraft facility, will they give any notice and if they do what course of action should we take? (As I've said all our monthly bills come out of the account) Any advice gratefully recieved!

McKneff

Halifax current accounts are just about to change next month
I have a cash back current account and get 1p back for every £1 i spend on
my debit card. They are scrapping this and giving me £5 every month for every month i pay 1k into my account. Seeing as my average cash back annualy has been between £80 and £100 i am down £20 to £40 per year.

They are also starting to charge a daily rate for using your overdraft instead of debit interest
from £1 to £5 per day every day you are in the red depending on the amount and depending whether it is prearranged or not.
I dont use my overdraft facility but this amount is horrendous for anyone who does.

I will be looking elsewhere for my current account needs in the very near future

Pink_fluff

I also have an account with halifax, have a £650 overdraft which I would really like to start getting paid off. I have never done this before. What is the best way? Can you call the bank and set a certain amount a month to come out of your bank and go towards overdraft? like a dd or something?

any help appreciated!

berniesmaster

i had a letter today from halifax, and my eyes nearly poped when i read the new charges. we have a overdraft which we live in, can we go to another bank and take a overdraft with us? or do we have to take a loan out for the overdraft if we want to switch banks??

McKneff

i dont know really, but i'm sure someone will be along who knows better than me. I dont know what interest overdraft charges are, which are to be scrapped as against the new charges. Anyone done any comparisons.

irish_eyes_r_smiling

berniesmaster wrote: »

i had a letter today from halifax, and my eyes nearly poped when i read the new charges. we have a overdraft which we live in, can we go to another bank and take a overdraft with us? or do we have to take a loan out for the overdraft if we want to switch banks??

try A&L or Abbey both reasonable OD rates, not sure what the service is like though.

sure someone else will be able to comment on that.

anniecave

Pink_fluff wrote: »

I also have an account with halifax, have a £650 overdraft which I would really like to start getting paid off. I have never done this before. What is the best way? Can you call the bank and set a certain amount a month to come out of your bank and go towards overdraft? like a dd or something?

any help appreciated!

Is this your main current account or a second one? If this is your main one, you just need to spend less (or earn more) over time so that eventually you do not need to use the overdraft. If you are using the entire of the £650 and this is your only debt then treat it is a debt and work at paying it off as quickly as possible.

If this is a second current account then the logic is the same - you just need to pay it off in the same way as quickly as possible. Normally to have a second account then you need a regular income into the other account anyway.

emweaver

for the op overdraft it will be £5 a day its £1 a day if your agreed limist is £2500 or over! That is going to be 1 hefty monthly charge for the OP!


Im sure I read in my leaflet it goes ont he amount of your overdraft allowance and not the amount your overdrawn b y!

opinions4u

sazchik wrote: »

Hello everyone, long time lurker first time poster! I hope someone can offer some guidance. We have a Halifax current account with all our direct debits in (including the mortgage)and a £4,500 overdraft. Somewhere along the line we started dipping into the overdraft more and more (stupid I know!) until it was almost up to the limit. Bit by bit we have been trying to reduce the amount and last month after both sets of wages had been paid we were only (:eek:only???) £1000 overdrawn. Our aim is to get back in the black and get rid of the cursed thing all together. I've just seen on the top of our last bank statement that our overdraft review date is 4th February. What is the likelyhood of Halifax withdrawing the overdraft facility, will they give any notice and if they do what course of action should we take? (As I've said all our monthly bills come out of the account) Any advice gratefully recieved!

You can apply to renew your overdraft now. Online service provides an option on the left hand menu or alternatively ring them on 08457 20 30 40 or head in to a branch.

This will hopefully put your mind at rest on whether the facility will still be available for a further 12 months while you try to improve the situation. I don't think you'll have any problems if your account is well run, your debt is falling and you have other well operated accounts with them.

Well done on trying to bring the debt down.

How much did you owe the day before pay day? I'm trying to understand what the biggest level of overdraft is that you've had in the last month or so. The answer to this could open up a handful of other options for you, either benefiting from possible changes the Halfiax is making to its range, or choosing to move the debt elsewhere.

Also, which account have you got? HICA, URCA, Moneyback or something else?

bora333

They sure can just take away your overdraft without any warning. They did this to me in October i had a £4600 overdraft and reduced it to £2500 on the day it was due to be reviwed.

I called and they said they could not return it to the original amount. I would need to applt for it again in 6 months

berniesmaster

just picked up this bit of info on the "Abbey £100 for switching" thread.
anyone know how easy it is to switch banks?? i mean switching all direct debits ect????



Called into branch this morning, spoke to an 'adviser', and picked up a leaflet. In summary...

• The £100 is only available with their 'preferential overdraft' current account option, NOT with the 8% AER 'in-credit' current account option.
• Must switch "main income" and direct debits* using their 'Account Transfer Service'.
• Must pay in at least £1,000 in 3 separate months out of the first 6 months from account opening.
• £100 will be paid to the account within 60 days of the 3rd deposit of at least £1,000.

Additionally...

• "We will match your current credit card and overdraft facilities"
• "We will give you an interest-free overdraft for 4 months"

* I asked about switching accounts where there are no direct debits set up...only standing orders, and was told that this wouldn't be a problem.