Barclays Student Account

SparciaM

I have an appointment to open a Barclays Student Account tomorrow and just had a couple of queries.

My course starts end of March and I tried opening an account with HSBC and Halifax about 5 months ago - as wanted to get everything set up and ready for when I need the account. They both rejected me and advised that I couldn't appeal or complain about the rejection.

So I contacted Experian and got my credit report. Nothing bad on there, but I do have 5 outstanding cc's. Two have just been cleared bring my debt down dramatically.

So I plan on taking in my UCAS acceptance letter, my experian credit report and my 2 cc statements showing the cards have been paid off. Also a statement of my two ISAs that are due to expire in April which will cover the final remaining cc's.

My question is: if they decline me, can it be referred and looked into straight away in branch - with all the info I'm bringing with me, or will it have to be sent away to Lending etc to be dealt with?

Lokolo

If they reject you they reject you, simple as. They don't want your custom. Its like if you go into a bar and get refused a drink, the barman doesn't have to serve you if he doesn't want to.

Saying that you have ISAs etc. expiring yet have 5 CCs isn't going to help, it just shows you aren't financially in control (getting into debt even though you have savings).

Sorry if it sounds harsh but its the way the cookie crumbles

book12

If you don't need the student overdraft, don't upgrade.

Good luck with opening the student account at Barclays. Tell us how it goes. If that fails, try Natwest, they are good for student accounts. They offer a rail card.

Off topic

In my opinion, the point of a student bank account (with or without overdraft option) is useless now, as not every customer who is going to be a student in the near future can't get one.

Extant

Student and graduate accounts are local decisions: a branch manager or assistant branch manager will make the decision in the branch.

SparciaM

Well that was pointless.

The woman was 15 mins late & then said that she wouldn't open an account for me. The reasons were:

My UCAS acceptance letter is dated Dec 2008 & Barclays only open accounts with letters dated less than a month! So I would have to wait for my course to start & then get Uni to write to back saying that I'd started.

Also, she would only accept original last 3 months bank statements as ID, nothing else.

Finally, as I have credit (she didn't ask how many or how much) Barclays wouldn't even bother opening an account until all my credit is paid off/closed etc.

So a complete waste of time. I don't think i'll bother with a student account. I'll just have to make sure my bank doesn't get arsey with only small amounts of money going in.

book12

SparciaM wrote: »

Well that was pointless.

The woman was 15 mins late & then said that she wouldn't open an account for me. The reasons were:

My UCAS acceptance letter is dated Dec 2008 & Barclays only open accounts with letters dated less than a month! So I would have to wait for my course to start & then get Uni to write to back saying that I'd started.

Also, she would only accept original last 3 months bank statements as ID, nothing else.

Finally, as I have credit (she didn't ask how many or how much) Barclays wouldn't even bother opening an account until all my credit is paid off/closed etc.

So a complete waste of time. I don't think i'll bother with a student account. I'll just have to make sure my bank doesn't get arsey with only small amounts of money going in.

Sorry to hear that you are rejected or a student account.

If you don't need a 'student overdraft', I wouldn't bother with the student account, as when you compare the facilities for it, it will be the same as a 'normal' current account. Just stick with the account you have already. Alternatively, just wait until you started uni, then apply if you want one all of a sudden. Hopefully by that time, they will accept you.

I don't think the bank will mind the amount you put into your bank account you have right now. As long as there is some activity in your account (income and outgoings), you will be fine. As a student, the bank account is active, as every week, you tend to use it for something like food shopping for example.

SparciaM

My bank say u have to credit a min of £500pm or the account can get closed. It's in the T&Cs.
Most banks have T&Cs stating a min income going in. I don't need a student OD, obviously the interest free would b nice, but isn't a neccesity. I'll just leave it and if worst comes to worst just open a basic account somewhere

book12

SparciaM wrote: »

My bank say u have to credit a min of £500pm or the account can get closed. It's in the T&Cs.
Most banks have T&Cs stating a min income going in. I don't need a student OD, obviously the interest free would b nice, but isn't a neccesity. I'll just leave it and if worst comes to worst just open a basic account somewhere

Which bank are you currently with?

Looks like you need to switch banks then, since you will be crediting it with small amounts in the near future. Most banks don't need a minimum amount though. Check the bank websites for more details on which account you want.

If it comes to the worst, you are right about opening a basic account. More details about these accounts from this website: http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf As you can see quite a number of banks offer debit cards with their accounts now. Also, refer to the banks website for more details.

Lokolo

book12 wrote: »

Which bank are you currently with?

Looks like you need to switch banks then, since you will be crediting it with small amounts in the near future. Most banks don't need a minimum amount though. Check the bank websites for more details on which account you want.

If it comes to the worst, you are right about opening a basic account. More details about these accounts from this website: http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf As you can see quite a number of banks offer debit cards with their accounts now. Also, refer to the banks website for more details.

Loads are starting to do it. HSBC are now no longer accept bank accounts without a minimum of £500 a month (not sure if they have started yet).

Another bank has started to do this also.

I think its now to become a norm to stop people opening loads of current accounts with loads of banks, to cut costs basically.

book12

Lokolo wrote: »

Loads are starting to do it. HSBC are now no longer accept bank accounts without a minimum of £500 a month (not sure if they have started yet).

Another bank has started to do this also.

I think its now to become a norm to stop people opening loads of current accounts with loads of banks, to cut costs basically.

What is the other bank that started doing this?

I haven't heard of other banks starting to do this yet. Only A&L, HSBC (and I think Abbey) are doing this).

Does this include basic bank accounts, or current accounts only?

I think there should be another type of account, where there is no need a minimum of £x each month. Sometimes some customers don't have a salary of £x per month (£500 or £1000, people are who are on benefits, retirement, etc... for example). Therefore, bringing in 3 types of accounts (i.e. basic bank accounts, current account with set amount each month, and current accoutn without set amount each month).

Why don't banks just say 'no' to more than 1 bank account at same/different banks? That would solve the problem, instead of setting a mimimum amount each month for the bank account. Alternatively, people could just open a basic bank account, where there is no need for a set minimum income.

rb10

book12 wrote: »

I think there should be another type of account, where there is no need a minimum of £x each month. Sometimes some customers don't have a salary of £x per month (£500 or £1000, people are who are on benefits, retirement, etc... for example). Therefore, bringing in 3 types of accounts (i.e. basic bank accounts, current account with set amount each month, and current accoutn without set amount each month).

I expect that people who pay in more than £500/£1000 are probably more profitable to the bank, which is why HSBC are doing this. These people will typically have a higher balance in their account, will probably use their debit card more frequently (-> bank will charge the retailer for each transaction), and there is probably also a smaller chance of them going into arrears.

The bank is there to make profit. OK, it's not fair for the many groups of people who simply don't have the money to meet these criteria, but the bank doesn't care about that.