Newbie seeks help with bank accounts.....

Primrose09_2

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and so apologies if I'm not doing this properly.
My husband and I have £97K worth of debt,all unsecured, but a serious situation nonetheless.(We earn £65K a year between us, and have three children.)
I feel really ashamed to be in this situation and I'm likely to be here for a long time.
I have been so encouraged by the support on this forum, and hence the brave step to post.
We have decided to mange our debts using a DMP through Payplan but I need a new bank account.
I think Nationwide do a good basic account, should I tell them about my difficulties?-I'd rather be straight from the start. (Will they find out anyway?)
Also, I don't know how I can stop payments in my existing account in order to live this next month, and transfer funds over to my new account. (My employer says that I can't change my BACS payment into my account this month as it's too late.)
It feels as though there's a key point about coordinating letters to creditors and getting the money to live, especially after reading Martin's "Setting off" article.
Any advice will be helpful.
Regards,
Primrose09

10past6

Welcome to the forum Primrose

As well as Nationwide, Nat West also do a basic account (Step) which can be applied for on line, tbh, I wouldn't disclose to anyone the financial situation you're in, unless they need to know, there's a saying re creditors, only tell them what they NEED to know, never volunteer information.

Re your current creditors, amend & send the following letter below, include a £1.00 token payment to each creditor until your DMP is up and running.

Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account Number XXXXXXXXX

We are writing to inform you that we are seeking advice and assistance regarding our current financial difficulties.

To this end, we would appreciate if you could hold any action on the above account for a period of at least 28 days.

Also, during this period, could you please freeze interest and/or any other charges accruing on the above account.

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully


You could also complete your SOA (Statement of Affairs) where the members will try and assist you in reducing your outgoings.

Good luck, and any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

Deep_In_Debt

Barclays also do a basic account with a Visa Debit card. I wouldn't tell the bank - just ask for a basic account and it's unlikely that they will find out and even if they do, I don't think they can close it because of a dmp.

Moany_Money

I went with Yorkshire bank for my DMP account. Got a Maestro card and access to online and telephone banking which is good.

SolicitorMidlands

Although I am not on a DMP about 5 years ago I got into a mess with my student overdraft so set up a basic account with Nationwide. Apparently they don't do the "no credit check" account any longer but Barclays do.

You have a look a bit harder for the accounts.

beaniebabe

Primrose09 wrote: »

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and so apologies if I'm not doing this properly.
My husband and I have £97K worth of debt,all unsecured, but a serious situation nonetheless.(We earn £65K a year between us, and have three children.)
I feel really ashamed to be in this situation and I'm likely to be here for a long time.
I have been so encouraged by the support on this forum, and hence the brave step to post.
We have decided to mange our debts using a DMP through Payplan but I need a new bank account.
I think Nationwide do a good basic account, should I tell them about my difficulties?-I'd rather be straight from the start. (Will they find out anyway?)
Also, I don't know how I can stop payments in my existing account in order to live this next month, and transfer funds over to my new account. (My employer says that I can't change my BACS payment into my account this month as it's too late.)
It feels as though there's a key point about coordinating letters to creditors and getting the money to live, especially after reading Martin's "Setting off" article.
Any advice will be helpful.
Regards,
Primrose09

Primrose09
Welcome to the forum, you are in good company and hopefully will be able to receive some good advice.

Don't feel embarrassed you have made the first step to dealing with your debt. I too am on a DMP at first I felt very embarassed and worried about the calls and letters I constantly received from creditors. These calls and letters will soon become less and things will look a bit brighter. My bank account is now with the Cooperative bank and is a basic account.

I never told the cooperative anything about my situation, they don't need to know everything.

Take care and keep us posted as to how you are getting on

beaniebabe

beaniebabe wrote: »

Primrose09
Welcome to the forum, you are in good company and hopefully will be able to receive some good advice.

Don't feel embarrassed you have made the first step to dealing with your debt. I too am on a DMP at first I felt very embarassed and worried about the calls and letters I constantly received from creditors. These calls and letters will soon become less and things will look a bit brighter. My bank account is now with the Cooperative bank and is a basic account.

I never told the cooperative anything about my situation, they don't need to know everything.

Take care and keep us posted as to how you are getting on

Just a thought I had about your salary. Could you tell your employer that your old C/A is closed and request that they pay you by cheque this month. This situation must have happened with others in the past and it may be worth giving it a try.

Deep_In_Debt

Yep, as far as I am aware that neithe Co-op nor Barclays do credit checks on their basic accounts as they are the only 2 accounts that accept bankrupts so you should be safe with either of these.

I'm on a dmp and opened a Natwest Step account online and all went fine and still is. I think the only checks they do are electoral roll and fraud - apart from that, you shouldn't have a problem.

Good luck.

poptart1_2

hi, are NATWEST linked to any other bank or credit card company?

Primrose09_2

Hi,
Thanks for the posts.I found out NatWest are part of RBS so I don't think I'll be using them that leaves the Co-operative,Nationwide and Barclays.We're going to set this up tomorrow.
It seems like this "Leap" is important to get right. I just want to get the whole thing set up now.
Thanks for the wording of the letter- very helpful.
I will keep you posted on any outcomes.
Sorry to hear that beaniebabe had hassle with creditors. I think this is unfair and I'll keep a log of all calls anyone makes in case I need to complain about them later to trading standards. If you are doing your best to resolve your problems any amount of hassle isn't going to help.
Regards,
Primrose09