New bank account advice

amberowl28

As you can see from my sig i have a bit of debt

At the moment i have a Halifax credit card with limit of £900 (reached max). A Nationwide flex account with overdraft of £600 (£5 over £600 limit at mo due to interest payment).

Only income at present will be benefits -though am jobhunting hard.

JSA £50.95 per week - got letter this morning first payment this week or next hopefully? Hopefully HB will follow soon.

I want to set up a new account for these to be paid into and for essential bills to be paid out of (rent, utilites, food etc), seperate from anything i owe. Which account should i go for?

I don't know much about bank accounts, Nationwide has been the one i opened when 16 as it was parents bank so really need help

gazelle8760

amberowl28 wrote: »

As you can see from my sig i have a bit of debt

At the moment i have a Halifax credit card with limit of £900 (reached max). A Nationwide flex account with overdraft of £600 (£5 over £600 limit at mo due to interest payment).

Only income at present will be benefits -though am jobhunting hard.

JSA £50.95 per week - got letter this morning first payment this week or next hopefully? Hopefully HB will follow soon.

I want to set up a new account for these to be paid into and for essential bills to be paid out of (rent, utilites, food etc), seperate from anything i owe. Which account should i go for?

I don't know much about bank accounts, Nationwide has been the one i opened when 16 as it was parents bank so really need help

Hi

I assume you took on your Nationwide account when you were working, hence the overdraft? I think your best bet would be to consider opening a basic bank account, one that lets you set up DDs and allows for your payment to be credited into it, because if it goes into Nationwide, it will be swallowed up with your owing debt.
If you want a proper Visa Debit Card, without the frills of an overdraft, or Cheque Guarantee Card, then Lloyds TSB are a good choice, if your happy to have a Visa Electron Card, then you could try Co-operative Bank, but they are changing to Visa Debit soon (this month I think) or Halifax, which again would give you a basic account to allow payments into it.
I think then you should contact Nationwide and ask for a reducing overdraft, say paying what you can afford monthly, and showing your commitement to reducing your debt. When you are working again, you can then apply for full banking facilities if your Credit allows, that way you don't take on more than you can manage, and budget to your means. The sooner you talk to Nationwide the better, as their Ts and Cs say, they will treat you with respect and understanding, I think really you have nothing to lose, but much to gain.

june09

I have been awarded some compensation and it is has been paid into court, my solicitor says it can take several weeks to actually get the money, is this right

PNPSUKNET

june09 wrote: »

I have been awarded some compensation and it is has been paid into court, my solicitor says it can take several weeks to actually get the money, is this right

Stop Hyjacking peoples posts!

amberowl28

Yes i really need to talk to Nationwide, especially as charges and interest building up. Am waiting for benefits to come through so don't know exactly how much i'll be getting so it's difficult as yet to work out any kind of repayment plan.

I will ask for a basic account i assume these are easier to get if your struggling?

Brian1966

amberowl28 wrote: »

Yes i really need to talk to Nationwide, especially as charges and interest building up. Am waiting for benefits to come through so don't know exactly how much i'll be getting so it's difficult as yet to work out any kind of repayment plan.

I will ask for a basic account i assume these are easier to get if your struggling?

Basic bank accounts are very easy to open.
Apart from ID, Fraud and bankruptcy checks no CREDIT search is undertaken so even with defaults etc you would get one.
Talk to Nationwide, explain your situation fully and hopefully reach a solution.
DO NOT open your basic account with any bank that you already owe money to.
Good luck :beer:

gazelle8760

amberowl28 wrote: »

Yes i really need to talk to Nationwide, especially as charges and interest building up. Am waiting for benefits to come through so don't know exactly how much i'll be getting so it's difficult as yet to work out any kind of repayment plan.

I will ask for a basic account i assume these are easier to get if your struggling?

Hi Amberowl28

Yes, Basic Bank Accounts are easy to obtain, and you should find no problem in getting one. I think you are best going into your chosen bank in person, and sitting down with the advizor and telling them your needs and requirements, and let them guide you through the process of what to expect, and what you can get from the bank.
I bank with Nationwide, and whilst I am not in difficulty, I know they are very approachable, and I am certain that they will guide you in the right direction to help clear off your overdraft.
I hope your dilema is merely temporary, and please come back and let us know what you have sorted with your new banking requirements. I wish you much success in your findings.

KILL_BILL

it is suggested that if you are getting jsa that you setget a seperate account from your other accounts to pay this into

therefore this stops say for instace nationwide going into your account with out any prior notification to yourself to collect any money that you owe them

you can either go for the barclays or co-op cascard account which pay no interest but give you a debit card and direct debits and standing orders and online banking - they also do not have any overdraft facilities which for a person in your position should not have.

amberowl28

Ok really hoping anyone can help me explain Nationwides behaviour. I have a £600 agreed overdraft, which i was over due to intrest charges and bounced dd payment (i'd actually cancelled the DD).

As per recommendations above i opened a new account with LLoyds TSB and arranged to pay benefits into there and have dd's transfered from Nationwide to new account.

Next day got a call offering to extend overdraft to £1000, which i couldn't believe. Not only that but i've just checked account to find a payment of around £69 has been made in today, from the bank, meaning i am no longer over my overdraft? Have they gone mad? Will i have to repay this, if it's a mistake?

amberowl28

Called today and said the money paid in was charge and interest refund as they made a mistake! Again asked if i was intrested in extrending overdraft!