HELP! Student with bad credit!

kodie123

Ok, so basically this is my story
Age 17, I apply for an Orange phone, and strangely enough I get it, it arrives, I use and abuse and fail to pay my bills. Bad move.
8 months later, aged 18, a hefty bill to pay and a debt collector tortures me looking for the money (£400+)
I head to Citizens Advice, have the whole thing sorted for me (thank God) and have learnt my lesson, however I do need to pay a bill of £300 by the end of July. I don't know how I'm expected to find this money. Certainly not from my Mum.

Bad news - my credit file.

I'm moving to London in September and have no savings. Well, like £200 and I'm sure relatives will throw in a few hundred but nothing major.
EVERYWHERE I GO I CAN'T GET FINANCING!
No student accounts, no current accounts, no credit cards. NOTHING!

I'm getting my student support, but after fees and rent I'm left with under a grand spending money. This is crazy. I'm not afraid of hard work, but even still, I can't see how I'm going to survive.

Now, little did I know, but back in March when I turned 18, I began applying for an overdraft. I soon got my Halifax Cardcash bumped up to a Reward Current Account. It's been left sitting there for months, inactivated, and it comes pre-loaded with credit (£100 overdraft). I went into my branch yesterday, put in £100 and it's now an active account with card coming in post. Brilliant.
Halifax have refused a fresh application for a student current account.
However, an advisor told me that if I go back to my branch with proof of student status, the workers will bump this up to a Student account without conducting a credit check. Is this true?

I'm so stressed. If I don't secure funding, I can't go to uni. This is an amazing opportunity for me, my uni is so well renowned and was impossible to get in to. I just can't imagine not being able to go.

PLEASE help. Thanks

jd87

I head to Citizens Advice, have the whole thing sorted for me

however I do need to pay a bill of £300 by the end of July

Then clearly it's not sorted. Go back to CAB.

left with under a grand spending money

I'm sure you'll survive...

the workers will bump this up to a Student account without conducting a credit check. Is this true?

Why would they lie?

farso

Hi

I know many students who have under 1k for a year, it goes a long way providing you are sensible with it and you seem to have a good idea that youll have to be with that amount of money if its going to last you, so thats the first step.

A few other things you can have a look for to up your student income are:

1. Have you applied for every grant/bursary available? Theres more than you think out there depending on what your studying and what your other interests are.

2. Have you been assessed for the full amount of student loan you can get? From what I can tell, almost any disability can get you a fair bit extra cash (even depression!).

3. My SU bar is always looking for workers, and pays amazing wages for the type of work it is too, so you could always try there for extra cash once you get started? Would mean you could have a bit of going out/spending money.

4. Contact your uni's student support team, they will look for fundings for you too. If you really get in a pickle theres the student hardship fund - 1.5k for simply being poor!

I cant think of anything else, just be sure to budget yourself properly and ask yourself "do I really need it, can I get it cheaper".

dieselhead

Two things:

1. Having £1000 spending money is about normal if not generous for a student after paying rent etc.

2. Get a job.

welshmoneylover

dieselhead wrote: »

Two things:

1. Having £1000 spending money is about normal if not generous for a student after paying rent etc.

2. Get a job.

3. Don't sign up for mobile phone contracts if you don't have the means to pay for it

Good luck studying x

glider3560

kodie123 wrote: »

I head to Citizens Advice, have the whole thing sorted for me (thank God) and have learnt my lesson, however I do need to pay a bill of £300 by the end of July. I don't know how I'm expected to find this money. Certainly not from my Mum.

Re. the bit in bold, why didn't you think of this before you took out the contract? It isn't anyone else's problem but yours that you owe that money.

Get a job and if needs must, take a year out before university to earn enough money to support yourself for three years.

On a 30 week academic year, £1000 leaves you with £33.33 per week. That is more than enough for you to adequately feed yourself. If you want money for booze, then work for it. If you don't want to work, don't expect to be able to booze.

Fire_Fox

If you have £200 in your savings you need to use this to pay off the mobile phone bill: only once this debt is settled can you start to rebuild you credit rating. Getting more credit is only a short term solution, getting a job is a long term solution to your cash flow issues.

Student finance is not intended to pay for everything including your mobile phone bills and social life. You have until September to find employment to top up your student finance - send out loads of CVs with covering letters and you can have a job lined up the week you arrive.