Top Graduate Accounts 2009/10 Article Discussion

ruthie_w

Hi there, the Graduate Accounts article was great and very informative. I devided that Lloyds looked like the best one for (I'm currently with Natwest as my student account was with them. But they've just cut my overdraftt to £1000, and I need a bit more than that).

So I went into Lloyds today but was told that I can't open a Graduate account with them, as I didn't have a student account with them.

Has anyone else come up against this problem?

newgrad_2

If what Martin has posted is true, could he please distribute it to bank staff because half of them don't seem to have a clue when I ask.

loomis_2

Does the 0% interest period run from year the account is opened (i.e 2009) or the year graduated (2006)?

I have appointment with Lloyds set up to check whether I am eligible for this. But since I graduated exactly 3 years ago, would the 3 years 0% interest be available to me from now to 2012 - OR will it already have expired in that interim 3 year period between 06 and now, any ideas?

sparx14

I disagree with the idea that if you have no debts, then you should get the biggest overdraft possible, take it all out and put it in an ISA.

When I first became a student this is exactly what i did, thinking I can make loads of interest from the ISA whilst paying nothing on my interest free overdraft.

Indeed it did make me money. However, last Summer I chose to apply for a mobile phone contract, and was turned down for bad credit. I was shocked, since I have never had any debts what so ever, moreover I have had a balance of over £6,000 split between my bank accounts for the previous 3 years so I can clearly afford the contract. After checking my credit rating on creditexpert.com's free trial, the only negative feature to my name was that I had been, and was still currently overdrawn in one of my bank accounts (because I had taken out the overdraft and put it into a high interest bond!). I can only assume that my choice of putting my overdraft into a high interest bond was the reason for being rejected, extremely annoying since in reality it is the most sensible thing to do!

robgriz

This may seem like a stupid question, but if I had my student account with Natwest and have near enough maxed out the overdraft limit (about -£1550) and decide to switch, what happens to this overdraft debt? Is it 'paid off/taken on' as such by whoever I take up the grad account with (eg Lloyds), or would I have to pay it off myself before I close the Natwest account?

tasty_snacks

i started a Msc after in january this year (i graduated originally in 2004), and found that the best way to apply for accounts was online. i visited branches of abbey, natwest and rbs, and spoke to the call centres, but received different answers to the same questions. the online application is straightforward enough.

re: loomis' question, as far as i am aware the interest free aspect starts at the point of graduation. i tried to swing this one for both me and my partner a couple of years ago and they were having none of it!

jadgebag

I have an Overdraft with my Natwest Graduate account which I've just realised is only interest free up to £1000 now it's the second year after my graduation.

I am going abroad in November for a year so I have some savings with a Natwest Cash ISA, some of which I have had to transfer into my Graduate Account to stop any interest accruing now my OD has gone down to £1000.

Without losing any of my savings, what's the best thing for me to now do? I can't seem to open up another Graduate account because it's just over 12 months since I graduated. I also can't open up any accounts which require a monthly payment as while I'm abroad I won't be working regularly enough to meet any criteria like this.

What's the deal with the Natwest Graduate Loan repayment system? Would this be worthwhile? I know somewhere down the line when I'm abroad my OD will go down to £500 interest free so I was hoping to keep £1500 in my account to use at the end when I may really need it. I don't mind paying a small amount of interest on this just before I come home but don't want to come home to massive debts!

I'm very confused about the best route to take. I don't want to take out a Graduate Loan because with Natwest they seem to acrrue interest even if you take the confusing '12 month holiday' from repayments. Seems quite ridiculous if you ask me.

What should I do so I don't lose all my savings into my OD? If I go into branch will RBS allow me to open a new Graduate Account with the £1500 interest free OD for 2nd year graduates? If I leave that £1000 in my Natwest account will they swallow it up at some point? I'm scared to ring up and ask incase they do - my flights are booked and non refundable!

Any help would be great, hope I've explained the situation well enough!

b100

sparx14 wrote: »

I disagree with the idea that if you have no debts, then you should get the biggest overdraft possible, take it all out and put it in an ISA.

When I first became a student this is exactly what i did, thinking I can make loads of interest from the ISA whilst paying nothing on my interest free overdraft.

Indeed it did make me money. However, last Summer I chose to apply for a mobile phone contract, and was turned down for bad credit. I was shocked, since I have never had any debts what so ever, moreover I have had a balance of over £6,000 split between my bank accounts for the previous 3 years so I can clearly afford the contract. After checking my credit rating on creditexpert.com's free trial, the only negative feature to my name was that I had been, and was still currently overdrawn in one of my bank accounts (because I had taken out the overdraft and put it into a high interest bond!). I can only assume that my choice of putting my overdraft into a high interest bond was the reason for being rejected, extremely annoying since in reality it is the most sensible thing to do!

If the overdraft is authorised then this should not affect your credit file. I have two student overdrafts with two different banks and put the money in ISA's and have since managed to get two credit cards and two phone contracts without any problem.

When i checked my credit file on credit expert everything had a green light thing (as opposed to a yellow or red one) next to it, even my current accounts with the overdrafts. Agreed/authorised overdrafts would be pointless otherwise. Did you call credit expert for advice on possible reasons for the rejection?

Miss_J

Anyone know which is the best graduate account to try for when your credit score isn't brilliant? My own bank declined me a loan a couple of months ago and this is showing on my credit file.

ISA_Aspirant

b100 wrote: »

Yes, i would also like to know what this means. I called up Lloyds to ask and the guy on the phone had no idea. I explained that i have not been able to find a full time job and therefore my part time salary varies depending on how much overtime i can get etc, so i might not be paying £500 each month. Does anyone know if we can simply transfer £500 in and then back out at each month?

Still no word on whether we can satisfy the 'deposit £500 into the Lloyds graduate account' by doing a quick transfer there and back?