Halifax Student Account 2009/10: We Want Your Feedback

MrsManda

pigeons wrote: »

Hi

I went up to the bank of scotland today with the hope to open a student account but i was refused, i went in with my college acceptance letter, my passport and my student card but they told me they need either a letter from the department of working pensions or a provisional driving licence and i have neither and certanly cant afford the provisional. I am really unsure as what to do so if someone could help me that would be great.
thanks

Are you at college or at university? Most student accounts are only available to university students though banks often provide a 16-18 account.
Did they say why you needed a driving licence or a letter from the DWP? Provisional driving licences are not usually used for proving identity.
Did you take a proof of address?

pigeons_2

Hi there they told me that the reason for the dwp letter was for proof of address and the only other thing i could use as proof of address was the driving licence

Fang_3

Do NOT choose them. The high overdraft might sound tempting, but it will become nothing more than a burden after a while. You should also ignore their current terms and conditions, and anything they say in regards to the account benefits because as soon as you've graduated they will want it back and will charge you obscene amounts of interest.

Lokolo

Fang wrote: »

Do NOT choose them. The high overdraft might sound tempting, but it will become nothing more than a burden after a while. You should also ignore their current terms and conditions, and anything they say in regards to the account benefits because as soon as you've graduated they will want it back and will charge you obscene amounts of interest.

Thats the most stupid thing I have ever heard and is one of the biggest reasons why people complain about bank charges.

Lokolo

Fang wrote: »

Do NOT choose them. The high overdraft might sound tempting, but it will become nothing more than a burden after a while. You should also ignore their current terms and conditions, and anything they say in regards to the account benefits because as soon as you've graduated they will want it back and will charge you obscene amounts of interest.

Thats the most stupid thing I have ever heard and is one of the biggest reasons why people complain about bank charges.

Fang_3

Lokolo wrote: »

Thats the most stupid thing I have ever heard and is one of the biggest reasons why people complain about bank charges.

How so? Halifax don't seem to care what their terms and conditions were when opening the account, only what can make them the most money.

It may have escaped your notice but this thread is discussing the Halifax Student Account and as many posters have pointed out, they aren't worth the paper that they are written on, as we have found out.

So wind your neck in dear.

Lil_Me_2

I've found Halifax to be more than accommodating and pretty fair. I opened my student account in May 2004, went to uni in Sept 2004 - July 2007. I've had my £2750 interest free overdraft since then. They sent me a letter last month telling me that I was being moved to a normal account in August (so 2 months notice). The interest is £2 a day over £2500 or £1 a day under that so as a minimum you want to get yourself under that £2500 before they switch you over.

I can't complain really, I've spent the money that Halifax kindly let me borrow and I've had 6 extra years of my interest free overdraft.

Lokolo

Fang wrote: »

How so? Halifax don't seem to care what their terms and conditions were when opening the account, only what can make them the most money.

It may have escaped your notice but this thread is discussing the Halifax Student Account and as many posters have pointed out, they aren't worth the paper that they are written on, as we have found out.

So wind your neck in dear.

Yes but what you are suggesting not reading the T&Cs is stupid and pathetic.

If you read the T&Cs you would know how to avoid the charges.

scottishblondie

I've had a Halifax student account since 2003, and the vast majority of that time I've had no problems with them. I've only really had one issue - they refused to extend my OD as it would have been "irresponsible" due to my current circumstances. Unfortunately my circumstances were why I needed the extra money!! I did feel this was unfair seeing as I'd been making deposits of £600+ a month for 4 years, and really needed the money to cover a 3 month gap in income due to funding issues at the start of my PhD.

However, they have allowed me to keep my OD for 7 years so far, and I've just had it approved for another year. Hopefully by then I'll have finished my PhD and I'll pay it off.

rinkydinky_2

I have banked with HBOS for 16 years, never had any missed payments on my mortgage and have several thousand pounds in savings and shares yet was declined outright for a student account. Even though I'm a mature student with a solid credit history they deemed me "high risk" and refused to explain what this meant. I explained I had a £5,000 overdraft with them that they had authorised yet wouldnt give me an account with a free overdraft. A few days later they wrote to me to say they had removed my £5000 overdraft as theyd randomly audited it and didnt feel I needed it! Coincidence? I think not...Wow, really customer friendly service HBOS (NOT!!!!). They don't reward your loyalty at all. I'm moving my accounts and trying a new bank to see if customer loyalty is rewarded elsewhere. HBOS, not my favourite bank!