Halifax Student Account 2009/10: We Want Your Feedback

Nimesh01

On receiving the notice for my expriring OD i went into my branch to arrange an increase in amount. (from £2000 to the max.) They kindly dialled for me, as it is all done in a call centre now with a dedicated team.

On asking i was immediately declined with no real reason given. I had assumed that calling to ask for an increase in overdraft would then mean that my current OD would be continued in the 09/10 year. I called yesterday to check this (the day of my expiration), and as i had not asked the specific question of "can you extend my OD?" it was due to drop to £0 with the overnight computer updates.

The man i was talking to didnt have the authority to authorise an overdraft of the £2000 - which i already had - and considering i am currently 1200 overdrawn (after a summer of working- its what london does to you!) I was quite worried about being charged. On expressing these concerns he could only reply with "you MAY get charged" with it depending on whether picks it up or not ( if you use the account it definitely will, but if you dont... then?)

He could only authorise 1000 and i had to transfer money from my saving account with them to be sure that i wasnt going to get a charge. He put in an appeal for me and advised to call again on monday when the the "student overdraft team" was around.

And this is year 3 out of 6. Also to be eligible for the max. you need to be in the last years of study (for me 5/6), and have an average monthly credit of more than 500 (which is what i have, to be declined).

I'm not really holding out much hope, and if im not getting an increase from 1000, i think ill move.

Arwen

Well my daughter has just been refused an increase in her overdraft.She is in the black hole between summer job finishing and new student award coming through.The reason they refused her? She had a bank charge in the last 6 months, because she was 27p OD...:mad::mad:

She got that charge taken off but they still refused her.

She has an appt with RBS this afternoon to change her a/c.

Darren08

I've been with the Halifax for a number of years and will be commencing my studies from 28th of this month as a mature student.

I managed to get my normal account converted to a student account in a fifteen minute meeting at the branch. They didn't even do an application or credit check they just checked my history and agreed to do it.

The lady was very professional and knowledgeable and told me she could only guarantee me the £500 overdraft in the first instance and that it would need to be assessed once my loans were paid into the account etc if I wanted more. I said the overdraft amount wasn't 'that' important I just needed to know I had something to fall back on.

The lady upgraded the account and agreed to call me back the next morning. The next morning as promised she called me back and confirmed that the account had upgraded and that I was merely allowed to keep the overdraft I'd already agreed in previous years of £1,250. I'm not currently overdrawn so this will be a nice security net to fall back on if I get into trouble. With no credit check I'm free to have it reviewed in a few months if I find I need more.

I was offered the student credit card and declined it because with no interest free period, it's a bit dangerous with someone like me who can sometimes be a tiny bit impulsive with online purchases. The lady advised me that because no credit checks had been put through, my relationship with the bank was a good one and because I am technically in employment for the next week before I move, I should apply for their standard 9 months interest free Halifax (One card is it???) credit card because they'd have to use my details as they are on the day I apply i.e. still in employment.

I decided, since I find it hard now to trust businesses (thanks to HSBC) to test the Halifax, I checked my online accounts and wow, it had updated, with the same sort code, account number and overdraft, it just converted to a student account. Still not fully convinced, I called customer services and asked them to tell me about my account, I only gave them the sort code and account number and they did the rest, they confirmed everything I'd been told by the rep in branch .

I've had a marvelous experience with Halifax, can't believe I was stupid enough to go to HSBC first before trying my own bank. Took them 3 months to resolve my complaint which was merely to close down the account after they screwed up the application and refused to give me the account and overdraft I wanted (but still thought it would be nice to credit check me 3 times for things I never asked for). Oh well, got £100 out of them to say sorry.

Oh yes btw, as far as I know, from what the lady told me, the interest free covers your undergraduate course and 1 additional year post graduating, but I think she mentioned the course and extra year cannot exceed 6 years total.

johnswife

We have a Halifax agent's branch in our town so just went there with my daughter. she already has a savings account but with a small balance.
She had to talk to someone on the phone and 10 mins later we had opened the account. she has a £500 od at the moment and she declined the credit card. we had to pay £100 in, so was reasonable painless.

PARIS_5000

Darren08 wrote: »

I've been with the Halifax for a number of years and will be commencing my studies from 28th of this month as a mature student.

I managed to get my normal account converted to a student account in a fifteen minute meeting at the branch. They didn't even do an application or credit check they just checked my history and agreed to do it.

The lady was very professional and knowledgeable and told me she could only guarantee me the £500 overdraft in the first instance and that it would need to be assessed once my loans were paid into the account etc if I wanted more. I said the overdraft amount wasn't 'that' important I just needed to know I had something to fall back on.

The lady upgraded the account and agreed to call me back the next morning. The next morning as promised she called me back and confirmed that the account had upgraded and that I was merely allowed to keep the overdraft I'd already agreed in previous years of £1,250. I'm not currently overdrawn so this will be a nice security net to fall back on if I get into trouble. With no credit check I'm free to have it reviewed in a few months if I find I need more.

I was offered the student credit card and declined it because with no interest free period, it's a bit dangerous with someone like me who can sometimes be a tiny bit impulsive with online purchases. The lady advised me that because no credit checks had been put through, my relationship with the bank was a good one and because I am technically in employment for the next week before I move, I should apply for their standard 9 months interest free Halifax (One card is it???) credit card because they'd have to use my details as they are on the day I apply i.e. still in employment.

I decided, since I find it hard now to trust businesses (thanks to HSBC) to test the Halifax, I checked my online accounts and wow, it had updated, with the same sort code, account number and overdraft, it just converted to a student account. Still not fully convinced, I called customer services and asked them to tell me about my account, I only gave them the sort code and account number and they did the rest, they confirmed everything I'd been told by the rep in branch .

I've had a marvelous experience with Halifax, can't believe I was stupid enough to go to HSBC first before trying my own bank. Took them 3 months to resolve my complaint which was merely to close down the account after they screwed up the application and refused to give me the account and overdraft I wanted (but still thought it would be nice to credit check me 3 times for things I never asked for). Oh well, got £100 out of them to say sorry.

Oh yes btw, as far as I know, from what the lady told me, the interest free covers your undergraduate course and 1 additional year post graduating, but I think she mentioned the course and extra year cannot exceed 6 years total.

Glad to hear that you got a student account after the mess with HSBC.

Darren08

PARIS_5000 wrote: »

Glad to hear that you got a student account after the mess with HSBC.

Thank you, I was getting a bit worn out and worried about it all but thankfully it's all tied up now. Thanks again for your help.

j_jay4

I'm a graduate and have finished my first degree, I had a student account with HSBC for 4 years but wasn't happy with their service and so closed the account and decided to find a graduate account elsewhere. MSE recommends the lloyds graduate account so I tried them first. I didn't realise that because I will be doing a PhD for another 3 years that I was elligable for a another student account which Lloyds told me however their student account has a tiered overdraft (Ie, goes from £200-1000+ over the space of the first year) however this wasn't any good for me as I already have some debt from my last student account and will need extra cash for deposits and first months rent so I need a decent sized overdraft straight off.

After trying a number of other banks (which I will moan about in the relevant topics) I went to Halifax, I got seen to straight away (unlike all the other banks I went to who wasted my time by telling me I had to wait an hour for an appointment only to tell me they wouldn't give me an account) and the helpful lady accepted my official registration form from my new uni (other banks wouldn't because it didn't have PhD written on it) and opened me a student account with £500 initially and said I could have £1000 if I put £400 in the account which I did. She also set me up a reward account which she recommended I put my sponsorship money into as it will give me £5 every time I put £1000 into the account and then transfer any money I have left over into my student account. I also got credit checked straight away and got a credit card with >£2000 credit and 9 months interest free .

I was more than pleased with their service, out of all the banks I tried (Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays, Natwest) they were the only ones that were able to cater for my slightly specialised needs (You wouldn't believe how much trouble I had opening a student account with an official form from a uni saying I was registered on a course for the next three years and so would be a student) and the only ones to see me straight away. I believe I also got the best initial overdraft as nearly all the other banks have a tiered system or they will only give say £200 and then you have to go through a lengthy application process to receive further funds which isn't particularly helpful if your starting your Phd in 3 weeks.

Anyway I haven't got my cards yet but I'm over the moon that I managed to get a £1000 overdraft after all my trouble. Halifax rocks!!!

gio41uk

just to let you no my daughter opened her student account today and was offered £500 for her overdraft but thats all she wants and needs just now.
I might suggest martins wee trick later to her and when she gets the bigger money she transfer it into a high interest account..

She fortunate to live in Scotland and wont need a loan as she will be staying with me and her mum and she has a part time job too.

So her bursary should be enough to live off.

gio

hazel05

My son has been offered £500 overdraft today.

tkelly

Hi All,

I got given £1000 last October when i opened an account. Tried to get it extended at the end of the last academic year (i.e. June) but really struggled - finally After being told 'computer says no' in the branch, and on the phone several times the guy on the phone finally relented giving me £1500! Just to note - i had banked with Halifax since i was 15 or so - and so i had expresscash then cardcash or whatever they brand them these days - and had mostly used their current account for my gap year (except for 6 months in South America - when i was using my nationwide account!)
Was a bit of a joke though - given how they advertised so vehemently that they were the only bank that gave £3000 in the first year!