Halifax Overdraft New Charges

rb10

Pimpslider wrote: »

When you have 2 kids then trust me, Xmas is the worst time!

My 2 OD's total £2300. They haven't been increased for a few years but it's just hard to get rid of them. An extra £100 for a birthday, an extra £100 for a holiday...and so on and so forth.

For starters, you can halve the amount you are paying in overdraft fees by combining your two overdrafts onto the one account.

Do this first, and then work on reducing them.

Lmartin_2

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone is in the same position as me? (moral support and all that) I graduated last year and still haven't managed to secure a 'good' job (I'm on a very low income) and live with two overdrafts maxed out, that's my HSBC graduate account (£1500 OD) and my Bank of Scotland (BoS)/Halifax account (£500). It was my intention to pay off my BoS account first as it's costing me c.£7 a month then focus on my HSBC account but as yet I still haven't earned enough to make a dent. The rep at BoS sympathised with my plight and suggested I pay for the reward account for £12.50 a month, which makes sense for me as I pay £6 a month mobile insurance anyway and that's included as one of the benefits (£6 + £7 interest = £13 so I'm 50p better off!) but the catch is I need to reduce my BoS OD to £300 in order to qualify for the interest free OD. So my major issue is getting £200 by the 6th of December! It doesn't seem that much, but consider that I earn c.£600 a month and have reduced all my outgoings to essentials only - c.£550 a month - and you can see my problem! I cannot be the only person in this predicament, especially with the recent round of '09 graduates who probably are now struggling to find work. I wonder if it's worth kicking up a fuss to see what the banks hope to achieve by charging £1 to people in this situation.. At present, they can charge me £1 a day if they like but by this time next year if I still haven't managed to get a higher income I'll owe them nearly £500 + £365! (Also, will I get charged £5 a day for the un-arranged OD when I go over the £500 with these £1 a day...?)

Oh, and it's just as well that I don't have any children, because not even my OH is getting a x-mas present this year now!

jambosans

Lmartin wrote: »

I cannot be the only person in this predicament, especially with the recent round of '09 graduates who probably are now struggling to find work. I wonder if it's worth kicking up a fuss to see what the banks hope to achieve by charging £1 to people in this situation..

"Kicking up a fuss" is not going to change policy, you could make your issues known through an official complaint, but it is still a waste of time.

Lmartin wrote: »

At present, they can charge me £1 a day if they like but by this time next year if I still haven't managed to get a higher income I'll owe them nearly £500 + £365! (Also, will I get charged £5 a day for the un-arranged OD when I go over the £500 with these £1 a day...?)

So there is no way you can even find the £30/ £31 for the charges? You've stated you've reduced outgoings for essentials to £550, leaving £50, which could be used to pay off some of your overdraft. Other options include a loan, credit card, or new bank account with overdraft - these are obviously subject to credit status. Even without this change in charges, do you think Bank of Scotland would have allowed you to sit on that overdraft with little or no repayment forever? They could quite easily withdraw the overdraft and demand repayment in full.

Also from my understanding, a student account, should remain interest free for a year after graduation? If so, with all due respect, you have had a year to at least year to make a dent in your overdrafts. Now I'm not having a go, but I'm just putting your situation in perspective. You need to start being pro-active about your debts, if you're on a low income - which sounds like part time work - then I would consider looking for another job. Prospects are bleak for graduates, but even a full-time job not in your chosen degree should increase your earnings enough to get some of those debts repaid. I know getting a new job is easier said than done, but you've got to make some tough choices. BoS changing their charging structure may add to the problem, but it is not the source.

I wish you the best of luck, and if you need some more general advice, see the below thread:-
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1986907

If you're also looking for some help and support on getting out of debt, I would head over to Debt-Free Wannabe (that's where you will find "moral support and all that").

Pimpslider

Well, I cleared my OD's from 2 of my 3 Current Accounts by consolidating a loan.

So, I called up Halifax and told them to 'up-grade' my 3 accounts to the Reward Account now, rather than on the 6th December (which was the date on the letter). Beings I get paid this Wednesday I wanna see if this magic fiver appears. Apparently it is paid in at the start of every month.

Thing is, I didn't actually realise that interest is now totally zero. Sure, I get my fiver when my wages go in but another account, that get's a standing order, will get no interest what-so-ever.

Anyone have anything further on bumping funds around through Reward Accounts?

nickyhutch

rb10 wrote: »

For starters, you can halve the amount you are paying in overdraft fees by combining your two overdrafts onto the one account.

Do this first, and then work on reducing them.

OH and I have an account each, with a combined overdraft of £1800 - how do we go about combining? Would they let us keep that overdraft total?

vein

Hendrix_lennon wrote: »

Aye, point taken about the time of year they're doing it.

Although, I don't presume there's ever a good time of the year to have to repay that total - in my case £1000.

I'm probably going to try and shif direct debit dates to just before my pay day so if I do go into overdraft then it's only for a day or two.

That is a brilliant idea, I'm kicking myself that I hadn't thought of that myself! :beer:

shauniebabe

Hi,

I wonder if someone could confirm for me what the ultimate reward account offers and that it will be fee free upto £300. I very occasionally use my overdraft as i have money constantly going in and out of my account but i never go over £90 overdrawn at any time but rather than pay a couple of quid a month to the Halifax and get nothing back id be interested in paying the 12.50 minus the 5 you get back and then using the mobile phone cover and travel insurance etc.

Thanks

opinions4u

shauniebabe wrote: »

I wonder if someone could confirm for me what the ultimate reward account offers

The Halifax web site?

Worldwide multi-trip travel insurance for two adults and all your children.
RAC car breakdown cover – roadside assistance when you need it most.
Mobile phone insurance for home and abroad if your mobile phone is lost, stolen or damaged.
Card Care card protection for all your registered debit, credit, store and charge cards if they are lost or stolen at home or abroad.
Home emergency cover – from burst pipes to broken windows, get the help and repairs you need.
£100,000 worth of travel accident cover – protection if you have an accident while travelling on public transport abroad.
Identity theft assistance – with identity fraud a growing problem in the UK, we'll provide help and support on our free advice line open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Purchase protection covering the items you buy with your Ultimate Reward Visa debit card if they’re lost, stolen or accidentally damaged.
Price promise – if you buy an item with your Ultimate Reward Visa debit card and then see it cheaper elsewhere, you can claim back the difference from us.
Save up to 15% on Halifax home and contents insurance.
Save up to 15% on Halifax car insurance.
Get 1% more interest than the standard rate paid on the Halifax Instant Saver account
£150 bonus payment when you take out a Halifax First-time Buyer or Home Mover mortgage – a little extra help towards making it your home.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Commission-free foreign currency and traveller’s cheques – so there’s a little extra spending money for your holiday. We will need to charge a 1% commission (minimum £3) when you buy sterling traveller’s cheques.
An Ultimate Reward discount card - providing a range of offers including up to 55% off holidays with Co-operative Travel and 20% discount off car rental with Avis. Visit Ultimate Reward discounts for more details.

and that it will be fee free upto £300.

No overdraft fees for authorised overdraft of less than £300.

I very occasionally use my overdraft as i have money constantly going in and out of my account but i never go over £90 overdrawn at any time but rather than pay a couple of quid a month to the Halifax and get nothing back id be interested in paying the 12.50 minus the 5 you get back and then using the mobile phone cover and travel insurance etc.

If it works for you, go for it.

If not, don't!

rehab_101

Ok, so i also recieved my letter from them today and i must say i am rather appalled. I understand that an overdraft is borrowed money and therefore there must be a charge to borrow said funds. But changing the charges in this day and age i find ridiculous. Especially as the reason behind it is so they can abolish/reduce charges for unpaid items etc. Well thats fine for people that incur charges for unpaid items, who will now be charged £5 as opposed to £35, however, i am not one of those people who incur charges. Infact i have never been charged. I have a £1200 OD which was fine in my previous job, i would clear it come pay day and then normally end up dipping it towards the end of the month. I am now in a new job, which doesnt pay me anywhere near what i used to recieve. I now live in my OD. Thanks to cutting back and some serious budgeting i now do not overspend my wages, but am a very long way off from being able to clear said OD. A pound a day, i believe, is very unfair. Especially since it has become apparant to me that HBOS staff are being charged at half of this rate, at 50p per day. It may not seem like a huge difference, but when money is this tight paying £15 for an OD facility instead of £30 does make a big difference, especially when you compare it to the £5-£7 currently being charged. More than anything i would love to take my banking elsewhere, but i know that this is not feasable at this time, simply due to the fact i cannot afford to repay my OD. I have banked with HBOS for longer than i care to remember and am appalled that the can happily treat their customers as they are.

rb10

nickyhutch wrote: »

OH and I have an account each, with a combined overdraft of £1800 - how do we go about combining? Would they let us keep that overdraft total?

First, try the easy way. Go onto internet banking, and for each account check what limit they are happy to give you. (On the 'Take me to >>' menu, choose 'Apply/change overdraft' and see what the Guaranteed Overdraft limit is.

If either of these are >£1800, then you can just apply for this new limit online - it will be available straight away - and transfer money to bring one account into credit.

If that doesn't work, then you would have to go into a branch or do it by phone to get the combined one put on. The only thing is, I don't think they'll let you combine the overdrafts of accounts in two different names (I may be wrong - check this with them). If that is the case, then you could always add your name onto your OH's account. That way, they will be able to pay off one overdraft with the (newly increased) overdraft on the other account, even if your guaranteed limit online is less than this.

If you need to speak to them by phone, then put in your number here, and they will call you back instantly: http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/callback.asp