Top Student Bank Accounts 2006/7 article Discussion Area

Former_MSE_Dan

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Top Student Bank Accounts 2006/2007 Article

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djhworld

I'm a student going into my second year, but I'm scared of moving accounts.

Been with HSBC for 12 years now, and had a student account with them for one year.

The interest free overdraft the HBOS is offering is quite a good deal, but I've never switched accounts before.

CrispyUK

I've also been thinking about switching recently, HSBC were a bit of a pain setting up my student account (despite having banked previously with them for 6-7 years) and again have had problems getting my overdraft increase for the 2nd year.

Plus they never have enough counter staff on, their call centres are a joke and the receptionists in my local branch are just as bad.

Has anyone applied to HBOS this year and been accepted/rejected? I know they were rejecting a lot of people last year. Hopefully I have a bit of credit history on my side now which should help after holding mobile phone contracts / credit cards for 12 months with no late payments.

firebreather

I'd just like to point out that Northern Bank is providing £3000 overdraft in their student account, but they only cater for Northern Ireland.

The package is called "Northern Freedom" http://www.northernbank.co.uk/PersonalEverydayBankingPackages

anna_spanner

Can my daugher take up the free rail card offer with one bank. And then
change after her first year to take up the higher interest free overdraft with another bank and still keep the railcard until the end of her three year course??? It would then mean that she is also not too tempted to use up
such a large overdraft before the end of her course.

smaJ

hey,

i have a HBOS student account - took bout 10 mins to set up.

havent got an overdraft (yet) but been whit HBOS for yrs and there alrite. big overdraft free compared to others too

James

crayon_2

Hello all

Off to do a Primary PGCE (1yr) course for my sins this year and wondering whether to bother getting a student bank account. Which ones do you recommend and why? Any freebies? Can I open more than one? Is it really worth the hassle changing from my bog standard current account?

alolegedtuna

Hi,

Just thought I'd write on my experiences on trying to open a HBOS student account. I have just graduated from my undergraduate course and am taking a post graduate course (PhD) this October. I previously had a natwest student account which although good, didn't offer me the same level of interest-free overdraft that HBOS did. It might just be my local branch, but I found setting up my student account a pain to say the least and the advisors didn't seem to know about the overdraft levels being offered. I must point out at this point that the account can only be activated if £100 is paid in and left in the account for 24 hrs. Having finally opened the account I was informed that I would only have a £500 overdraft and because I was not already an existing customer, getting the full £2750 was "highly unlikely". I should have a good credit history as I have paid all my bills on time and haven't even touched a credit card. I am currently in the process of applying to increase the overdraft, requiring statements from my previous bank and proof of funding for my course. I know my situation is slightly different as I'm starting a postgraduate course, but a word of warning to anyone from another bank hoping to switch over to HBOS with ease - it wont be that easy!

qasdfdsaq

I'd just like to point out my experiences with HBOS.

1. The counter staff and assistants do generally have no idea about the available overdrafts for student accounts - having gone in yesterday, I had to point out their own website and navigate through it to show the guy. This isn't too bad though, because they don't handle overdrafts in-store anyway; all applications for overdrafts and limit increases are sent off by email to their head office (or so they say) who deals with it.

2. Current branch literature (leaflets, etc.) are not up to date - so you'll have to specifically point out the increased £2,750 overdraft. Many of the brochures in branches still show the old £1,750, £1,900, £2,100 structure.

3. Apparantly, the new £2,750 overdraft is not available to existing student account holders - having applied yesterday to increase my overdraft to the new £2,750, I have been given the £2,100 limit that was previously the max when I opened my account.

4. Getting the max overdraft limit is a mixed bag. When I opened my student account, they'd only give me £1,000. However, I applied to increase it a month later, as soon as my student loan had been paid in, they immediately increased it to £1750 (the then maximum for the account at that stage). This is even though I was new to HBOS, and I had no credit rating.

5. Having had a long chat with the branch manager, he explained to me some of their scoring structure. Very little weight is given to your credit history, unless it's extremely poor. What they primarily look for is regular funding. Having a student loan paid in scores highly, three months or more of standing orders (e.g. parental contribution or salary) is also regarded well. Being with HBOS for more than six months, and not having financial difficulty during that time (e.g. bounced cheques, failed direct debits, etc.) is regarded as a plus, but isn't as important as the regular funding aspects given above. If you manage at least two of the four above, you're around 75% likely to get the max overdraft. At least, that's how it worked when they had the £1750, £1900 and £2100 levels. I doubt a lot has changed since then, however they do also rate your student loan amount - higher scores better.

Finally, I'd like to point out that RBS is now offering "an interest- free overdraft of up to £2,500 subject to application". They do not state what levels are available per year of study, or whether it is available to existing customers. RBS are also offering £100 cash to new customers in Scotland, and £55 cash to new customers in England and Wales. This isn't paid until at least two months after account opening though, to ensure you do actually use the account properly.

1Foxylady

I'm doing a PGCE for 1 year and don't really need to open a bank account as I have some savings put aside.

Can anyone recommend an account that has the best freebies rather than the best overdraft amount/terms?

Thanks

MSE_Martin

Hi

With regards to the note above about HBOS terms - i thought you'd be interested to see a note from the powers that be to me.

"I can confirm that the maximum interest free overdraft (subject to status) is £2750. This limit is available to new applicants for the account whether they are first year students or in later years and switching from other banks, it is also available to existing Halifax/BoS student account holders (who need to call the bank and ask for it). We do reserve the right to offer a lower limit depending on credit status."The credit status note is the same for all banks (ie all produce maximimums and a few customers get lower limits.