Barclays offering me a bigger overdraft - is there a downside?

paul_leader

My current account has an overdraft limit of £2,000 which I very rarely use (I went £50 into it for 1 day this month due to a miscalculation, but that's it).

I logged in to online banking this morning and Barclays were offering to up it to £3,650!

I (normally) manage my account well and it is very rare indeed that I go into my overdraft so I don't actually need this higher limit (in fact the £2,000 limit is way more than I need).

Is there any downside to having a high overdraft limit that you then don't use? I don't plan to apply for credit cards in the near future, but am planning to get a mortgage sometime next year. Does having a large but unused overdraft limit affect how lenders see you as a credit risk?

Would I actually be better off having my limit reduced? It seems like a useful thing to have available for dire emergencies but I can't help wondering why Barclays would offer me such a big limit.

Bollotom

In the past ten years, Barclays have offered me overdrafts. On both occasions I was into the overdraft, the first time heavilly, the second time not too bad. On both occasions Barclays withdrew the facility half way through the month thus making me incur bank charges. Personally I can't see the advantage of having an increased overdraft if you are managing on the present level. Congrats on keeping it so low :-):cool:

paul_leader

That seems a bit naughty on their part, withdrawing an overdraft facility like that and putting you over the limit.

I was just curious as to how overdraft limits affect things like credit scoring. I've read up on the subject but it seems very confusing.

Does anyone know if having an overdraft that you don't use is a good or bad thing for your credit score?