Halifax overdraft £1000 ?

keeleyuk

I have set up a student account with halifax. Whilst in branch the lady said she would try to set up my overdraft looked in a book and said it is £1000 for the 1st year? Anyway she couldn't set it up and said it will automatically go on.

I have checked my overdraft limit and it is £1000. The person on the phone said it is because they have nothing to go on and that people who got the higher overdraft were existing customers.

Has anyone else opened an account with them ?

*kingpin*

Hi Keeley

I have been with the halifax for 14 years I used to have a little extra account! I currently have a cardcash which I am upgrading. Anyway I was given a £500 overdraft with their student account. It seems that its the luck of the draw when opening accounts with them.

It is true that I have never had credit before and this was given as one of the main reason why I did not recieve the maximum overdraft, also apparently your university and type of course you are taking can define how much they give you - along with your parents or those living under the same address credit history . The amount of money going into your account every month should be able cover the overdraft.Is this the case with you ? If not then I know i've been bumped!

I was told I can apply for my overdraft to be increased but not straight away!

This doesn't seem to be the case with RBS who said that they could give me £1250 overdraft. + £55 for opening the account.

muddyfox470

It has happened before, Halifax state these high overdrafts but very few people have access to them, as they depend on your credit rating, which is unfair as most students don't have one.

I've never really liked Halifax to be honest, I've had no problems whatsoever with Natwest. if you threaten to leave them, they may be willing to increases your overdraft. But you are also able to cancel the account within 7 days of opening it if you want, and go somewhere else.

Ian

keeleyuk

yes, if I cancel I will still have the search on my credit file. I don't really want lots of searches. I will leave it for now and ask again later.

I will nearly have enough to cover the overdraft every month. Just wanted people to know I think its a con.

Thanks

CrispyUK

I applied yesterday for a Halifax account as HSBC are starting to irritate me lately (and have been doing in various ways for the past 12 months) so I thought I'd drop them and give Halifax a go.

Their online application states a £500 default overdraft and you can apply to increase this by visiting in branch. Hopefully they'll at least match £1250 with HSBC (and hopefully more).

As a student going into my 2nd year I do have 12 months of good credit history behind me on several things, credit cards, mobile contracts and my HSBC account - all payments on time, etc. so I'm hoping that will help.

MinniMe_2

I don't think you can really complain about not getting the full student overdraft as the terms and conditions, theior website and all leaflets in branch state that it is "up to £1250" for that year, so you are never garunteed to get the amount.

they are pretty good though after 6months of having no cahrges etc at increasing your OD

missk_ensington

I'm with Halifax and think they are excellent. My OD is £1000 although this isn't a Student Account (never opened a Student Account as I couldn't see what added benefit it gave me than my current account)

I've had 2 CC's with them for nearly 3 years and never missed a payment, however last month I just completly forgot due to my house move and loads of stress. Anyway, when I phoned up (2 days after payment due) I paid it and she volunteered to tell me that I should phone back when the statement arrives and they will waive the £25 Late Payment fee out of Goodwill!

From what I gather you normally have to ask them/beg them/phone 20 times to waive bank charges, not normally them offering freely!

keeleyuk

Thank you, I'm not really well up on student accounts just assumed that you got what was advertised. I wanted to pay off my previous overdraft which was £2000 with it. Anyway, I will just have to wait.

kittykate_2

Stay with the 2 grand OD if thats what you need, most banks won't give students a £2000 OD as they do not have much income coming in (some students only have their loan going in approx. £4000 a year).

I would advise you though, not to get into too much debt, I found when I was at uni that when my OD increased so did my spending! eek!

KKx