Bank closing account turns out to be a good thing!

bjsmethurst

Hi
This is my first post but I've spent quite a bit of time reading other threads and I'm really impressed with how helpful everyone is on here.
My situation is that my partner and I currently have debts totalling around £24000, but until October last year we had managed to (mostly) keep on top of all the payments. Then in October my partner lost his job and for the 5 months he was out for work we really struggled to pay everything we owed, missing payments and having several defaults registered against us. We were consistently going up to £800 overdrawn (with only a £500 limit) He started working again on 1st April but since then we've still struggled to keep up with payments as well as paying off arrears.
As a result, last month (May) the bank withdrew our O/D facility, wiping £500 from my salary payment as soon as it went in, which obviously made last month very difficult. And this month they have closed the account.
However, the closure of our account has forced us to look into all our finances, and start from scratch in a new bank account (without an overdraft) It turns out we were paying approx £250-£300 per month just in bank charges, and of course the overdraft black hole of £500.
The upshot is, I've arranged with the old bank to pay off the overdraft at £35/month with no interest being charged, we've got a clean slate with the new account, I was able to withdraw my full salary this month, and no more bank charges provided we keep on top of it from now on.
I am now feeling fully in control of my finances, and in theory after everything is paid out we should have £250 left at the end of the month which we are going to use to pay off the debts quicker.
Sorry for the essay - but it feels good to let it all out!!!
Bev

beanielou

Sounding good :0
Keep posting!

GeorgeUK

Hi Bev

If you haven'e already done so, it may be worth completing the SOA calculator t osee exactly where you are each month and to help create a budget that you can stick to and help reduce your debt. You don't need to post it up but we may be able to offer some extra advice on areas to look at if you do.

Don't forget to check the paperwork to see if any of your partner's accounts had PPI on them and check if this may have been missold if they did not pay out.