Downgrading Bank Account?

sara86pink

I currently have a Natwest account which I pay £12 a month for (plus interest for my overdraft)

I upgraded my account because I got a loan out with them ages ago and to get the best rate I upgraded my account (overall it did work out cheaper)

I paid my loan off with inheritance money when my mum died but then started to get in my overdraft. Initially it was £1000, but I got that down to £700 and has been stuck there for the last year or so. I'm constantly in it, usually right up to the limit.

Me and OH opened a joint account with Lloyds and for £7 a month (split between us) I get exactly the same, and even more, benefits than my Natwest one.

I went to downgrade to a basic account with Natwest but they said because I have an overdraft I cant due to interest rates etc.

This would really help me out as it would save me £12 a month but they wont let me.

Is this right?

System

The people in branch are talking rubbish.

Send a letter into the branch requesting they downgrade the account to a Current Plus. Getting the letter Signed for, might be useful.

Give them a week or two, if its not changed over, kick !!!!!

sara86pink wrote: »

I currently have a Natwest account which I pay £12 a month for (plus interest for my overdraft)

I upgraded my account because I got a loan out with them ages ago and to get the best rate I upgraded my account (overall it did work out cheaper)

I paid my loan off with inheritance money when my mum died but then started to get in my overdraft. Initially it was £1000, but I got that down to £700 and has been stuck there for the last year or so. I'm constantly in it, usually right up to the limit.

Me and OH opened a joint account with Lloyds and for £7 a month (split between us) I get exactly the same, and even more, benefits than my Natwest one.

I went to downgrade to a basic account with Natwest but they said because I have an overdraft I cant due to interest rates etc.

This would really help me out as it would save me £12 a month but they wont let me.

Is this right?

dzug1

They may have misunderstood you if you used the term 'basic bank account' - that is an account that can't have an overdraft, so you couldn't have one - not as a replacement anyway.

A normal current account shouldn't be a problem.

Consumerist

sara86pink wrote: »

I went to downgrade to a basic account with Natwest but they said because I have an overdraft I cant due to interest rates etc.

Overdraft facilities are not available on their basic (i.e. Step) account.

For their Current Plus account, overdrafts are "subject to status" as is always the case. If you haven't defaulted on your account then there shouldn't be a problem but the banks are getting very sniffy about overdrafts these days.

peterbaker

All it might take is the alteration of a code on your account account, almost like an on/off switch, but 'off' is bad :rotfl:.

The hungry little so and so's in the branches have been brainwashed into dismissing you as someone who got sold to once and now you don't want it any more i.e. you are bad and useless and need reprogramming when they get time so that next time you say upgrade please not downgrade

Truly obnoxious little twerps some of them, aren't they?

sara86pink

Thanks for the replies!

I did mean current account, sorry! Basically, the one where you dont pay but you still get facilities etc.

I will go and speak to them at some point in the near future and be a bit more persistent. Surely if they want me to be better with my money then they should help me by not making me pay money for an account when I dont need to!

Consumerist

In truth, they don't want you to be better with your money if they are raking-in charges every month.

I suspect you may need to be persistent to the point of threatening to change banks.

Edit
It might be useful to have another bank lined up so you can show your bank the advantages to you of moving.

stclair

You can downgrade your account to a current plus however if you have an overdraft there is a slight change in the interest charged.

sara86pink

Thanks for the messages, I'm going to the branch on my lunch break today and talk to them.

I expect the interest rates to increase but I'm sure it will still be cheaper than £13 a month!

Consumerist

If you have a good credit record, have you considered applying for a credit card which offers a 0% balance transfer. That could give you up to 16 months to clear the overdraft.

Once the overdraft is transferred to the credit card, you should have no problem downgrading your account.

Don't use the new card for any other expenditure.

Edit
According to page 52 of NatWest's Guide to Fees and Charges booklet (pdf), your interest charges will increase from 1.42% per month (Glold Plus account) to 1.48% per month (Current Plus account). On an overdraft of £700 that amounts to about 42p per month extra, not too much compared to the £12.95 per month account fee.

If NatWest refuses to downgrade your account while you remain in overdraft then you must find a way to pay off the overdraft, even if only temporarily.

sara86pink

Hi Consumerist, thanks for that info!

I have a meeting with the branch manager monday lunchtime. The cashier woman didnt say whether it would be possible or not, they just said i would need to downgrade it with the branch manager.

No doubt its to make me stay with them so will have to be strong, will definitely take a copy of the above with me to point out the benefits to me.

Thanks again