Please help me :( I'm stupid, young and scared.

TypicalPennilessStudent

Hi everyone,

I honestly don't know where to start here, but I'm in trouble with Natwest.

About half way through my first year of uni (I'm now just finishing the second of a four year course) I joined Natwest for their Student account. I took out the £1250 overdraft and the credit card, and guess who maxed both..
Anyway.
I'm paying off the credit card each month, and have been paying it on time always. However the overdraft I kind of forgot about - because I never really knew what an overdraft was. I thought it was a chunk of money they gave you then you paid it off when you graduate. Talk about a lesson learned.
Now here's where it gets complicated.

I've got a plain and simple current account that my bills come out of and was using the natwest one to put birthday money in, etc. However I got caught up in moving house and finishing my first year and ended up forgetting the PIN. At the same time I went to the bank (in branch) to change my address, I requested a PIN as well. I never received this, and pretty much forgot about the account for a while.

6 months later I get a letter on my doorstep from Wescot credit services asking if this is my known address as they're looking for me. Puzzled, I phone them up and it's Natwest. Turns out they've kept my OLD address as their contact one and have decided due to inactivity to get the overdraft back. Fair enough if I haven't paid any money in I would say but I have some questions.

1. Will they organise a payment plan with me? There's no way I can pull £1250 out of my backside. I don't have that money - I live away from home full time, earn £60 a month wages and live out of my student loan and not very comfortably at all. I've paid £125 in to the account, which is literally all of my savings for the summer, and put £10 in for this month. They've only just asked me for payment as they sent me a statement of the account first.

2. Do I have any grounds for getting the file transferred back from Wescot to NotBest because they fialed to change my address even though I visited them in branch?

3. How much will they expect from me per month? I honestly can't afford more than £30 on a "standard" month, but would be happy to pay more whenever I get my grant or bursary through.

I'm sorry if this is confusing, but please help me. I'm really upset and scared about the whole thing, nobody is willing to financially help me and I am fully aware of how idiotic I've been. Thank you in advance guys. xxx

wendz86

Are you still at uni? If you are then you shouldn;t have to pay it back. With the Natwest student acount you usually have to pay £500 a year after you graduate, £500 next year and then £250. Is it because the account is inactive? If that was the problem then if you have paid some in should be fine. Sorry i can't be much more help.

TypicalPennilessStudent

wendz86 wrote: »

Are you still at uni? If you are then you shouldn;t have to pay it back. With the Natwest student acount you usually have to pay £500 a year after you graduate, £500 next year and then £250. Is it because the account is inactive? If that was the problem then if you have paid some in should be fine. Sorry i can't be much more help.

Thank you. I am still in uni yes - shall I write to them confirming all of this? I'm not sure what to say. I mean I had every intention to pay it back but when I have the money to do so. It seems odd they've done this, especially given that I put £135 in the account!

DarkConvict

Was it the interest free overdraft?

If so, they should not have closed the account and issued it to debt collectors. As its fine to leave it in its overdrafts since no charges are incurred.

If it was not interest free, here is the kicker. Interest is incurred and it pushes you over the overdraft limit into unauthorised. No money was paid in to clear the unauthorised overdraft and the account is considered defaulted.

I think it would be best to write to natwest, asking why they have closed your account and issued it to a debt collector without contacting you. Firstly that the overdraft was interest free and within its limits so there was no reason to close it. Secondly you do want it reopened as you planned to pay it off with your income over the following years and upon graduation like normal student overdrafts.

Game_Over_2

Hi TPS, speaking from my own experience I would say the main thing is to stay calm and don't catastrophise. Clearly, NatWest have behaved badly and they don't deserve your custom. Don't beat yourself up because, on the basis of what you've written, you haven't done anything worse than been a bit distracted by the demands of leading a busy life. Whereas they are the financial professionals, supposedly.

Stay calm and just do a lot of research to find out what the legal situation is and what your rights are. Talk to people like Citizens Advice and CCCS. They will tell you whether it's possible to pay token payments until you're in a position to pay more, and they will explain step-by-step what you have to do.

I can speak from heartfelt experience when I say the best way to deal with the anxiety is to stare the problem right in the face. You can start researching the legal position and where to get help right now, on the internet. Knowing some definite facts about where you stand means you can break things down into manageable components, a task at a time.

I'm sure you'll find a way through this. And (difficult though it might be to believe at the moment), you might end up thinking the whole incident was a good thing. Why? Because it made you think about personal finance right at the start of your adult working life, rather than half way through, when the wolves of old age are howling, which is what many people (me, for instance), do.

Positive vibes and good thoughts....

XXX

TypicalPennilessStudent

Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for your helpful advice. I've just written a letter for Wescot telling them I wish to dispute the referral to the credit agency, and also telling them that I have transferred £135 in total into the account through bank transfer. I'm also going to write to Natwest disputing the many failings of this godawful bank and hope that that will sort things for the time being. Additionally, I will contact the CAB for some more information.

I can't thank you enough, you have helpedd me to see straight when everything felt like it was going backside up! I'll let you know how I get on.

Lokolo

Natwest_Student_T&Cs wrote:

You must use your account as your main current account and deposit regular amounts by way of local education funding, parental contribution, salary, student loan or other funding, such as sponsorship or bursary.

This will be why they sent the money to the debt collectors. Using the account to spend, then leave and put birthday money (if I understood your OP correctly) in doesn't count as a "main account".

Writing and complaining wouldn't result in much imo. Use the 35p + cost of printing and envelope, to pay off as much of your debt as possible rather than complaining.

You should try and budget. You have spent an awful lot in your first 2 years if you are getting a bursary as well.