Halifax Student account 2010/2011: We want your feedback

batmaz

I am starting uni in October and I wanted to get on the student account early, so I opened a current account with Halifax and they offered their switching service to change all my direct debits and my wage to my new account with them from my old Lloyds account. I agreed and they gave me a £1000 overdraft on this new account, interest free for the first couple of months in case the standing orders went out of my account before my wage went into it. The amount surprised me because I've never had an overdraft or credit card before. I went into a branch yesterday and asked them to change it to a student account since I have now received my acceptance letter and they told me I could keep that £1000 interest free overdraft, which surprised me because I thought the maximum for straight away was £500. They asked me if I wanted to apply for an increase and I said not right then.

Is there any harm in applying for an increase now? I would be unlikely to receive it now, but would it hurt my credit?

nicAAAAAA

been with halifax for 3 full years now. My overdraft has gone roughly like this.
Year 1:£500
Year 2:£1000
Year 3:£2000
Year 4:£3000 - to get up to this they asked alot of questions, but the main thing they seemed concerned about, was that i paid my student loan into it.

I have gone over the planned overdraft twice and then paid heavily for it! £30 for using the overdraft (charged every month!) then £28 for every transiction they "paid" for me. If you only do it once, you can normally make some of the charges back if you make a fuss.

hugh.mqueen

Hi, i have been banking with Bank Of Scotland for the last year. I am starting uni in september and decided to open a Bank Of Scotland student current account. I opened the account online through BOS, but when i finally got excepted i was given a Halifax student current account, which means when ever i have any problems or anything i have to deal with Halifax, and not BOS, as i was intending. Anyway after the account was opened i was given a £500 intrest free overdraft as expected. I then contacted Halifax to increase my overdraft but they said wait a couple of months so that they can see your spending etc. Anyway recently i started a pay monthly mobile phone contract and i thought that i would get the direct debit payments to come out of this account, but on my first bill of the contract my account did not have enough money in it ( the bill was for £30.84, i had £29.14 left in the account, and i was already in my overdaft), the direct debit hence bounced and was not payed, and a couple of days later i got a letter from Halifax saying they were applying a fee of £20 for an upaid item fee. I phone Halifax up and they said it was not their fault and there was no way that they would refund the money ( i might also add that the Halifax woman did not have a nice tone in her voice, and spoke to me quite harshly, which was supprising as the Bank of Scotland call staff are always very helpful and friendly). I then asked the woman if i could increase my overdraft and she sternly replied 'no. Phone back in 6 months time if you want to reapply. ' which is not advertised any where on the BOS or Halifax websites.

My advice to anyone wanting to open up this account is do not go through Halfiax, but try Bank Of Scotland as all my previous experiences with BOS have been very positive.
Also beware of the 'upto £3000 intrest free overdraft as i have not met anyone who has ever been offered an overdraft over £1500'

rb10

Hugh.mcqueen, you may be interested to know that Halifax and Bank of Scotland are the same company.

You can go into a Halifax branch to deal with a Bank of Scotland account, and vice-versa.

You can use Halifax internet banking to view Bank of Scotland accounts, and vice-versa.

You can phone the Halifax telephone banking number to speak about Bank of Scotland accounts, and vice-versa.

All the accounts are held together on the same computer system. There's no difference between them apart from the branding.

hugh.mqueen wrote: »

Also beware of the 'upto £3000 intrest free overdraft as i have not met anyone who has ever been offered an overdraft over £1500'

See the post above yours for someone who has got the whole £3000 overdraft.

lukehar6569

Just though i'd add a few experiences i've recently had that don't seem to have been posted on here;

1) I got a letter today saying that i needed to renew my overdraft or they'll revoke it in about 3 weeks (i've only just started my third year, so not even near the end of a standard course!) although this was easily sorted with a quick phonecall!
2) when i rang i asked to increase my overdraft to the full £3000 advertised, they agreed, but put down conditions before they agreed to which were: reduce credit card limit to £500 (they'd systematically increased the limit without my asking anyway!) and I needed to show proof that my account with lloyds TSB wasn't a student account! (i've just started my 3rd year, and have received my loan into the halifax account already!)

3) they also asked me what i needed the money for, but rather than being insistent on a clear reason like other reports have said, i simply said 'for a buffer' (or something to that effect) and this was satisfactory for them!

I'd also say i'm surprised at some peoples' experiences with going over the agreed overdraft limit, i've been over twice and a quick phonecall (a very apologetic one) and moving the money in same day has meant that both times they've revoked the charges that would otherwise have been incurred!

Just thought i'd share my experiences with them incase they help anyone!

Wraggy

I would just like to add that I have also received the full £3000 overdraft now going into 3rd year with a progression of:
Year 1: £1000
Year 2: £2000
Year 3: £3000

I went into a branch and the lady called up head office for me and there were lots of questions and a rather long phone call asking for lots of reasons why i needed the money etc. I've never been over my overdraft limit so don't think the £3000 limit is solely for people Halifax think they can make some money from!

lukehar6569 wrote:

1) I got a letter today saying that i needed to renew my overdraft or they'll revoke it in about 3 weeks (i've only just started my third year, so not even near the end of a standard course!) although this was easily sorted with a quick phonecall!

I think the overdraft only lasts for 1 year, I have had 2 letters now before the anniversary of opening the account asking to renew my overdraft (in each case I actually increased it)

alanabanana

my son has been given overdraft of £1000 only for first year been told to reapply for increase after six months but will only be considered when regular credits are going into his account we shall see!

tkelly

They upped me to £2000 no problems at the end of my second year (having started me at £500 or £1000) - I don't think with Halifax unless you have some sort of abnormal credit rating that you'll have a problem matching what Co-Op give.

That said - They've also increased the limit on my credit card from £500, to £1000, to £1500 and £2000 without me asking.

bhavinshah

In first year I increased mine from the £500 to £1000 without any problems.

Then tried to increase it further a few times but you need to have had enough debits and credits in a 4 month period before they consider it.

So I did that, and part way through second year asked for the full amount. They increased to £2500.

About to start 3rd year...and to be honest I think I'm just going to stick to the £2500 - the extra £500 will yield so little interest it's just not worth it!

(Before someone tries to give me borrowing advice, I do not live off my overdraft. It's all in savings accounts.)

rainmouse

Warning to students banking with HBOS.
Was a student and had an account with the Bank of Scotland back in 2000 before their merger with Halifax and was given a 2000 pound overdraft. I only stayed at college for a year but I got enough qualifications and began a degree course in 2006. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the account was left as a student account for years after my first course ended. Recently as I prepare for my final year at University, they have sent me a letter advising that the account has been a student account for more than 6 years so they have removed student status despite asking for and being provided all the evidence of being a student, they have proceeded to charge me an astonishing pound a day. Of course I was never advised of these charges, the only mention of the charges was some really small print buried in my statement and a rapidly increasing overdraft So by the time I graduate I will have incurred hundreds of pounds in fee's unless I can transfer my account to a different bank.

I have tried to appeal this decision but have hit a brick wall and some very unfriendly customer service staff. Needless to say they have lost a customer for life, but I cant help but feel exploited by this bank and I urge everyone else here to consider banking elsewhere.