Natwest Student account 2010/2011: We want your feedback

Former_MSE_Alana

Hi folks,

In our newly published Student Accounts 2010/11 guide, Natwest Student Account is one of our new top picks.

It offers 0% overdrafts tiered in the first year from £500 to £1,000 and then up to £1,250 in year two and £1,500 in year three, and we're after feedback from people who have applied this year about what overdraft limit you are given to start with, and also whether this was upped if you requested more.

Thanks for all help in advance

Alana

greyray

My son opened a NatWest student account with the promise of the free railcard & also a free web-cam (2008) >>> he never received either one and despite repeated requests, the bank has still failed to honour their commitment to him. All they seem interested in, is for him to open a NatWest credit card account as well (which he does not want or need) >>> so dont beleive everything they offer > total hogwash.

kayels2

I got a natwest student account when I went to uni in 2004 - I got a free railcard but they had the best (i.e. biggest) 0% overdraft. They were great - increased the limits yearly when I asked and never had any problems even though I did a complicated course that confused student loans company (had a sandwich year and a masters year all in an undergraduate degree). Unlike greyray's son I received my railcard quickly and with no fuss, my sister and ex boyfriend all have the same account opened over different years and likewise they've never had any problems.

I graduated in June 2009 and although the switch to graduate account was done automatically in the July, Natwest didn't send any correspondence until it was done. I would have liked a letter/email/leaflet just to say what was going to happen and when. Another reason I went with them was 3 years to pay back the overdraft. I'm now into the 2nd year of this & they have just lowered the interest free portion to £1000 (from £2000). Although I knew this was coming from information I got at the time of the switch to the graduate account, it would have been nice to have a quick letter a month or two before to warn me.

On the whole Natwest has provided me with good service & more importantly the most amount of money as I needed all I could get as a student!

Catbag

I have only today applied to have my Natwest Current Plus account upgraded to a student account. I have a murky credit history so i'm not sure how this is going to pan out, but in the event of it happening, i'll be sure to post my impressions of the account here!

sp1987

greyray wrote: »

My son opened a NatWest student account with the promise of the free railcard & also a free web-cam (2008) >>> he never received either one and despite repeated requests, the bank has still failed to honour their commitment to him. All they seem interested in, is for him to open a NatWest credit card account as well (which he does not want or need) >>> so dont beleive everything they offer > total hogwash.

Has he asked at a different branch/written to them?

My local branch now is brilliant but the one in the next town when I was a student treated me like a second class citizen and wouldn't bother to help or even let me deposit any money until they had dealt with other customers. They also threw a big dose of patronising chat about budgets into every conversation and obviously didn't check that I didn't actually use my overdraft, I just wanted it increased each year because I could have it as a back up.

I got my railcard for the first year but I'm not sure if I needed to renew it or not as I never got another (I don't use trains). They also sent me two webcams and when I tried to return one, they didn't want it as they wouldn't be able to pass it on as it was pre owned (by that they referred to postal bag opened, packaging completely intact, lol).

Weirdly, I find the most unhelpful branches to be the ones right next to universities. Some of the small town branches don't get very many students so seem excited to help you (and by that I don't mean sell you credit cards, lol)?!

ThinkingOfLinking

I managed to get my current account switched over to a student account, and keep my entire £1300 overdraft limit. The first £500 of this is now interest free, and the interest free amount will increase incrementally in line with student accounts in general. Very pleased with that and now waiting for my email welcome pack so I can apply for the free railcard which will prove essential for me as I envisage travelling a lot.

sapphireeye

I just went online about a month ago and upgraded to a student account online, I haven't shown them any ID or anything, yet when I login to internet banking and check the status of my current account it says it's a student account. My overdraft hasn't changed either, it's still £1500 so I'm not sure if I've done something wrong!

life_nit

i have been given £1250 and im waiting to go into my 2rd year at the moment. no problems getting it.

i really wish they would give out 3k! like the co-op. but its not worth my time to change - to much hassle.

HollyAnne

I have a terrible TERRIBLE credit rating but to my surprise Natwest has offered me a £500 overdraft initally AND their student credit card with a limit of £350 out of £500. Both of which can be increased. Of course I find this brilliant and coupled with all the freebies they give you it was definately the best deal for me.

adelight

I got one in September 2009, immediately said I didn't want any overdraft but was told they HAD to send me a credit card with a 500 limit which I never used.
I did eveyrthing they said with all the online banking, enquired about the rail card twice but never received one. I ended up buying one and will be closing that, if not all of my natwest current and savings acounts shortly.

Kaleidoscope27

I opened a student account in 2005 and got the free railcard and £1,000 overdraft in my first year. I continued to receive the free railcard every year for 5 years (when my current one runs out, I won't get it renewed for free again) without fail or problems. I never increased my overdraft and was never asked if I wanted to, which was fine by me. In fact I found NatWest to be a very easy and helpful bank.

(Until recently but that's a different story and nothing to do with their student accounts.)