at my wits end...

scottish_stresshead

HI

I really hope someone can help me..im at my wits end...can't sleep some nights for worry about how im going to get out of this mess..well its not really a mess compared to somepeople ...but i rung up a £1000 overdraft with halifax bank of scotland and also got a £100 with them...they increased the overdraft slightly so i would still be within a "arranged" overdraft and only have to pay the arranged fees per month which is £1 A DAY....so only £30/£31 a month...

tonight i checked my online accounts..first time in ages and so glad i did...ive found out im being charaged both the ARRANGED fee AND the UNARRANGED fee so sometimes a lot of charges for BOTH my accounts which like i said are both in arranged overdrafts

what do i do??? i feel im goin round in vicious circles!!!

ellesbellesxxx

Didnt want to read and run - someone will be along soon x

kittiej

Now listen - money is only money and debts are the same. At some point you need to wake up and think to yourself that 3am is not the time to be sorting owt out. Do not fret, help will be at hand I promise - just not at this hour. Now should you need counselling that's differerent........

cattyboo

Hello!

You're in the right place, don't worry, the support and advice you'll find on here will help you sort it. I'm not an expert with the technical stuff but I can offer some basic tips to get you started and a big hug :grouphug:

It would be really helpful (not just so the clever folks on here can come along and give you more specific advice, but for you also) if you could do a 'statement of affairs' (SOA) which is like a breakdown of the money you've got coming in and going out. The site recommended on this forum is... http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Try not to panic, you've done absolutely the right thing by a) checking your account (I know how hard this is, I still feel ill sometimes when I log in) and b) coming here. If you look at my signature you'll see I've got some pretty epic overdrafts to deal with :eek: I pulled my head out of the sand recently and have found this site and the people on the DFW forum a-mazing! I'm moving forward one baby step at a time, making cut backs where I can and keeping much better track of my money (which unfortunately involves facing the sicky online banking feeling!). It's a slow crawl out of debt but as long as I'm moving forward I can sleep a little better at night (at the worst stage of worrying I was coming out in itchy rashes from the stress of panicking about struggling to get by so again, I know how you feel and you're not alone).

If you can sit down and work out a SOA then I'm sure you'll find some areas where you can save money to start getting you out of the overdrafts. I was horrified after I sat down and went through a year of bank statements and found all the unnecessary spending that contributed to the mess I'm in. It's terrifying but totally worth it and a necessary evil to give you a kick up the bum if needed to start you off! £30 a month is still a lot to be spending on charges (£360 a year...) is there any chance your bank could extend the overdraft limit to give you a bit of wiggle room?

C xxx

toonarmydad

Hi, couple of things I noticed about your post; "it's not really a mess compared with some people" - you know it could be worse but you have made the first step in the right direction. "checked my online accounts - first time in ages" - I used to do that!! I thought "if I don't look everything will be fine!" How wrong I was! I used to get bank charges of over £50 per month and curse the bank but actually it was me sticking my head in the sand that caused the problem. By the sound of things I believe you can make some minor adjustments in your spending habits which will make significant differences to your bank charges. I found the key to this was keeping a close eye on the budget and regularly checking the bank accounts. It wasn't as hard as I thought and saved me a fortune giving other people money for no reason! Best wishes to you.

scottish_stresshead

apologies im in scotland so its only 10.20 at night

im tryin to get someone to undrestand its not the amount of overdraft i have..i admit i got into that myself!!!

but does anyone know whether its right that they can charge both a arranged and a unarranged overdraft fee on the same account?? thats all i need to no

sorry to be a pest!

cattyboo

You're not a pest don't be daft! Unfortunately yes, if you are overdrawn beyond your arranged amount they can charge for both on the same account. C xx

scottish_stresshead

im still within my arranged limit though!!! :S understand if i was over the £1090 that i have arranged..but im not

toonarmydad

Apologies! I misunderstood the reason for posting and am not in a position to advise. Good luck.

Exerbusi2

Can you not simply call them and explain the situation? They should be able to change it quickly.

cos_2

Oh dear. This is so troll. Please don't respond anymore, good people.