Bank account after bankruptcy?

Gazwa

Hi,

I made myself bankrupt in june 2008, and opened a basic barclays current account shortly after. I was discharged from bankruptcy in feb 2009.

I'm looking to upgrade my account to get a full current account with barclays.. and im just wondering if anybody in a similar situation has successfully managed to do this.. do you think i'd be able to open a full current account?

I have had nearly 36 months of completely clean credit history.. since bankrupt.. Have a contract phone and a credit card with a limit of 1250 in which I am using responsibly..

any thoughts?

Cheers

Gaz

kepar

Why do you want a full current account? Just so you can have an overdraft and cheque book?

Gazwa

Cheque book would be nice yeah, I dont require any further credit facilities currently but possibly in the future the option to have an overdraft or some kind of buffer would be nice too.. and also to build up some internal scoring to possibly get a mortgage one day as i beleive this isnt done with a basic account

Worcsman

Gazwa wrote: »

Cheque book would be nice yeah, I dont require any further credit facilities currently but possibly in the future the option to have an overdraft or some kind of buffer would be nice too.. and also to build up some internal scoring to possibly get a mortgage one day as i beleive this isnt done with a basic account

Dunno if what I will say is of interest or even relevant. We are rebuilding our lives after BR and we couldnt care less about current accounts and future credit. We do have a current account but it doesnt come with an overdraft or cheque book. So far since October 2009 we have done ok without credit. We dont want a mortgage now, we did think for a while that we might but we realise now that the desire to have one again is just conditioning, we dont want one, dont need one and wont get one. We will rent, we will buy when we can afford to and do without when we cant. House included. Dont get me wrong, I understand where you are coming from but really, life without credit aint convenient all of the time but lets face it, without credit will you starve? Nope. Not at all. Will it make life easier? Yeah sure it will till the first repayment is due. There is another way. Problem with that is our entire system of living, just being here, is busted and dont work unless the lions share of us owe the lucky few a bunch of money. We checked out of the rat race, feel a bit bitter about it now and wont be going back. Well not 100% going back, I need to work so carry on with that, as for the rest of it.. Naaa not for us thanks.

Gazwa

Fair enough worcsman, I understand where you're coming from and good for you. I'm just glad i made myself bankrupt in 2008 at the age of 22 as I have learnt my lesson with getting into debt

Ineedaname

Gazwa, as Worcsman says, the 'need' to own our own home is conditioning and it's recent conditioning at that. Until a certain PM decided to sell off a lot of our council housing stock only 30 years ago the majority of the country were content to rent and not worried about buying. All of a sudden it was put forward as a 'right' and changed a lot of attitudes towards housing.

At the end of the day you can't take it with you and if you pass it on there's only heartache and pain if inheritance tax means your descendants not being able to keep the house.

Good for you learning the lesson early on, save for a comfortable life, not a burdensome one.

dojoman

There is a post on here about getting a mortgage post BR with some very useful tips. A house will always be a good investment if you can afford the mortgage, just do not overstretch yourself. My parents, grand parents all owned their own homes so I do not agree with this myth that the majority of people rented until the mid eighties at all.

Ineedaname

Maybe not the majority Dojo, I got that bit wrong, but a bigger percentage than in recent years anyway:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=821