student, piling debts...no job and no way out

studie97

Hi MSE readers,

I'm currently in my second year of uni, I have 1 student bank account with HSBC with a maxed overdraft and a maxed hsbc credit card. I owe three grand in student loans with another 5 grand lined up for this year. I have been unable to find a job that fits in with my studies and due to increasing financial restraints on my parents at the moment I have no income and increasing debt. HSBC will not allow me to enter further debt with them and due to what I believe was a few mistakes last year regarding a phone contract I am now being rejected for accounts with other banks due to a failed credit check. However I have not been able to personally file for a credit report as of yet.

Could anybody with any experience of a similar situation or just anybody willing to give me some guidance on how to go about these problems, I am open to all suggestions as any sort of income at the moment would be a blessing with christmas approaching fast.

Thanks in advance,
studie97

sgx.saint

Hi Studie.

My first suggestion would be to post up an SOA. There is a sticky on this forumn by southernscouser. It's basically a list of your income and expenditure so we can see if we can save you any money.

I would recommend getting a copy of your credit file, this can be done in a number of ways. But if you just want to have a look at it, go here:-

http://www.garlik.com/

Register, it will take a couple of days for you to receive something through the post but then you will be able to view your credit file.

In relation to your phone contract, you may have received a default notice, or a record of missed payments. So it is best to see what has happened so you can then take action.

Forget about your student loans, imho they are not debt in the typical sense. They will come out of your wages at a reasonable rate when your earning enough.

Have you tried opening a second account elsewhere?

I would also recommend you trying to find some xmas work. There should be plenty available, and will help you out a lot.

Btw, I am a student myself. Don't worry too much!

Actually had another thought, you may be entitled to some money from your Universities hardship fund. You should look into that ......

studie97

thanks for the advice sgx, I have registered with Garlik and awaiting their code through the post.

I have recently been knocked back for a number of other student bank accounts and a few random accounts such as smile.co.uk. I am guessing that this is due to a poor credit review as this is the reason Smile provided.

Plus I would be unsure on how to create a correct income and expenditure sheet as my income and expenditure varies so much it would be impossible to rely on any information it could provide you.

piggeh

You have to be realistic - if you cant afford to stay at uni, and cant find a job that you can fit in around your studies, then you need to think about quitting before the situation gets worse. Looking for another student account to eat up another overdraft and credit card will only make matters worse. Before you know it you'll be drinking to forget financial matters and your life will be in tatters (says he who had to declare bankruptcy after being at university with 3 student accounts & 2 credit cards)

Ask about the hardship fund, and make a concerted effort to find a job. Work out your 'typical' I&E and see where you can cut back to save money and be within your budget. Rent books from the library for example, get a bicycle rather than the bus or car. Buy non-branded food goods. Open a basic bank account to put your money into, in case HSBC get funny. I would not pay any money off to HSBC as it is money you need at the moment to see you through. Just pay them a token payment to acknowledge the debt (speak to the CCCS about this) - a £1 a month or something.

There are many money-making suggestions on this forum. Take a look, and see where you can do the same.

studie97

I do plan on restarting my search for a job after the holidays but at the moment it seems impossible due to seasonal positions already being filled. There is no way I would even contemplate dropping out of university really, I have worked too hard to get where I am already and would rather try to fight my way through!

I do place £5 a week into my account, however this mostly gets took up by the monthly charges for my credit card.

sgx.saint

Following on from what piggeh has said, hop over to this thread here :-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=319736

It explains about basic bank accounts and there are some recommendations on which accounts to pick. I would open an account as soon as possible, any income you do receive should be paid into this new account.

You are then in a better position financially.

Are HSBC currently harrassing you for repayment, or is it more a case of that your up to your agreed limit and have no money?

studie97

They have recently contacted me requesting some payment to cover the amount I have went over my overdraft (currently at around £70), however it is more that they are no longer willing to give me any more money and my income has therefore been cut off until I can find another source.

ps.

I have only recently been reading these forums and I am thoroughly enjoying the money saving and making tips, for example in the last week I have made £5.40 in pigsback points and around £2.50 in surveys and today signed up for a few mystery shopper links.:j

sgx.saint

Ok, well, I still think it is best to open a second account elsewhere to protect in case of any eventuallity. Do this asap.

I would recommend to try CitiBank, as they are offering current accounts to those with adverse credit, less credit facilities ofc.

Secondly, you need to address your issue of income. Apply for the University hardship loan and any other financial support you may be eligable for. Book an appointment with a Student Finance Advisor at your Uni. Can you sell anything on eBay to help you along?

Try, try, try looking for some Xmas work, even if it is working on a bar.

You do need to look at your typical Income & Expenditure so you can budget effectively. This will also allow you to see how much you can afford to repay to your debts.

slowlyfading

I'm a second year student as well, in a same kind of situation as you, so -hug- i know how stressful it is!! I wouldn't suggest opening another account though, as I think it would just be too tempting to spend or whatever. Are there any things you can sell on ebay or amazon? Any text books you dont need, or dont use or whatever, can go onto Amazon through the MarketPlace and bits and bobs, dvds etc can go on Ebay. It might not be as good as if you had a part time job, but its a start. Do you get your second installment of your student loan in January? If you do, then its just getting til then, and once you have that in your account, you can work out a budget plan then around what the situation is.
Nicola x

piggeh

Good luck trying to fight your way through. I left for non financial reasons but only really worked out my debts once I'd left. I think it's pretty good that you are working on sorting out your finances whilst at uni.

Contact the CCCS, and ultimately tell HSBC that you cannot afford to pay off what you owe, and can only arrange a token payment until your circumstances improve (ie a pound a month or whatever). Obviously you will need to have a different account in place before this, and notify the SLC to pay any amounts into a different account if they send you the money directly into your Bank.

studie97

Ok, I will look into getting another basic account and transferring its small income to this account, thanks for that tip.
I will look into getting an appointment with my universitys student support, though I am unsure whether this will be possible with University finishing in the next few days for the winter.