This is driving me insane!

dobsd1987

Hi all, I really hope someone can help!:mad:

When I was 16 (I'm now 25) I opened an account with NatWest. When I was 17, I requested a £50 overdraft and they gave it to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the legal age limit for an overdraft 18?
Anyway... I was in college and got myself a cash in hand job, so I wasn't using the account at all. What I didn't know was, I had gone over my overdraft by around 50p.
The next time I looked at my account, I had just under £500 in charges.
I have been paying this off at £10 a month for god-knows-how-long.
It's only recently that I've come to know that bank charges can be reclaimed, is it too late to claim this back?
As I believe the overdraft was given to me unlawfully in the first place, what channels would I need to go through to reclaim?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Premier_2

dobsd1987 wrote: »

Hi all, I really hope someone can help!:mad:

When I was 16 (I'm now 25) I opened an account with NatWest. When I was 17, I requested a £50 overdraft and they gave it to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the legal age limit for an overdraft 18?
Anyway... I was in college and got myself a cash in hand job, so I wasn't using the account at all. What I didn't know was, I had gone over my overdraft by around 50p.
The next time I looked at my account, I had just under £500 in charges.
I have been paying this off at £10 a month for god-knows-how-long.
It's only recently that I've come to know that bank charges can be reclaimed, is it too late to claim this back?
As I believe the overdraft was given to me unlawfully in the first place, what channels would I need to go through to reclaim?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I fully understand how this must be driving you insane.

How did you manage to not only go overdrwan, but overdrawn by £50.50 when you were not even using the account??? :huh:

Have a look through your statements and if you really didn't use the account at all, ask the bank howcome you suddenly ended up being £50.50 overdrawn.

Mind you, if you were not using the account, why did you request an overdraft facility on it??? :huh:

McKneff

I'm reading that he used the card, then stopped when he got his cash in hand job.

Can you actually get an overdraft facility at age 17 or did you lie and say you were 18.

dobsd1987

Premier wrote: »

I fully understand how this must be driving you insane.

How did you manage to not only go overdrwan, but overdrawn by £50.50 when you were not even using the account??? :huh:

Have a look through your statements and if you really didn't use the account at all, ask the bank howcome you suddenly ended up being £50.50 overdrawn.

Mind you, if you were not using the account, why did you request an overdraft facility on it??? :huh:

I was using the account to begin with and used my overdraft, the last transaction I made took me over the £50 limit by 50p. I didn't know that had happened, so ended up being charged for it over and over. I stopped using the account when I got a cash in hand part time job, so never thought to look at it.
I guess this is why there are age limits on these things!
Reall don't know what to do next :-(

dobsd1987

McKneff wrote: »

I'm reading that he used the card, then stopped when he got his cash in hand job.

Can you actually get an overdraft facility at age 17 or did you lie and say you were 18.

I didn't lie, no. For whatever reason, the cashier who dealt with me at the time must've seen fit to give me an overdraft at the age of 17!

PS - I'm a she

Premier_2

dobsd1987 wrote: »

I was using the account to begin with and used my overdraft, the last transaction I made took me over the £50 limit by 50p. I didn't know that had happened, so ended up being charged for it over and over. I stopped using the account when I got a cash in hand part time job, so never thought to look at it.
I guess this is why there are age limits on these things!
Reall don't know what to do next :-(

Why did you stop using it after spending the £50 you didn't have??? :huh:

Was it perhaps that you knew that any payment into the account would first be used to offset the money you had already borrowed?

You would have to repay it one day. And as you have found to your cost it ends up costing a lot more than £50 once the 8 years interest/charges are added to it.

dobsd1987

Premier wrote: »

Why did you stop using it after spending the £50 you didn't have??? :huh:

Was it perhaps that you knew that any payment into the account would first be used to offset the money you had already borrowed?

You would have to repay it one day. And as you have found to your cost it ends up costing a lot more than £50 once the 8 years interest/charges are added to it.

I was a kid, I didn't really understand it. At 17, if someone said "Here's £50", would you have first thought about the implication of it? I don't think any 17 year old would.

I didn't stop using it for for fear that the money would be used to repay the overdraft... I stopped using it because there was no point putting £80 per week in there, when all I had to buy was, well.... whatever 17 year olds buy! I just didn't see the point in going to the bank all the time to deposit money.

Yes, I am NOW aware of all of that, but you aren't really making any attemp to answer my original questions:

Is it illegal to give someone under 18 an overdraft?
Is it too late to claim it back?
If it isn't too late, how do I go about claiming this money back?

dunstonh

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the legal age limit for an overdraft 18?

No. Banks can lend to minors. However, they cannot enforce the debt.

dzug1

dobsd1987 wrote: »

Is it illegal to give someone under 18 an overdraft?
Is it too late to claim it back?
If it isn't too late, how do I go about claiming this money back?

No it's not

Claiming back bank charges is except in very limited circumstances a thing of the past

You don't

magpiecottage

I suspect they may be able to enforce charges from age 18 (but I have never had cause to look into this).

On the other hand, if you complained I suspect the bank may decide to waive it because going to FOS would involve a £500 fee and not inconsiderable embarrassment for it even if you lost.

Premier_2

dobsd1987 wrote: »

I was a kid, I didn't really understand it. At 17, if someone said "Here's £50", would you have first thought about the implication of it? I don't think any 17 year old would.

Erm... no one gave you £50, you had to ask to borrow £50!

And I do believe the majority of 17 year olds understand that if you borrow something you are expected to give it back!

dobsd1987 wrote: »

I didn't stop using it for for fear that the money would be used to repay the overdraft... I stopped using it because there was no point putting £80 per week in there, when all I had to buy was, well.... whatever 17 year olds buy! I just didn't see the point in going to the bank all the time to deposit money.

So why did you have a bank account at all, and why did you ask the bank to lend you £50? :huh:

dobsd1987 wrote: »

Yes, I am NOW aware of all of that, but you aren't really making any attemp to answer my original questions:

Is it illegal to give someone under 18 an overdraft?
Is it too late to claim it back?
If it isn't too late, how do I go about claiming this money back?

In answer to your questions:
No
Yes
N/A