Bank of Scotland Overdraft Charges

caz246

Hi, hope I am posting this in the right place.

I have an overdraft of £1200 with BOS. I have had this since before they changed the fees so I now pay a daily fee of £1 for a planned overdraft.

I am not in a position to pay this in full at the moment, even if I reduced it on a monthly basis I would still have the charges of around £30 each month.

Is there anything I can do or any suggestions from anyone who is/has been in a simialr situation? Getting a loan to clear the overdraft is not an option as I have a poor credit rating. I just feel I am going to be stuck paying these charges forever.

Thanks in advance.

opinions4u

Ask them if you can change the account to their standard current account that charges £5 a month plus interest.

That should be very slightly cheaper.

caz246

opinions4u wrote: »

Ask them if you can change the account to their standard current account that charges £5 a month plus interest.

That should be very slightly cheaper.

I have a reward current account at the moment, I didn't know you could do that so I will look into it, thank you.

caz246

Cannot switch to the standard current account

opinions4u

caz246 wrote: »

Cannot switch to the standard current account

Sorry.

Do you make sure £1,000 a month goes through each month to trigger the £5 reward? If not, filter it through a savings account and in to the current account. 10 x £100 does the job in minutes.

Other than that I'd suggest:

1. Go to https://www.makesenseofcards.co.uk and complete a statement of affairs.

2. Post it on the Debt free Wannabe part of this forum and ask for help.

3. Visit the Up Your Income part of the forum.

4. Visit the Old Fashioned Money Saving section too.

That will give you support, slightly more income and slightly cheaper outgoings.

caz246

opinions4u wrote: »

Sorry.

Do you make sure £1,000 a month goes through each month to trigger the £5 reward? If not, filter it through a savings account and in to the current account. 10 x £100 does the job in minutes.

Yes I do at the moment but partner and I have opened joint account with another bank and I would like to have my salary paid into that as it would be easier for bills etc.

Apologies I'm not quite sure what you mean about the savings account? (Blonde moment)

Macca83_2

Caz did bos give you a reason as to why you can't change to their classic account?

caz246

Macca83 wrote: »

Caz did bos give you a reason as to why you can't change to their classic account?

I asked what my options were and if I could move to another account and was told that I couldn't They gave me a number to call and I would have to give my income/expenditure but I'm not in any hardship I don't need anyone to work that out for me. I just wanted tro try get rid of the charges so I could start paying the OD back and close the account. The £30 could be going towards reducing the balance. I think it's slightly unfair I had the OD before the daily fee came into play but then I'm sure there's something somewhere in the small print that allows them to change these things so not much I can do about that.

Macca83_2

A couple questions

Did you see a banking advisor or just one of the customer advisors at the cash desks?

Your bank card - does it say Halifax or bank of Scotland in the top right hand corner?

And did you visit a bos or Halifax branch?

I'll explain, as opinions4u said, bos have an account called the classic account that charges £5 a month if you use the overdraft, plus monthly interest of 1.48% on the balance.
You cannot change to this account if you're in a bos branch with a Halifax branded card. But if this is not the case i cannot see why they would refuse you. All full facility current accounts can be redesignated to a classic.

It sounds like they may have misinterpretated your enquiry. I think they have given you their money management helpline

caz246

Macca83 wrote: »

A couple questions

Did you see a banking advisor or just one of the customer advisors at the cash desks?

Your bank card - does it say Halifax or bank of Scotland in the top right hand corner?

And did you visit a bos or Halifax branch?

I'll explain, as opinions4u said, bos have an account called the classic account that charges £5 a month if you use the overdraft, plus monthly interest of 1.48% on the balance.
You cannot change to this account if you're in a bos branch with a Halifax branded card. But if this is not the case i cannot see why they would refuse you. All full facility current accounts can be redesignated to a classic.

It sounds like they may have misinterpretated your enquiry. I think they have given you their money management helpline

When I looked online at account options it didn't give me the classic account as an option, instead gave me a number to call. I haven't been into the branch.

My card is black and has Bank of Scotland Ultimate Reward on it (I used to pay for the upgraded account until they started charging me the daily fee so I cancelled that but have the same card? If that amkes sense?)

I think I'm maybe best going into the branch when I get a chance.

Macca83_2

Hopefully I've done my sums right *fingers crossed* if you had a static overdrawn balance of £1000 a month, your interest charge would be £14.80 a month plus your £5 charge