Halifax are giving me 2 weeks to pay off my £1,800 overdraft!

pinkdalek

Have you spoken to them about seeing if they are able to offer a loan to consolidate the overdraft?

Don't want to be blunt but you've stated you are constantly in the overdraft but yet you are planning on paying for a holiday soon for £700?

I think personally you should be looking at your current lifestyle, income and expenditures and seeing where you can reduce outgoings to pay off your overdraft. For starters if you are in your overdraft of £1800 with Halifax than you are paying on average £30 in overdraft charges each month alone.

Speak to them before it gets out of control.

Lokolo

Perhaps your priorities are the wrong way.

Instead of buying holidays and taking out a mortgage, it may have been wiser to pay off the OD. The reason they most probably have taken this action is because it seems you have made no effort to pay back this debt.

Overdrafts are for short term borrowing. Not 5 year borrowing.

The CC idea is a good one but the credit check may not be favourable for the mortgage lenders. And if you are thinking about a mortgage, why not use some of the deposit to get rid of the debt first?

Robisere

pinkdalek has it right.

You have no one but yourself to blame for this mess, you are a living example of the reasons why the country has so much debt. Someone should tell you this, instead of commiserating with you.

Everything has to be paid for. There is no such thing as free credit.

Having said that, in the hope that you might understand it, have you thought of speaking to a Credit Union for a loan to pay off ALL your debts? Check out this link and find one near you:
http://www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk/home

They will give you an appointment and you will need to take all your bank details - statements, the Halifax letter, etc. Also ALL debts. Everything you owe. They will set up a DD to pay it off.

My initial words may sound harsh to you, but you need to understand that you have entered into all this debt yourself. It is not the fault of the Halfax. An overdraft is NOT a loan. Read the T & C's about this, it will tell you.

I think that many people are like you today. Financial education is sadly not in the curriculum, and many parents are passing on this lack of knowledge, it becomes self-fulfilling legacy. I have 2 children with 2 of their own, both are single parents. Each has a relatively low paid job (although one has 2 jobs!) and each is financially solvent and independent, because that is what we taught them.

kaylz39

pinkdalek wrote: »

Don't want to be blunt but you've stated you are constantly in the overdraft but yet you are planning on paying for a holiday soon for £700?

My best friend gets married in Cuba, if I had to break myself completely I was going to this wedding.

Despite earning a good wage I live in my OD- I could quite easily get out of it in a few months without killing myself but its too easy to use when its there. Alot of people are in the same position.

Robisere

My best friend gets married in Cuba, if I had to break myself completely I was going to this wedding.

You are already broke!

Alot of people are in the same position.

That is an excuse?

kaylz39

Robisere wrote: »

pinkdalek has it right.

You have no one but yourself to blame for this mess, you are a living example of the reasons why the country has so much debt. Someone should tell you this, instead of commiserating with you.
.

You must have read my post wrong, I haven't at any point asked for sympathy. I was simply enquiring if anyone was in the same or similar situation.

Yes the OD was supposed to be a short term solution, instead of getting student loans at University I got this OD and relied upon it instead of getting myself into a longer term £20,000 debt.

I wouldn't say its people like me why the country has so much debt, there's alot worse out there than the £1,800 OD I have. There's always going to be debt, in fact it keeps some people in a job! £1,800 is a drop in the ocean compared to most people in debt.

kaylz39

Robisere wrote: »

My best friend gets married in Cuba, if I had to break myself completely I was going to this wedding.

You are already broke!

Alot of people are in the same position.

That is an excuse?

I'm not broke, because I manage to live & without further borrowing.

The OD has been there for a long time so like most I kind of think as though its mine.

No, not an excuse- why would I need to make an excuse to you?

Hooloovoo

kaylz39 wrote: »

I'm not broke

Your current account is not above zero. Therefore you are broke. Skint. Zip. No money for holidays.

pinkdalek

kaylz39 wrote: »

I'm not broke, because I manage to live & without further borrowing.

Well that's great then, so it seems you just need help budgeting and getting your current debts cleared BEFORE it spirals out of control - which it will when the Halifax remove your overdraft and it's not repaid.

As I said speak to your bank, see if they can arrange a loan for you to pay the overdraft back, as I stated you are easily paying about £30 a month in overdraft fees alone.

Enjoy your friend's wedding in Cuba, again though something like this is best paid for on a credit card or loan.

callum9999

There are plenty of people on here who start throwing accusations and demanding that they are virtuous while the evil bank is revelling in the misery they are causing.

All the OP is asking, is for a solution for a blatantly unreasonable - albeit 100% legal - request to completely pay off a £1800 in 2 weeks. They aren't blaming the bank, they aren't trying to weasel out of the debt, they clearly understand they were living unsustainably and have been making an effort to reverse that - WHY ON EARTH do you feel the need to start whinging at the them saying it's all their fault and they deserve "no sympathy" etc. etc.?

I'm not exactly sure what to suggest - but I'd personally go down the credit card route (short term). To me, it looks like you are constantly in your overdraft but when your wages come in it gets paid off in full. Therefore, you should be able to work it so all your expenses go on the credit card, then you pay it off in full at the end of every month - that would actually be better for you as you'd be paying no interest or charges at all.

Obviously you should be continuing your cut-backs etc over the next few months so you are no longer in a situation where you can't pay if your debt is unexpectedly called back again.