Over Draft Nightmare

the_snatcher

I am with SANTANDER and currently have a £1450 overdraft facility which I reach the limit every month... I have a good wage which clears the overdraft each month when my pay goes into my account.. However, the reason I am at my o/d limit each month is that when my wage goes in, SANTANDER take the £1450 from my wage leaving me in credit until my outgoings, bills etc come out which then in turn leaves me o/d again and so the cycle continues.. I do not spend more than necessary as I want to break this cycle and do not spend on credit cards, however I do have credit cards which are paid each month amd I do not want to put my o/d on a card as I am in the process of paying my cards off... I have contacted SANTANDER for help to put me on a debt recovery plan so instead of taking the full amount out every month they take a few hundred out over a couple of months until my o/d is cleared then I will be permanantly in credit.. I have been informed by SANTANDER that they cannot help as I am not in enough debt with them to be referred to the collections dept as my o/d is paid of in full every month and will send me a lettter in the post with information of debt agancies, citizens advice etc.. I am no fool and anticipate that the advice I would be given is to do a budget and spend less than I earn this is true and I am already doing this.. If I put my o/d on a credit card then my account will be clear and I will be permantly in credit as I earn more than my outgoings, however i do not want to do this as I have cards which I am paying off... The big problem is the o/d and if it were cleared then problem solved, which if SANTANDER only took monthly re payments instead of the whole amount then my account would be in the clear.... Apologese for the long rant... Any suggestions??? Kind Regards

bexxie90

HI

Have you got a savings acc attached to your online banking,the reason I ask is because I was in a similar situation and what I did was every month a day before pay day if I had a tenner or whatever after everything had been paid,I transferred this over to the savings until eventually I had built enough up to then put into my current account and clear the O/D.

This may seem a weird way of doing it but it helped me to 'See' what I was saving as opposed to what was left not being used in the overdraft as this can be de-motivating.
HTH Bex

JuicyJesus

Your complaint seems to be that when your wages go into your overdrawn account, it is paying the overdraft off. This is how overdrafts work. Santander aren't able to reduce the amount you go overdrawn by - you are, however, by reducing your outgoings and/or increasing your income.

You could, for instance, reduce the limit by £100 each payday until it is gone completely (which is no more than what Santander would do on a debt recovery plan - which they are correct in saying is not something they will institute unless you are defaulting or near defaulting). Failing that, you could also apply for a personal loan to clear it off and pay it off in monthly instalments, albeit with interest. If you are in financial difficulty then you should contact CCCS or similar in order to set up a DMP or such, but you say your incomings are higher than your outgoings so they will most likely not be able to do anything for you.

Unfortunately, there is no way of paying the overdraft off without actually paying it off through one of these methods.

Have you got a savings acc attached to your online banking,the reason I ask is because I was in a similar situation and what I did was every month a day before pay day if I had a tenner or whatever after everything had been paid,I transferred this over to the savings until eventually I had built enough up to then put into my current account and clear the O/D.

I don't know if OP is getting charged interest or a flat daily fee for their overdraft (if it's Santander then it's likely the latter) but if she is getting charged interest then this is poor advice, as she will be paying the bank a premium to borrow her own money.

Far better to reduce the limit each month, which also has the effect of limiting how high the debt can go.

Gromitt

Maybe a more clear way of you "seeing" the overdraft being paid off is actually opening another account with another bank, having your wages being paid into that bank, and making a monthly payment to Santander to pay off your overdraft.

Santander can of course request that you pay off your overdraft in full at any time, if this happens, you can then enter a debt management plan.

meer53

If you already spend less than you earn (as you state) then the amount of your overdraft should be reducing. If it's not reducing then you need to look at your budget again as you've obviously missed something.

CLAPTON

without knowing the details of all your debts and the APR or fees etc of each debt there is no way to advice on the quickest way of reducing your debts

Wheres_My_Cashback

Wake up, Santander aren't taking your money. You've already spent it yourself, obviously money you don't have

the_snatcher

Thanks for everyones advice apart from "wheres my Cash back".... Constructive!

I have a £1450 o/d and get a wage of £1750 and outgoings of £1350 that is bills and debt....

The remainder I buy food, diesel, gas and electric which are pre paid which eats into my left over wage..

So when my wage goes in and SANTANDER takes my o/d it leaves me with just enough money to live on, not treat myself..

If SANTANDER did not take the full amount then I could clear it gradually..

I do not have savings as I am in debt and do not wish to add to that debt....

I do not have enough money in my acount to gradually reduce the o/d as the money is accounted for each month in bills, debt and living costs...

innovate

the snatcher, you will get little sympathy (incl from me) on this board.

Perhaps head over to the Debt-free wannabe board, they are more likely to may be help you with constructive suggestions on how you can reduce your debts.

psychic_teabag

How much of the £400 remainder is left after food, diesel, gas and electric ? As meer43 says, if you could pay off the debt if Santander allowed you to remain in credit, you ought to be able to do so now. All you're effectively doing is shifting the zero line on the account balance.

Suppose Santander did give you a £1430 loan, which you can pay off gradually, as you suggest. You'd save £20 o/d fees, but you'd have to pay interest on the loan (unless you think it should be interest free ?). Is it just the £20 fees that make the difference between being stuck and paying it off ?

Is it a 123 account ? If not, would the cashback from converting outweigh the £2 monhtly fee ?

CLAPTON

the_snatcher wrote: »

Thanks for everyones advice apart from "wheres my Cash back".... Constructive!

I have a £1450 o/d and get a wage of £1750 and outgoings of £1350 that is bills and debt....

The remainder I buy food, diesel, gas and electric which are pre paid which eats into my left over wage..

So when my wage goes in and SANTANDER takes my o/d it leaves me with just enough money to live on, not treat myself..

If SANTANDER did not take the full amount then I could clear it gradually..

I do not have savings as I am in debt and do not wish to add to that debt....

I do not have enough money in my acount to gradually reduce the o/d as the money is accounted for each month in bills, debt and living costs...

makes no sense

if you can afford to reduce it gradually then you can do that whether or not the amount is deducted when you are paid

list each debt with the APR/fees and your monthly payment