debit card help!

dankes

Hello, I need help with the most ridiculous situation that I am in.

I'm a 35-year-old homeowner and no-one will give me a debit card.

My story is very long, but to shorten it, I have two CCJs against me. One that was from my flat's freeholder a bunch of dodgy dealers who I paid off four years ago - just a few weeks after the judgement but they neglected to inform the court. I only discovered this recently and after about 50 phone calls managed to get the letter confirming I had paid from them and sent it to the court and have requested a certificate of satisfaction.

The second CCJ is really not my fault. I did not recieve the documentation in time and have proof of this. However, because I came to an agreement with the IRS outside of court in the time the case was being reheard, I cancelled the second hearing because we came to this agreement, however I did not realise that the judgment was still upheld even though there was no longer any case. Now neither, two years later, the court nor the Inland Revenue will admit their mistake and remove this from my record even though I paid them in full. I have a certificate of satisfaction for this.

So, I go away for a couple of years to work abroad in Australia and come back and find that HSBC have cancelled my Switch card and won't give me another one because of my credit rating even though my mortgage is with them. And Nationwide, who I have been with for 17 years and have NEVER been overdrawn with or had any kind of trouble with won't upgrade my cash card to a debit card because of my credit score. I have checked with Experian it is very poor.

The true ridiculousness of the situation is that I have no outstanding debts apart from my mortgage, I have a six-figure sum in my account and yet, Nationwide won't give me a debit card. I hate carrying around cash, which I have to do, or use my Australian debit card, which not only incurs a cost but isn't chip and pin so I have to have the same 'yes, you can take those cards' converstation in every shop.

Can anyone tell me how I can get around this? Nationwide keep asking me to come in and talk about what to do with all the money in my account but won't let me talk to someone other than the receptionist directly about upgrading my card. It really annoys me that I'm being penalised by Nationwide for not asking for a debit card earlier - when I truly had no money but a very good credit rating - especially when I've been such a loyal customer of theirs.

I have thought about changing bank accounts, but with my credit rating being so poor, I'm not sure if anyone will have me. Not even with the money in my account.

It's driving me crazy and there must be a way around it. If anyone knows of this way, then PLEASE, PLEASE tell me.

Thanks for reading.
D x

mleonard79

Hi Dankes,

If Nationwide want you to keep your money with them then they should be able to get you a debit card. I would give trying to open another current account a go - if you're not asking for an overdraft which you won't be then you might get lucky. It's worth a shot - if the first one you try rejects you though don't keep trying as you could damage your credit score further.

Other than that I'm sure there are certain extortionate rate credit cards you may be able to apply for in an attempt to improve your credit rating - have a look or ask on the credit cards board. If you could get one of those you could use it for purchases and simply pay it off straightaway to avoid the nasty interest. Just by regularly paying something like this your credit rating should improve. Good luck with it.

Regards

Michelle

tripled

You could always get a basic bank account with a Visa electron and tranfer money into it via internet banking as and when you need to. I can't remember which banks offer the electron, I think Co-Op might be one, but I'm sure someone will be able to tell you

nezbit

Just echoing what others have posted, you should be able to get a basic bank account, heres a link to a summary table showing those with limited debit cards:

http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/banking/bestbuys/banking_basic_bank_accounts.aspx
I was in a similar position as you a couple of years ago and I opened one of these accounts to get my wages paid in to and took out a couple of high interest rate credit cards. Making sure I paid these cards every month meant I paid no interest and they basically took the place of a switch card. Using them also had the bonus of improving my credit rating.

dankes

Thanks for your help and advice everyone. I will look into opening a basic account. I'm a bit nervous of credit cards but if, as you say, I pay them all off at the end of the month, I can always cancel them after a year and have a better credit rating.

trish06

hi Dankes

my credit rating is poor to

i tried for a halifax basic account and got it,you dont get an overdraft or checkbook ,which was fine with me
you can do online banking,and pay for things with chip and pin

i also opened another account with natwest,its there step account,you get a chip and pin card with these also,hope this helps :beer:

mleonard79

dankes wrote: »

Thanks for your help and advice everyone. I will look into opening a basic account. I'm a bit nervous of credit cards but if, as you say, I pay them all off at the end of the month, I can always cancel them after a year and have a better credit rating.

Hi Dankes,

That's the thing about credit rating - it's a catch-22 situation. In order to build a good credit rating you actually need to have credit (not too much mind!) but in order to get credit you have to have a good credit rating :mad: . So since you've ended up with a bad credit rating you need to kind of start back where an 18-year old with no credit history would and that means the lower level bank accounts and the high-interest credit cards. It's a pain but by using a credit card regularly you will improve your credit rating and eventually be able to get the better stuff. Good luck with it and let us know how you get on with getting an account!

Regards

Michelle

chesky369

"Nationwide keep asking me to come in and talk about what to do with all the money in my account "
Why don't you take them up on this offer and at least you'll get to talk to someone who may be able to help - you might try to do some kind of trade-off, buying some of their insurance, etc. in exchange for a debit card.

missile

Open a current account with cahoot, I have never heard of anyone being refused. As it is online banking only, you get a debit card automatically.

medic1978

LTSB seem to have less strict criteria

Yorkshire bank offer a FULL visa debit card on their BASIC bank account

Citibank are also not particularly strict according to those on the Citibank thread

dankes

Thanks for all those suggestions, I will look into all of them. Obviously I won't apply to all of them because then my credit rating will be well and truly stuffed. I'm just going to have to build it up again. I would get annoyed if I wasn't trying to build a new, centred life without the uncontrollable bouts of rage at institutions that seem created to make my life difficult. No, my new moto is don't get mad get even - so will find a new account, go have the meeting with Nationwide and then withdraw all my money and leave £5 in the account. Sounds fair enough to me.
D x