Overdrawn Help

oldjonah

We get enough money in each month to cover the bills, but as my partner is paid weekly and of differing amounts we keep going overdrawn. The bank is now charging us so much that I can't even go shopping and with 2 kids this is a nightmare.

At the beginning of the month the HSBC charged us £100 for being overdrawn and today they have added £70 of charge card misuse fees.

My partner was paid today and we are still £150 overdrawn.

The bank wont give us an overdraft due to the fact that our "borrowing" is too high. But they seem to be quite happy to let us dig ourselves in deeper.

Need some advice on what to do please......

grumbler

The only advice here could be: [URL=The only advice here could be: Budget, budget and budget. Even if you are in debt and cannot get an agreed overdraft you still have thousands of pounds that you spend during a year. Make an effort and build some ‘cushion’ on your account. For example, never go below £300 balance on your account unless this is absolutely unavoidable. This £300 will be your own charge-free and interest-free overdraft.]Budget[/URL], budget and budget. Even if you are in debt and cannot get an agreed overdraft you still have thousands of pounds that you spend during a year. Make an effort and build some ‘cushion’ on your account. For example, never go below £300 balance on your account unless this is absolutely unavoidable. This £300 will be your own charge-free and interest-free overdraft.

squeaky

oldjonah wrote:

We get enough money in each month to cover the bills, but as my partner is paid weekly and of differing amounts we keep going overdrawn. The bank is now charging us so much that I can't even go shopping and with 2 kids this is a nightmare.

At the beginning of the month the HSBC charged us £100 for being overdrawn and today they have added £70 of charge card misuse fees.

My partner was paid today and we are still £150 overdrawn.

The bank wont give us an overdraft due to the fact that our "borrowing" is too high. But they seem to be quite happy to let us dig ourselves in deeper.

Need some advice on what to do please......

For starters that looks like HSBC are way too expensive, Sheesh!

The experts will be along shortly but in the meantime you could look up getting credit cards that have 0% on balance transfers (BT) and quickly doing a balance transfer from your new card to your account to cleart that expensive overdraft. Then, don't forget to pay the card off over time. And yes, do follow grumblers link to budgeting.

davidcampbell

oldjonah wrote:

The bank wont give us an overdraft due to the fact that our "borrowing" is too high. But they seem to be quite happy to let us dig ourselves in deeper.

Need some advice on what to do please......

have to agree with grumbler. your problems seems to be that transactions are happening at the "wrong" times.

can you look at amending the dates of your direct debits/standing orders etc?

dont use your cards unless you have money in your account (which is what you have agreed to do when u opened acc). make sure you KNOW you have money available, dont guess.



and to qualify your above statement,

hsbc are not happy for you to dig yourself deeper as you suggest.

they are unhappy at the thought of giving you an overdraft which you (based on recent acc history), cannot manage.

hth

DC

roger56

I've posted these suggestions on other threads, they may help you too. Un-authorised bank charges often seem high in relation to the actual initial overdraft:

This CAB page offers good advice for dealing with debts:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index...htm#Typesofdebt
Cutting you outgoings is the first step. It may need some belt tightening, but that's much better than paying high charges and the end result will be more money staying in your pocket.

Try to reduce your monthly expenditure..some suggestions (sorry if they are obvious):
If you have a mobile, is it contract? Would PAYG be cheaper (probably yes if you minimize to necessary calls).
Do you eat out a lot or use ready meals? Try cooking your own meals to reduce food bills (using fresh food can be healthier).
Do you drive? Can you cut petrol bills?
Utilities, are you getting a good price? Try this company, they have a fair trade
policy and are one of the cheapest (Martin has highlighted these previously) http://www.ebico.co.uk/

Best of Luck

Turning_into_scrooge

Have you considered opening up a basic bank account at another bank? This way you can take control of your money and try to negotiate a monthly repayment with your present bank. It was partly bank charges which spiraled me out of control amongst other things they amounted to nearly £600 in one month due to bounced DD etc even though iwas paying in the money was either in cheques which they wouldn't honor or it was paid in the day the debit was due to leave the account. The thing really i found was to budget and budget harshly too and phone CCCS for help which i got. It was CCCS who told me to change bank accounts to take control of my money. I dont have any overdraft nowas its the last thing i need but things are allot easier now.

Magentasue

When we were paid weekly (and weakly) we ran two accounts. Our original account was our payments account. The standing orders and direct debits all went out on the 1st. I remember there was one direct debit we couldn't change (BT?) but everyone else was fine when we asked.

We opened another account and wages went into into it. We added up our payments and divided by four and transferred that amount into our bill account every month. We built up a credit because of five week months and that used to pay the annual TV Licence - £18 a year, I remember! By the 1st, there was enough to pay everything. In our spending account we were left with what we had to live on and didn't have to worry about bills.

Quintain_2

Another tip that I learned from my Dad all those years ago before ATMs and mini statements is to keep a simple notebook ruled into 4 columns - date, in, out and £ balance.
Every time money goes into the account, write it in the notebook and update the balance. And every single time you take money out do the same and update the balance. If you list all your direct debits/standing orders in date order on the book's inside cover you will easily be able to enter them into your columns at the correct time of the month.
If you pay by debit card or withdraw cash from an ATM or cashback at supermarket always put the receipt in the same pocket/purse. Before going to sleep that day empty the pocket/purse and update the notebook. [Don't forget any cheques you've written!] You will then always KNOW how much is in the account.
If you always round down the money going in (ie £95.60 is entered as £95) and round up the money coming out (ie £20.45 becomes £21) you will always be a few pennies better off than you thought.
Oh, don't forget to check 'your' notebook against the monthly bank statement when it comes!

Hope this helps.