Bank Charges / refused overdraft, Catch 22 stuation!

quidless

I currently go overdrawn unavoidably every month due to general living costs and bank charges. If I could just get an arranged overdraft from my bank I could 'crawl my way back out of the red' and I wouldn't be getting charged... which in turn is causing me to go overdrawn again! So I'm in this Catch 22 situation. I am unable to get an overdraft from my bank due to defaults on old accounts from 3-4 years ago. Last week my credit score on Experian was rated as Good 925 pts, since then I have asked my bank for an overdraft, they refused, now my score is Fair, which is extremely irritating :mad:. If I could just get the bank to help me out on this matter I could get my bank balance back to a healthier state and they wouldn't keep charging me (although they're probably rubbing their hands together with me as a customer at the moment).

I'm sure this is a common problem and it may have been posted before, so bear with me, I'm new to the forum! But I'm getting to the point now where I seem to be going round in circles.

Please can anyone give me any help / suggestions on how to manage this and get back on track with my bank account.

meer53

The only way to get back on track if you can't get an overdraft is to look at your living expenses. Post a SOA on the DFW board and you'll get lots of help and advice on how to cut down.

innovate

May be get a loan with another bank so you can pay your overdraft off? Loans are generally cheaper than overdrafts. But of course you will have to stick doggedly to the repayment plan.

It also seems you have to reduce your spending so you can live within your means. Fill in a SOA and post it over on the Debtfree Wannabe forum, they are good at suggesting where people can save.

SOA form: http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

opinions4u

Can you earn more (e.g. Overtime, second job)?

If not, spending less is the solution. How you achieve that is up to you. But TV package, mobile phone contract, making lunch at home instead of buying at work, cutting out coffee shops, beans on toast meals etc are all options to cut back quick.

If I could just get an arranged overdraft from my bank I could 'crawl my way back out of the red' and I wouldn't be getting charged

Most people who do this just spend up to their new overdraft limit and beyond. The cycle continues, just with more debt.

Thrugelmir

quidless wrote: »

If I could just get the bank to help me out on this matter

Not the banks problem to resolve. You need to start by analysing every penny you spend and finding savings to reduce your outgoings.

pinkdalek

Set up a seperate account to pay your bills, transfer sufficient funds to pay these bills each month. What you have left each month is yours to spend.

Look at areas in which you can save money. For example how much do you spend on your lunch each day? Be amazing how much you can save by making your own lunch. Is there nobody who you work with who lives close to you who can car share with you each day and you can split the costs.

Another suggestion if you use debit card for petrol/groceries why not use credit card instead within your budget and then clear it each month only taking your account overdrawn for a few days rather than weeks at a time.

If you overdraft is >£500 then it may be better to look at getting a loan, clearing your debts and having one structured payment each month.

The only way to stop the bank charging you is not to use the services they charge you for. Don't forget it is the bank's money you are using, they are quite within their rights to charge you for it.

YorkshireBoy

quidless wrote: »

I currently go overdrawn unavoidably every month due to general living costs

"Unavoidably"? It must be direct debits that are causing the problem?...why not cancel them and pay your creditors/utilities/etc when you have the funds?

Last week my credit score on Experian was rated as Good 925 pts

How much did that meaningless number cost?

If it was free (with a 30-day trial for example), then well done...but it's still a meaningless number!

If you parted with money for it, then that's the kind of "general living costs" to cut back on.

jonesMUFCforever

OP You say that you have had bad credit from 3-4 years ago - and now you seem to be living beyond your means hence the bank charges - sorry to be direct here but have you learnt nothing?

FireWyrm

A credit card is a really bad idea in your case since you seem to be having trouble living within your means. Credit cards are notoriously difficult to control and would most likely just lead to worse trouble.

Come over to DFW and post a Statement of Affairs (sticky on that board) and we will be able to advise.

PeppaPig555

Speak to the bank and ask if they have a department for customers in financial difficulty. Where I work in one of the main banks they normally up your overdraft (or put one on) to the amount you're overdrawn and any future charges due and set up a repayment plan to bring it back to zero. Ad others have said, if you're going over your overdraft due to regular living costs you need to be looking at your outgoings.

innovate

PeppaPig555 wrote: »

Speak to the bank and ask if they have a department for customers in financial difficulty. Where I work in one of the main banks they normally up your overdraft (or put one on) to the amount you're overdrawn and any future charges due and set up a repayment plan to bring it back to zero. Ad others have said, if you're going over your overdraft due to regular living costs you need to be looking at your outgoings.

Yeah, charge the customer (who is in a corner and desperate) a huge amount for an even larger overdraft! If the banks, or even the people working in it, had a social conscience, they would pro-actively offer such people a loan, with a much more affordable interest rate.