2nd Year Student, Need Help With Bank Account!

rb10c

I decided to finally switch to a student account with Santander, at the end of my 1st year of studying at university, to give me a safety net when I'm living there next year. I completely ignored the whole student account idea, because I was living at home and commuting in.
I was told by Santander that due to the late change, it was not possible, and they do not allow 2nd year students to change to a student account. However, if I had another student account at another bank firm or buildings society, then I could do what was referred to as a "switch", which was explicitly stated as an entirely different process.

My dilemma is, do I go with another bank account, and open a brand new account as a student afresh, transfer all ingoing student loan money to the new account and go about my everyday student life, or do I create another bank account somewhere else as a student just to switch over to Santander?

It's all down to whatever bank firm or buildings society offers me the best overdraft, whilst also being interest free. I'm not interested in any additional perks such as railcards, it's all about having an overdraft as a safety net.

Any help would be appreciated, as regards to any of the issues above.

atypical

rb10c wrote: »

My dilemma is, do I go with another bank account, and open a brand new account as a student afresh, transfer all ingoing student loan money to the new account and go about my everyday student life, or do I create another bank account somewhere else as a student just to switch over to Santander?

Ultimately it's up to you. If it were me and I was told I needed to go through all that hassle to have the privilege of banking with them, I'd move elsewhere.

If overdraft is your only concern, the Co-op offer is better anyway.

fishybusiness

Simply move.

Another vote for the CO-OP, no problem with you being a second yeat student

Herbalus

Who told you that you can't switch to a student account?

Have you tried walking into a branch, saying "Can I have a student account please?" and opening a new account without switching from your current account. Has anyone told you that you can't have 2 accounts?

You could then close down your current account, or keep it if you wish.

Berto11

I third CO-OP! They made it really easy for me!

Florasaurus

I'm with Lloyds, if you're in your second year then you'll get £1500 interest free overdraft depending on your credit score. I've found them to be really helpful and their internet banking is so easy to use. I'm not sure about Nationwide's student account but they're a really good bank too

DO NOT go with Royal Bank of Scotland, they are the worst bank I have ever dealt with!!

JacksterD

Another vote for the Co-Op. They offer a great overdraft and their customer service is a step up from Santander's too.

rev_henry

Santander said that to me once, I wanted to open their student account as a second account as they were doing some free insurance at the time. It was a lie. I made a complaint and got £50 compensation or something. Though I already had several accounts with them, dunno if you can make a complaint as a non customer!