Student account and current account Overdraft help needed!

cbmcox

Hi,

I have been a student for the past 3 years and have always banked with Halifax using a current account. I have an overdraft of £1500 on the current account for which i have paid £30 a month.
I was (probably quite stupidly) unaware that a student account offered a free overdraft, It was something i never bothered looking into when starting as a student as i had presumed that student accounts were just more likely to offer overdrafts and as i already had one with my current account i never pursued a change to a student account. Stupid.

To summarise i have been paying £30 a month for the past 3 years when i could have had an overdraft for free. Is anyone aware of any grounds upon which i could pursue this with Halifax with regards to getting some of these fees back?! I am also now aware of the "Graduate accounts" where the 0 charge overdraft lasts for a further year following graduation. I will obviously be trying to get that account.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

phona

The way I read this it sounds like you were not a student at the time you opened your account so I don't think you have any grounds to reclaim the charges.
If you were already a student then you may have (flimsy) grounds for a complaint.

Being a student doesn't mean you don't pay overdraft charges, having a student account (usually) does. You did not have a student account, therefore you need to pay to use the overdraft, as per the terms and conditions you agreed to.

It is not the bank's job to ensure you have the product that best meets your needs - it's your responsibility. You were aware student accounts existed and should have read about them. This is no more the bank's fault than if you'd realised your savings had been earning 0.1% when the bank offers an account with 1% interest.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is chalk it up to experience. Get a graduate account and start paying down the overdraft.

Sorry that's probably not what you want to hear, but it sounds like you already know this. Perhaps others will be along with different opinions.

cbmcox

phona wrote: »

The way I read this it sounds like you were not a student at the time you opened your account so I don't think you have any grounds to reclaim the charges.
If you were already a student then you may have (flimsy) grounds for a complaint.

Being a student doesn't mean you don't pay overdraft charges, having a student account (usually) does. You did not have a student account, therefore you need to pay to use the overdraft, as per the terms and conditions you agreed to.

It is not the bank's job to ensure you have the product that best meets your needs - it's your responsibility. You were aware student accounts existed and should have read about them. This is no more the bank's fault than if you'd realised your savings had been earning 0.1% when the bank offers an account with 1% interest.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is chalk it up to experience. Get a graduate account and start paying down the overdraft.

Sorry that's probably not what you want to hear, but it sounds like you already know this. Perhaps others will be along with different opinions.

Thought as much! Thanks for the reply. Was worth a shot but the error is definitely on my part.

Ironically it was at a meeting the bank requested to check that their services are meeting my needs that this was all made apparent!

Cheers again!

colsten

You could grovel and beg them for a refund but you have no grounds for a complaint to the bank. You will most likely get absolutely nowhere as it was entirely your own fault but the only thing you can lose by asking is your pride.

It should be a life lesson to you that you should never just presume anything but check things out in detail. It's not as if Halifax or any other bank are hiding their products and related charges - everything is freely accessible on their websites.

phona

I'd just like to add that it's nice to hear someone here accepting responsibility for their own mistakes. There are so many threads (especially from first-time posters) where people ask how they can complain then get really grumpy when the short answer is they can't.
Lesson learned OP, and welcome to the forum.