overdraft help

jmt4290

I am 24 years old and have been living off my overdraft for the past 2 and a half years. I am a carer for my partner, and have been out of work for the last 2 years. Due to our personal set up at home I have been unable to work for the past 2 years, and the only money I have coming in is my carers allowance which is £61.35, but it did used to be less. I have a bank account with Santander, which I opened up about 4 years ago. I did so under the thought that I had no overdraft because I specifically asked for a bank account with no overdraft. I had no problems with my bank until I stopped working 2 years ago and accidentally went overdrawn. I was surprised at first because I assumed my account didn't have an overdraft. This was quickly paid off with my final wage from my last job. Since then we have moved house, and as a result of the cost of moving house I ended up being overdrawn again, to my limit, and since then I have been overdrawn by £150. I am paying fees of £20 per month for being overdrawn. But have just checked my bank account online today to find that the fees for being overdrawn have now increased. This is going to make paying off my overdraft even harder. Not only that I have incurred fees for going over my overdraft. Whenever I spend any money from my bank account I always check to make sure that I have enough money to buy what is that I am needing. I have always been under the assumption that I have enough money, and as a result I have ended up going over my overdraft a few times. I have never intended to go over my overdraft, if I didn't have the money then I wouldn't spend it. I was wondering if there was anything I can do to reduce my fees? Or maybe if it was possible for me to reclaim some of the money from my bank? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

sourcrates

Hi,
Why have you waited all this time to address this ?


If, as it seems, you only have a very small income, you must write to your bank straight away, head your letter "COMPLAINT", look up there address to send complaints to.
Tell them you are in severe financial difficulty, so are still obliged to deal with your bank charges complaint.
Explain your situation, that you cannot afford these charges, that to pay them will severely impact on your essential living expenses.
Ask them to refund all the charges, including this months not yet charged, tell them to stop/cancel your OD, as you simply cannot afford it, either ask them to write the debt off, or make them a offer of a pound a month to repay it.


Are you positive that your carers allowance is all you are entitled to ? is this paid weekly ? have you checked to see if you qualify for other benefits ?.


Send the letter to them ASAP, and they should deal with it sympathetically, if you have any more concerns, I would contact citizens advice for further help.


Good luck with it !!!

Thrugelmir

Speak to your bank and ask if the overdraft can be converted into a loan with affordable repayments. I'm sure that they will agree.

National_Debtline

Hi jmt

I would also suggest that you get another (basic) account opened at a different bank altogether. You don't need to remain tied to this particular bank if you're in financial difficulty (especially if they are not showing a willingness to help you).

Re: claiming any other benefits you may be entitled to, check out

www.turn2us.org.uk

Dennis
@natdebtline

Thrugelmir

National_Debtline wrote: »

I would also suggest that you get another (basic) account opened at a different bank altogether.

By doing this what does it actually resolve and what benefit is it to the OP to potentially trash their own credit rating?

allybee101

I think that by having a basic bank account the OP can put some money in there and not risk it being taken by the bank who have the overdrawn account in fees. A basic bank account has no overdraft facility.
It's not going to trash a credit rating, but it will allow the OP to actually receive their carers allowance instead of seeing it taken by the bank in fees.
They can ask for the overdrawn account to be frozen, and treat it as a debt to be paid off.

Thrugelmir

allybee101 wrote: »

They can ask for the overdrawn account to be frozen, and treat it as a debt to be paid off.

Which again has an impact on an individuals credit rating. I used the word trash. As it's self inflicted. Very easy to take an option without thinking about the longer term consequences.

gabriel1980

I have an account with Santander and an overdraft function. The fee is £1 a day up to 20 days a month, so depending how long I'm into my overdraft I pay anywhere from £0-£20 a month. That's just the fee.