Bank suddenly halved my overdraft limit

MarkyMarkD

Thanks for that helpful post, pfpf - not. I would have posted exactly the same response to this thread whichever forum it was posted in - I don't just look at one forum like some people.

There has been helpful advice in the posts already.

The most obvious of which, posted by both myself and Dunstonh - presumably two of those who you reckon are "judging" - is to get a personal loan for the £2,000.

And if the OP had done that in the first place instead of running up a ridiculously large overdraft of £4,000, the problem would never have arisen.

pfpf

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I would have posted exactly the same response to this thread whichever forum it was posted in

you must be a bundle of laughs

i am not saying i disagree with you or anyone else on this thread/board, all i was pointing out was:

and even if you disagree courtesy helps.

prime MSE Etiquette.

some posts although in my opinion helpful do not fall within the above, it's all down to how you execute your replies and all too many people on MSE, judge rightly or wrongly rather than or in addition to helping.

MarkyMarkD

Well, I don't agree.

I'm never anything other than courteous, but I tell things how they are. I don't go for the soft soaping "isn't everything awful" approach that wastes a lot of time in other people's posts IMHO.

You can courteously tell someone they are wrong and I do so. I've told Martin he's wrong and he's agreed that my comments are useful and that he'll change the way he says things.

Have you ever disagreed with Martin by saying something constructive? I doubt it.

I think that you are wrong in thinking that the OP would have got a more useful, more balanced, more constructive response by posting on a board mainly populated by a lot of people (and I emphasise that I don't mean everyone on DFWB has that attitude, but many do) who blame the banks for 99% of their own debt situations and whose only "constructive" suggestion is to moan at the bank/complain to FOS/take them to court.

I think the OP posted in the right place and has got useful responses.

For many people, the constructive thing to do is to address the root cause of a problem - to stop banging your head against a brick wall, rather than applying sticking plaster to the wound.

Refinancing the long-term overdraft is addressing the root cause; moaning at the bank for withdrawing the overdraft is applying sticking plaster.

pfpf

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Well i don't agree.....

Have you ever disagreed with Martin by saying something constructive? I doubt it.

i dont agree with you so there

and no i have never disagreed with martini but it disagreed with me once. and yes, i have worked on a construction site where men are men and so are some of the women.

ahhhh, i'll regret this in the morning. :cool:

p.s i thanked you although i didnt actually get past the Martini bit....

pfpf

pfpf wrote: »

i dont agree with you so there

and no i have never disagreed with martini but it disagreed with me once. and yes, i have worked on a construction site where men are men and so are some of the women.

ahhhh, i'll regret this in the morning. :cool:

p.s i thanked you although i didnt actually get past the Martini bit....

reported as :spam:

Dylanwing

Refinancing the long-term overdraft is addressing the root cause; moaning at the bank for withdrawing the overdraft is applying sticking plaster.

This assumes that re-financing is possible. In this instance it does sound viable, but what happens if it is not? It is the potential consequences of Banks withdrawing overdraft facilities that I find scary, basically it is 15 days to get the money, or your credit rating is messed up for years, mortgage arrears, Council Tax hassle, childcare problems, no money for food, travel to work etc. In desperation, people will ptobably turn to Provident, solving a short-term problem, but storing up more agany for the future.

And if the OP had done that in the first place instead of running up a ridiculously large overdraft of £4,000, the problem would never have arisen.

And who agreed to the overdraft facility in the first place? The Bank by any chance?
I totally agree that many people (Myself included) do run ludicrously high overdrafts, but as these were sanctioned by the Banks, do they also not have some responsibility to reduce these without taking such drastic action? If they want OP to run the account in credit, why not just offer to convert it to a loan at reasonable rates? It was common practise in the 80's when I worked for a Bank and we actually had this odd notion of helping our customers.

No1Alicat

Well, thank you for the constructive advice. I have, in fact, taken some of this and refinanced by way of a loan.

My 'complaint' with the bank is that whilst it might be perfectly clear in their T&Cs that an OD facility can be withdrawn at any moment, it will be clear to them from my records that I am paid monthly and have monthly commitments. As such, giving just 2 week's notice that the overdraft facility was being halved strikes me as hitting well below the belt. Offering me further credit (by way of their 0% interest CC offer) in the same call that they declined to negotiate on the OD seemed unethical (and actually wasn't an option as I have no CC I could balance transfer on - and, whoops, I'm gonna get flamed for that too no doubt). So whilst they might not have breached T&Cs I do believe withdrawing a facility at such short notice - when yes, they had agreed to it in the first place - actually has the potential to make people very much more vulnerable.

For the posters who might have been a little - erm, judgemental - I could have chosen to give you a point-by-point guide to my life for the past almost year, but chose not to. I have been dealing with some incredibly difficult and painful situations and at any one moment during this I have tried to make the best decision based on the information known to me at the time. Whilst other courses of action *might* have led to a better outcome, sometimes my hands were tied. I don't feel the need to air all of the obstacles I have had to face on a public board, and frankly I do feel that some of you might care to remember this when responding to posters.

Shame on some of you, in fact, that some of the comments here actually made me feel very tearful.

The critics might find financial savvy comes easily, but being a sensitive and decent human being who has regard for how our comments impact on others is possibly a far greater accomplishment in life.

dunstonh

Offering me further credit (by way of their 0% interest CC offer) in the same call that they declined to negotiate on the OD seemed unethical

You are quite right and is one of the problems with telephone staff having sales targets which are not consistent with reducing borrowing. Some poor account manager wants to reduce your debt whilst some call centre pleb wants to move it around and help their sales target.

Shame on some of you, in fact, that some of the comments here actually made me feel very tearful.

The critics might find financial savvy comes easily, but being a sensitive and decent human being who has regard for how our comments impact on others is possibly a far greater accomplishment in life.

There is no-one here judging you. There appears to be two camps of posters here at present. One group will agree that everything is awful, companies are the big evil, sympathise with you and give you no help whatsoever. The other will speak plainly and factually and not wrap you in cotton wool.

The former may come across more friendly but it achieves nothing.

haggle_2

Maybe you credit rating changed. I check my experian profile now and again to see what's happening

Jonbvn

No1Alicat wrote: »

Shame on some of you, in fact, that some of the comments here actually made me feel very tearful.

The critics might find financial savvy comes easily, but being a sensitive and decent human being who has regard for how our comments impact on others is possibly a far greater accomplishment in life.

As a final footnote. NEVER, EVER take comments on an internet message board personally. I am sure if you were discussing your problems face-to-face with the posters whose comments upset you, you would not have become upset.

Remember we communicate by more than just the written/spoken word. We also use body language, facial expressions and tone/intonation. These are obviously not apparent on a message board.

HTH.