Disappointment and desperation at their finest.

Harleyquinn

My bank wont let me change my account type, i'm not sure why. I've never used any of the benefits that I get with my account. I'm a student so should have a student account but that's obviously not happening! On several occasions the bank have taken their charges out of my account leaving me over my overdraft limit resulting in direct debits not getting paid which gives me even more charges. I'm pretty certain I'd be in a better position if I wasn't constantly paying the bank all these charges. Anyone know how to claim charges?

None of my debt is interest free unfortunately and I don't even know the interest rates i'm paying, bad I know.

I also completely forgot that I'd booked a holiday to Disney World in May next year so that's something else I'm going to have to find the money for!! Thankfully my mum is helping with that one.

ani*fan

Hi again

It's not possible for your bank to force you to buy their product. You can close a bank account any time you like and open a new one elsewhere. The tricky part is that you have an overdraft, how much is it? All of the student accounts offer interest free overdrafts, the amount depends on what year of your course you are in, they increase as your course progresses. £17 per month for a bank account you could get for free is like throwing your money away for no reason. We've all done it but now that you're aware, get a new one sorted quick. You can apply online, you might need to go in with ID but otherwise it could be easy and painless. There aren't any switching bonuses for student accounts but the interest free overdraft is worth more so just go for it.

You can't claim back bank charges any more. After so many people did it because the charges were so huge and unfair, the banks were forced to reduce their charges to something more reasonable which I understand is around £12. You can claim back the £17 you've been paying for your account though. Search on here, Martin knows everything. :money: It'll probably involve a phone call or a letter and a bit of a wait but having just claimed back some ppi myself, the wait is definitely worth it.

Best of luck hun and do keep us posted. When I read your diary, I keep thinking that if I'd thought to ask for help at your age, I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now. Well done for recognising there's a problem. It won't ressolve overnight but getting informed and keeping on going are very important.

moneycantbuyyouhappiness

ani*fan wrote: »

Best of luck hun and do keep us posted. When I read your diary, I keep thinking that if I'd thought to ask for help at your age, I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now. Well done for recognising there's a problem. It won't ressolve overnight but getting informed and keeping on going are very important.

Amazing advice!!! I wish I had stuck to one of my many attempts to be debt free. I could have moved out years ago! Stick with it Harleyquinn!

Harleyquinn

thanks for the advice ani*fan! My overdraft is £650 right now!! I'm working to get out of it. I have an appointment next week about changing to a student account AGAIN! I had a look at my letters last night outlining my charges and I've been getting charged 15 a day for being over my overdraft and 20 per direct debit that doesnt get paid.

I'm just so glad I'm trying to sort my finances out now! I want to buy a house some day and that'll never happen if i've got a lot of debt. I know i don't have that much right now, but it's so easy to get further and further into it!

thank you moneycantbuyyouhappiness i definitely will stick to it as best i can

ani*fan

I don't know what bank you're with right now, but S**tander are giving £1500 interest free overdrafts to students in first year, and it increases after that. That's who I bank with, being a 'mature' student. If your bank won't change your account to a student one, then you can have your overdraft matched by the S**tander and shift. All I needed was my NUS card. And you might get some of your other debt shifted onto your interest free overdraft. Worth a try.

If you're already with S**tander, then goodness knows what they're up to, but there are other student accounts out there with interest free overdrafts. It's just a matter of checking them out. Just remember, they're lucky to have you, you're doing a degree so you're a potential high earner and they'll want your business in the future.

It might be worth mentioning what bank your with. I'm sure others on here will share their experiences of trying to get unreasonable charges back and yours certainly sound out of order. I love writing a good complaint letter, but I do understand that it's too unpleasant for some people. But really, they shouldn't get away with this stuff. Not ok. At all.

Keep going. You can do it.

Harleyquinn

I'm with BoS! I've been with them for years and this is the first I've had any issues.

I'm really stressing about money today, it's all I can think about!! i'm STILL waiting to hear from leapforce. I'm at work 8-6 tomorrow and since it's a Sunday it's extremely quiet with nothing to do. I'll literally be sat in the office doing nothing for 10 hours, so since I'm lone working i'll get a good amount of surveys done. I also plan on listing some things to sell when I get in from work too.

As well as wanting to be debt free, I also think it would be wise to have some sort of emergency fund! But I honestly don't really know how to save when I don't have spare cash as such. Goodness me. A lottery win would be lovely right about now haha

My car MOT is due on the 1st of Feb and I have no money put by to cover that. I definitely need to get some money behind me.

Kitten868

Hello,

Obviously it would be nice to switch but the only incentive I've seen for this is coop student accounts on quidco. You don't have the income to make money on a switch. I would just apply for one online. Pick whichever one has the best incentive for taking one out for you. In my day it was travel cards or free music. Anyway. Do it online so you don't get talked into a student credit card as they are crap from memory. I think you just have to show your student finance letter and id. It's fee free and free overdraft. Do it do it do it.
And rbs dig out the template on here and send it in the post. Say they won't let you close too!! That awful.
You can't fix everything overnight. Mobile phone with ee I am sure you can cancel one month early. Just close it and pick a new one through quidco. I am going tesc0 mobile next time as they seem cheapest for decent phones.
I used to use summers to earn all my money. Plus when my loan came in I put the digs money out first so I could pay. I'm sure your mum would let you pay 4 monthly. Then the rest is yours. Set aside your dds.
It looks bleak now but you're on it!! It'll work out x

Kitten868

Just had a thought if you change rbs to hali to get the £100 and they will close rbs for you on transfer. then keep that card just for dds no overdraft and you'll get £5 a month. You'll need to put your income through it 2/3 times to make the £750/£1000 turnover you need. X

Harleyquinn

Oh I will be doing it as soon as I can I'll be a student for the next 4 years and there's no way I am paying for my account. I have an extremely quiet day at work (9 tennants, all away this weekend so therefore no work at all to do) so i'll write a letter today and post it on my way home from work.

I checked last night and I can cancel my contract from February so not long left! I had planned on going sim only because it's far cheaper, but I'm in need of a new phone too so not sure what to do now! I have an iphone 5, the battery has gotten really bad, the button to lock it at the top of the screen only works when it wants to, etc. So now I don't know if I should continue to pay a little more for my contract and get a new phone, or go sim only and save for a phone. Decisions, decisions.

I send the money straight to my mums account as soon as I get paid so I don't over spend and can't afford to pay her which she seems happy enough with. I love online banking lol

Anyone here do matched betting??

Harleyquinn

Kitten868 wrote: »

Just had a thought if you change rbs to hali to get the £100 and they will close rbs for you on transfer. then keep that card just for dds no overdraft and you'll get £5 a month. You'll need to put your income through it 2/3 times to make the £750/£1000 turnover you need. X

I'm with BoS and I think they're the Scottish equivalent of Hali so don't think I can do that unfortunately