Need help with my overdraft!!!! urgent

sarahjon2017

Have a 2500 overdraft on my account to cover all my family expenses im 100 of the limit now and the bank is charging me 40 every month for the pleasure of being overdrawn, ive been looking to transfer my overdraft to a credit card but my credit limit cant be as good as i thought as i looked at the virgin credit card but they cant give me one and refered me to capital one would the payments be just a smuch with them though if i transfer my overdraft to it? really confused and need someones help please:( worried sick all are familys money go in my bank taz credits and child tax credits and my partners income but we can never seem to get out of the red what are we best of doing getting a loan transfering banks we with natwest at mo, ortransfering to credit card?

GTR_King

My advice Is look at your statements for the last six month or so..

See whats going in & coming out...

You need to reduce your spending or work more hours/get more money is only the way to reduce overdraft..

Does your partner have separate account? or it a join account...

Other option is to open new Basic account (One for both of you & joint one) move all your DD/Standing orders/pay over to it... then transfer set amount each month to account that is overdrawn & reduce it each month till it's gets to £0 balance

But try the debt free wannabe forum for more help.

Jo_Blogs

Here is the link to the Debt-Free-Wannabe Board:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=76

Candyapple

You need to open a bank account elsewhere and get the benefits moved over to be paid into the new account.

Is the bank account you are talking about a joint one? Or is it solely in your name? If it's solely in your name then get your partner to transfer their salary into their own account and then you need to contact Natwest and ask them to freeze the account so it's no longer incurring any charges and agree to a repayment plan to clear the overdraft.

It's unclear whether or not you are working, if you're not, chances of you getting a credit card/loan to clear any debts are going to be slim to none. If you are working, then what other debts do you have? What is your annual salary?

If your partner has a good credit history, it may be worth him applying for a money transfer card (that's what you'll need to clear the overdraft):
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/cut-loan-overdraft-costs

eskbanker

Candyapple wrote: »

You need to open a bank account elsewhere and get the benefits moved over to be paid into the new account.

Is the bank account you are talking about a joint one? Or is it solely in your name? If it's solely in your name then get your partner to transfer their salary into their own account and then you need to contact Natwest and ask them to freeze the account so it's no longer incurring any charges and agree to a repayment plan to clear the overdraft.

OP needs to be aware of the potential consequences of these actions - stopping funding an overdrawn account may lead to a demand for immediate repayment, and freezing it for a repayment plan would be likely to have a significant impact on credit status. Not saying they're actions that shouldn't be considered eventually but personally I'd see them as last resort stuff compared with those recommended in earlier posts.

RedFaced_2

Hi,
This is my advice and believe me I've been in your shoes. First thing I'd say is stop worrying so much, you've recognised you have a problem and you are dealing with it. So don't be too hard on yourself.

The key to dealing with your problem is taking control of it, it's so easy to ignore it and not deal with it, but not getting a balance from the ATM or not looking at your statements will not help and will not make the problem go away.

First of all check your spending and make a budget and keep to it, check your bank account frequently. It's easy to fall into the trap of checking your balance one day finding that you have £50 in the bank withdrawing it only to find out you have a direct debit going out two days later, so in fact you didn't have £50 spendable cash after all. Always know what is going out of your account and when.

When you go grocery shopping only buy what is on your shopping list and pay by card (so you don't have any change in your pocket that you get tempted to spend) go to the cheaper stores and buy the cheaper items.

Look at your out goings (and be honest), look at your rent/mortgage, electric,gas,council tax,water rates and transportation costs.
If you are paying a mortgage get in touch with the lender and see if they can give you a payment holiday (a couple of months without mortgage payments can help reduce the overdraft)
Any chance of help from family? Any items you no longer need? Sell them on eBay.
If at this point you've managed to knock the overdraft down then great.

Going back to the budget, with all your outgoings can you afford to reduce the overdraft? By making monthly payments? Approach the bank about a loan to pay off the debt (if you have any store cards add them to the debt and pay it all off)
If you think that you cannot afford the loan (currently £3k over 3 years is about £100 a month, can you afford that and live?)
if you cannot afford the loan get an appointment at the Citizens Advice because you are going to need some help dealing with the bank.

If your kids are old enough let them know that this year you can't be as generous in buying gifts.

Do not use credit cards (unless you can pay the balance) or get credit from the likes of Brighthouse. If something does need replacing (like a fridge) get an Argos account and use their buy now pay in 12 months plan (making sure you put the money away to pay the bill in a years time).

Buy a notebook and keep track of your spending and your bank account.
Don't forget it's in the banks interest to offer you help, go and talk to them.
The thing to remember is Take Control!!!!
Remember loads of people have had the same problem as you and they got through it. You will be fine, but be realistic 2.5 grand is a lot of money to pay back and it's going to take time.

Good luck