Should I let Santander overdraft go to DCA?

mon2016

I've had a 2000 overdraft maxed out with them since I was at university 4 years ago, this interest free overdraft ends this summer, I won't have the £2000 to pay them. I read stories about Debt Collection Agencies accepting a lower amount when the debt has been sold to them?

I know some people would think that I should pay what I owe but I've paid probably over £1000 in overdraft charges to them in my other account for minor things like being overdrawn by £20 for a while.

National_Debtline

Hi Mon2016,


Just because the interest free period ends this summer, doesn't mean the account will be recalled immediately by the bank. They are unlikely to sell on a debt until they have at least attempted to recover from you themselves for a while, so there may be quite a long wait for the matter to be sold on. Even if it does go to a debt collector there is no guarantee they would accept a settlement offer, this is at their discretion. The debt would need to be in default and then there is further risk of county court action (all of which would affect your credit file).


It would be more advisable to change banks as a starting point, open a basic bank account with a bank where no money is owed. Then, using a SOA, calculate what you could repay to this gradually. You can ask them to freeze interest and charges (but this is less likely until the debt has been recalled), but if don't ask you don't get. If you have other debts these need to be taken into consideration as part of your negotiations, so it may be worth while posting a SOA on here so future posters can guide you better. Best of luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

John-K_3

mon2016 wrote: »

I've had a 2000 overdraft maxed out with them since I was at university 4 years ago, this interest free overdraft ends this summer, I won't have the £2000 to pay them. I read stories about Debt Collection Agencies accepting a lower amount when the debt has been sold to them?

I know some people would think that I should pay what I owe but I've paid probably over £1000 in overdraft charges to them in my other account for minor things like being overdrawn by £20 for a while.

It!!!8217;s not clear why the charges would mean that you should not pay, can you explain? Were they not the same ones that you were happy to accept when you signed up for the account?

Edited to add, I can see from previous posts that you have a history of bad debts, and are in a minimum wage job. Could you not use this as an opportunity to try to get things in order? Being in such a mess in your twenties does not augur well for the future.

I was earning very little at 24, so set out to turn things around. It took some planning, and work, but it is very possible to do.

lonelyrat

Hi - just because the interest free period is over doesn't mean that the overdraft will be fully recalled. If it was to be they would need to provide you at least 30 days notice. Have you been making payments in and out the account? If you have been then it could be that they won't remove it. If you haven't made any payments to it recently then it may be the case that they will. I would suggest starting to. Even just £25 in and £20 out again. Some kind of activity to show to their systems that you aren't planning on just leaving it there dormant.

With regards to the account once it changes to an everyday current account you would be charged £2 a day if you were at the full £2000. Under £2000 would be £1 a day so if you can keep it under £2000 you will save yourself a fair bit in Overdraft fees.

mon2016

John-K wrote: »

It!!!8217;s not clear why the charges would mean that you should not pay, can you explain? Were they not the same ones that you were happy to accept when you signed up for the account?

Edited to add, I can see from previous posts that you have a history of bad debts, and are in a minimum wage job. Could you not use this as an opportunity to try to get things in order? Being in such a mess in your twenties does not augur well for the future.

I was earning very little at 24, so set out to turn things around. It took some planning, and work, but it is very possible to do.

I don't care about earning a lot of money, a higher paying job means more stress and that isn't what I want, my debt was caused by gambling not having a minimum wage job, I don't gamble anymore.

John-K_3

mon2016 wrote: »

I don't care about earning a lot of money, a higher paying job means more stress and that isn't what I want, my debt was caused by gambling not having a minimum wage job, I don't gamble anymore.

Yes, more stress, but it will let you pay your fpdebts back, so could well be worth doing anyway.

You seem to be getting a decent amount of stress at present, given the struggles you are having with even simple things like shopping at Argos. A bit more money might help here too.

Dobbibill

Do you have other debts with any DCAs?
If the OD is the only debt there may be other ways to deal with it.

sourcrates

Just try to pay what you can on a monthly basis into the account.

It could be a long time before the bank recall the loan, and charges can add up significantly in that time.

Your young and do not really want to start your adult life with bad credit debts, its something that could hamper you for a long while.

Debt collectors do not always give the discounts you envisage either, much better to try to pay it off over time before things escalate.