Stressed by debt, but have a plan. Please help me with ideas or advise.

eLdn123

SadieO said:

I don't have any advice to add to what the fab people on here have already given you. But I just wanted to say a huge well done for acknowledging and addressing the gambling, which mustn't be easy, and taking steps to sort things out. Wishing you all the best xx 

Thank you , appreciate it.

Does anyone know if Barclays are still doing business in the " approve then immediately close " manner I read on several forums, including here as well ? I'm leaving the UK on Monday for 2 weeks ( work related ) and so can not get post until I return.

eLdn123

Something else to add here. I checked my Credit Karma credit report online and did not see a search from Barclays. Do you think I should revert the account details with my employer back to HSBC ? Is there a risk that they may do the same that I've seen on other threads and close the account after opening it, as I can not afford not being paid next wage on time ?

monetxchange

Just a quick comment to make sure you're actually eligible for a Barclays Premier account. I always used to have some ill-informed employee trying to tell me I could get a Premier account when I wasn't anywhere near to meeting the criteria. It can go along way down the road with the application before they realise and backtrack. The requirements for a Premier account are: "an annual gross income of £75,000 or more paid into a Barclays current account or £100,000 or more saved or invested with us". Do you meet that? You wouldn't seem to based on the monthly wage of £4,100. Best to contact them to check, lay everything out on the table early on to avoid in any issues with wages coming in etc.

eLdn123

monetxchange said:

Just a quick comment to make sure you're actually eligible for a Barclays Premier account. I always used to have some ill-informed employee trying to tell me I could get a Premier account when I wasn't anywhere near to meeting the criteria. It can go along way down the road with the application before they realise and backtrack. The requirements for a Premier account are: "an annual gross income of £75,000 or more paid into a Barclays current account or £100,000 or more saved or invested with us". Do you meet that? You wouldn't seem to based on the monthly wage of £4,100. Best to contact them to check, lay everything out on the table early on to avoid in any issues with wages coming in etc.

Thanks for coming back to me ! I applied online and was accepted ( edit to avoid confusion - i applied for the basic account and then was taken to apply for premier ). My gross yearly salary is over 75.000 £, and have payslips to prove it if they would ask for them, as the payslips show the gross monthly earnings.

The monthly take-home salary has been around 4100 £ per month, after certain deductions pre-tax ( pension, health insurance ) and also, unfortunately, because there was a mess-up with my tax records ( not due to my fault, but a previous employer having sent payments under a wrong NI, which triggered when changing jobs the HMRC to not take correct tax, as I didn't have the P45 to give to my new employer until a couple of months later ), this year, and the next year, my tax code is not the normal one as I'm paying HMRC from my tax code back some underpayments , so this "shaves" a couple of £ off my take-home amount.

I'm more concerned about some posts that I saw here and other public forums, where people had accounts opened, then 1-2 days after got closed because of unknown reasons ( " no longer fit the criteria " ), and due to the issues highlighted on this thread, my credit score is, to put it nicely, ( way ) less than perfect, so that's the part I would be concerned.

LilElvis

Barclays Premier accounts can have fairly steep monthly fees attached, depending on which "packs" of benefits you choose. The travel pack can be pretty good value as it includes travel insurance and RAC cover, but probably only if you are covering more than one car and have a family.

eLdn123

LilElvis said:

Barclays Premier accounts can have fairly steep monthly fees attached, depending on which "packs" of benefits you choose. The travel pack can be pretty good value as it includes travel insurance and RAC cover, but probably only if you are covering more than one car and have a family.

Have not chosen any pack to be added, maybe would do that after I sort out of my financial issues ( #priorities ). I do however like that they say they have free Heritage sites access, which sounds good for a cheaper and educational break to relieve stress. I hope all goes well and can use this account, as I've said, stressed after reading those "horror" stories, maybe read too much into this.

[Deleted User]

Just to say good luck on debt busting & more importantly on finding help for the gambling addiction. I wish you well & look forward to reading your updates.