applying for overdraft

destiny_star2006

O K im dreading asking this as ppl will go back to previous posts and say its stupid etc but im asking about this question for a vaild reason so just want to know the pros and cons of having an overdraft ... me and my partner are considering applying for an overdraft on one of our bank account not much just £50 or maybe £25 not much at all just incase a dd comes out and we dont have enough cash in or we have a bad week and need bread milk etc so please can any guys give me the pros and cons and whats the best way to go about it, do i go into the bank or phone telephone banking???
will there be a credit check to have an overdraft any opinions greatly recieved and are you charged each day for going over your overdraft etc etc many thanks for taking your time in reading this

DanDan123

What Bank are you with?

destiny_star2006

yorkshire bank sorry forgot to mention

daveyjp

Just ask them. Most accounts have a pre-determined overdraft level already set based on your account activity, but until you ask for it, it won't be activated.

Cost for using it varies from bank to bank.

Mark85_2

The main pro I suppose is the fact that you have some extra money in an emergency. However, it's all to tempting sometimes to dip into it unnecesserily, or to increase it more and more when required.

I'm with RBS and have had an account since early teens. When I turned 18 a £500 overdraft facility appeared and I was disciplined to start with but this snowballed to my current £2,000 overdraft, a situation that could have easily been avoided. The overdraft was interest free whilst I was a student, but now I pay between £3 and £5 a month interest depending on how quickly I spend my money throughout the month. It's not too bad but different banks will obviously have different policies and interest rates relating to overdrafts.

In my experience, when I've requested an increase in my overdraft, there have been no credit checks, just basically a question of "How much do you want" and "It'll be available tomorrow". It may be different for you though as you don't currently have an overdraft, but I wouldn't imagine so.

My advice would be to keep an extra tenner or £20 aside in cash just in case you run out of money, rather than getting an overdraft. Regarding the direct debit situation, you can try making a list of the direct debits you have along with their due date to you can avoid forgetting about them and landing charges. You can get a list from your bank or online if you use digital banking.

:-)

destiny_star2006

went into the bank and asked for od on partners card and they went away with card and came back 5 mins later saying they couldnt offer one at the moment and to try again next month i have no idea why

Bosie

Hi destiny
What type of account do you have with Yorkshire? I have the 'Readycash' I have a Maestro 2 in 1 card, but no overdraft. Strangely enough they did send me a cheque book! Or do you have a full current account?

Bo

destiny_star2006

we both have a maestro card wherei can buy things online or in shops etc and both have cheque book facilitys

jonesMUFCforever

They declined you as your spending habit dictate (with your Yorks account anyway) that you do not qualify for an overdraft, or there is something adverse on your credit files.

skyrider007

I've never touched the 1000 quids interest-free O/D in my HSBC account. Although I feel quite 'safe' having that limit. As long as you can manage your credit well, an O/D can be quite a good safety net. To each their own!