Paying back my Halifax overdraft

manchesterguy1985

Quick question if anyone has any ideas...

I've currently got a £1750 overdraft with Halifax which is up for review in July. I should have graduated this year but ended up leaving Uni last Summer for family reasons and I'm now concerned that I'm going to end up having to pay back the whole lot in a few months.

Has anyone had any similar experiences or know what the procedure they follow is in a situation like this? I don't want to contact them yet about it as I'm worried they'll bring things forward if they know I'm not technically a student any more.

Cheers!

tinkerbellblue

I also have a student overdraft with bank of scotland/halifax and my review is due next month, i also left college a while ago for family reasons. I would like to know if anyone has been in the same situaiton and knows what happens. Thanks.

benbread

Your best bet would be to go into a branch or give them a call to see how things will pan out. I know that Halifax Student accounts are 0% Overdraft for one year after you finish/leave university, then i would assume go up to a certain interest rate - I can't imagine you having to pay back the full lot in one go.

One idea if you don't fancy paying the interest is switching current accounts - Banks reel students in with the 0% rate then when that's up generally have a largely inflated interest rate after that - if you can you're probably much better moving to a different "non-student" account with a different bank, or even putting everything on a 0% credit card.

johncmcloy

Cannot believe you havent been chased up already to be honest. There is a girl on my course who paid her wages into the account but not her student loan and as soon as we started our second year she had to pay back all her overdraft, luckily she had enough money to clear it straight away. They were not understanding at all (she didnt have the student account when applying so put her current account instead - never got round to changing the bank details) promised her next payment would go in and her bursary, they weren't interested. The bank sales assist. that opened my acc. even told me about how important it is that you pay your student loan in and that they see people all the time in tears because they have to pay it back. They review your account regularly anyway and if student payments (from SLC) are not received they chase you up very quickly and more often that not demand all the money back no excuse.

If were either of you I would be very prudent and save everything I can toward paying it off, ask family etc for help. Other than that they will either take money from your other accounts or charge you big interest.

Some might say not sensible but I personally wouldnt tell them I wasnt a student. Just pay it back. Do overtime, second job whatever it takes.

[ADVICE TO ANYONE - Keep enough money to pay back your overdraft at anytime, (put it in high interest savings) they arent likely to but are quite within their rights to demand it back. If you cannot afford to do that, think seriously about asking to reduce your overdraft, it will cut your spending and the debt you leave with]

antuk

You dont have to pay in your student loan? I had a very frank discussion with one of the bank managers and he said that as long as you pay in about £200 (i think it was 200) every quarter you will be fine, i have been paying in around £100 a month to be safe and not getting any hassle at all...

manchesterguy1985

I've been wondering why they haven't chased it up to be honest but they tend to be so bloody incompetent it doesn't surprise me at all!

I've read a lot that some banks tend to bring your interest free overdraft down by £500 at a time over a longer period than the initial year so as not to hit you with a huge lump sum - I'm really hoping this is the case as that would be totally manageable... its the whole £1750 I'm worried about!

I may just make a general enquiry as a very anonymous 'prospective customer'...

jimpix12

Hold on - so if you're a student and you pay in £200 a month, they'd be happy to give you an overdraft worth £1750?

That's great for you students and all, but the Halifax are reducing my overdraft from £1200 to just £700 next month. I pay in at least £2000 every month, so it's a complete joke.

Needless to say I'm switching to A&L. The Halifax are definitely the most tight of all the banks.

foofi22

spunko2010 wrote: »

Hold on - so if you're a student and you pay in £200 a month, they'd be happy to give you an overdraft worth £1750?

That's great for you students and all, but the Halifax are reducing my overdraft from £1200 to just £700 next month. I pay in at least £2000 every month, so it's a complete joke.

Needless to say I'm switching to A&L.

This may be due to your "need" for a large overdraft.

Paying in at least £2000 a month is a lot of money so they probably don't see the need for you to have such a big overdraft (why do you need to if your paying in so much?!)

£700 is still good...remember banks aren't obliged to give you a large interest free overdraft (it costs them money) - no matter how much you pay in.

The Halifax are definitely the most tight of all the banks.

How do you come to this conclusion? The anecdotal fact your overdraft is being reduced? When I was at uni people with the biggest overdraft banked with the Halifax....

lauraza

I've had a student account (interest free) with Halifax since I left in 2005. Basically you just need to try and blag it, and told them my course was being deferred, I too had family issues and sent a letter to this effect. i'm now continuing studies doing a masters and haven't had any issues, just informed them of my studies, and exagerated my graduation date. My experience with Halifax has been terrible though in terms of customer service, nothing that a few complaint letters hasn't sorted. Whereas Natwest have not bothered me since I joined, they have been great!

Basically keep your head down and tell them you're still studying, even though you have left THEY don't know that! So when it's up for review just re-apply as normal, and start making plans to pay it off. It may be beneficial if you can pay off a little each month leading up til then, so they know you are handling the account responsibly.