Why won't bank let me have a debit card?

RichyRich

Have you checked your credit file? It could be that there's an error on there. Find out which agencies they use and if they don't tell you get your file from all 3. They cost £2 each. You can order Experian and Equifax reports online but you need to get CallCredit's by post. You can also order Ezperian and Equifax reports by post.

Equifax - http://www.equifax.co.uk
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US

Experian - http://www.experian.co.uk
Talbot House
Talbot St
Nottingham
NG1 5GN

Call Credit - http://www.callcredit.plc.uk
PO Box 491
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS3 1WZ

They need your name, any other names used, addresses for last 3 years and a cheque for £2. Ask for your "Statutory Credit file under the auspices of the Data Protection Act 1998"

Be careful not to order a more expensive service!

Hope this helps

R

black-saturn

Result!!! I went in my branch last week and asked for a debit card again and said I need one and if I dont get one I will have to change banks. Received a letter yesterday saying they are sending one in 7 - 10 days. Yippee!!!

MooseRich

I have the same problem. I work for Llyods TSB and one of the requirements of the job is to hold a bank account with them. I have been banking with Halifax since I was 15 (8 years ago) and asked for a debit card with the same condtions as my Halifax card (£1000 interest free overdraft, £100 cheque guarentee and Visa Debit) and they would have all my custom.

Instead I have a basic account that doesn't have cashpoint withdrawal. I have to move the money each month via Internet. I've asked about a higher card again but got told that unless I pay, I can't have one. Sounds daft to me, but if thats how they want to play, up to them.

Jenna

Hey,

Seems weird that they won't give you a card - I've had a current account with them for the last 4 or 5 years (I'm 19) and I've got a debit card. However do you currently hold both a cheque book and an overdraft with them?

I couldn't get a debit card, so I went for a £50 overdraft instead, then upped the amount every 6 months. After about 18 months (plus one DD to my mobile phone contract) I was deemed ''worthy'' of a debit card.

Maybe write to your bank manager about it? Or customer services?

Good luck anyways!

---lee---

Black-saturn, pleased you got a result in the end.

Nationwide are a strangely protective of their debit cards.

I had a mortgage with them for 3 years, always paid, no problems.

I’ve also had a loan from them in the past, again all paid up no problems.

Opened a current account with them about 2 years ago with the intention of switching away from Barclays who I have now been with for over 12 years. They put an overdraft facility on it (which I did not want) but would not issue a debit card! As I pay almost everything by debit card, I could not imagine life without one, so I did not go ahead with the changeover. My wife uses the account for her pay though so money does go through it.

Thing is, I want the debit card for holidays so I will still try again otherwise it would not bother me.

Anyway, finally got round to changing banks around a month ago. Applied to Lloyds, no problem debit card, 4% interest etc. Also applied to Smile to get the free case of wine (why not) debit card no problem.

Also just applied for a nationwide credit card a couple of weeks ago, also for holidays. No problem with that either, although I just received my second identical set of paperwork to sign and return today.

kaznei

Hello - I have found this thread/site by doing a google.

My husband and I are high earners but a few years ago my husband was made redundant and we had huge debts we couldn't manage.

We wrote to all our creditors, offering them small payments and paid those very small payments for a while until they started defaulting us. Some set up arrangements (some of which are still going until we can pay them off).

A year ago we managed to get a second mortgage, but not enough to clear all of our debts. We offered full and final settlements to all creditors - some accepted, some didn't. We managed to write off over £40k worth of debts this way, but have huge defaults, all through circumstances that were beyond our control.

Now we knew at the time that getting credit for 6 years would be a problem, but we can't even get a debit card! I don't want credit (been there, done that, got in trouble) but a mere debit card to get to what is in our account I would have thought wouldn't be a problem.

We changed to Nationwide two years ago, and ever since have tried upgrading our normal flexaccount (cash machine/counter use only) to one with a debit card and a cheque book. I don't even care if we don't have a cheque guarantee card but we can't get anything.

We have tried changing banks, but we keep getting the same answer: credit score is too bad and "computer says no"!!! I am sick and tired of not being able to do the merest thing like pay for something on line or over the phone.

I can't wait another four to five years just to be able to get a debit card - is there any way I can get around this? I wondered if anyone can override the computer's decision, but we have been told no (although reading above, it can be done).

Nationwide even said to us that we have a lot of money going through our account, but still say no. Living a cash only life is hard, especially when the majority of cash machines are out of order and we have to drive around from machine to machine until we find one that works.

As I said, we didn't default because we were bad payers, we defaulted because my husband (now employed) lost his job and we made every effort (through solicitors and all) to contact creditors to sort out our problems.

Any tips?

Thanks
Karen

megsykins

Strange, NW gave me a debit card no questions asked.

I've been with them since I was about 11, opened a flexaccount couple of years ago (I was deemed too old for my Smart account!) and they gave me one automatically, I was 18 at the time. I'm a skint student too who keeps extending her overdraft and rarely puts anything back in except my loan (2 days til loan payment!! :j ) I know, I ought to get a proper student account, but I was swayed by the 5% e-savings
Maybe it's cos I also opened an ISA on the same day and put in £4k so they didn't realise how bad a customer I was to become. Or maybe I looked like I'd been a good customer before cos my pocket money was paid by direct debit and I worked 16 hrs a week too so always had plenty of ££ in there.

The card is v useful when going abroad, OH puts his spending money into my account before we go so don't have to pay commission. In fact, I know people who opened NW accounts before going gap-year travelling just so they didnt have to pay commission.

megsykins

OK, my last reply was to the original post, didn't realise this was a merged thread - doh!

Kaznei, could you try an account where you get an Electron card? They even let 16 year olds have Electrons, but they're not accepted everywhere.

BWZN93

kaznei wrote:

We changed to Nationwide two years ago, and ever since have tried upgrading our normal flexaccount (cash machine/counter use only) to one with a debit card and a cheque book. I don't even care if we don't have a cheque guarantee card but we can't get anything.

A debit card is classed as a form of credit, as Visa cards allow you to go overdrawn and sometimes quite considerably so, hence the reason why you are being declined. If your credit reports are bad then you will have problems getting a debit card. This is especially so if the defaults are for high balances, as you have seen yourself, a high income can go wrong in the form of losing jobs etc and things can go spectacularly wrong.

My boyf has had problems with obtaining a current account simply because he has no credit history. Nationwide werent even going to give him a cash card only account until we appealed the decision, which he did eventually get. Credit scoring for current accounts has got more stringent as of late, simply because many banks want to get the best possible custom - because higher value clients means more profit, more cross selling opportunity, and are less likely to be hanging around a branch on a Wednesday morning drawing out thier last £3 clogging up the branch.

It seems harsh but unfortunately this is the world we live in!

Jo xx

kaznei

I understand that - but you can get Maestro/Solo cards that are debit cards but very limited - even that would do.