Overdraft help

cat_79 · 14 February 2019 at 12:19PM

Hi I was wondering if anyone can advise, quick back story, I have bipolar 2 and sometimes sufferers very elevated mood which makes me behave in ways I wouldn't usually. I am very careful with money as a rule but when I am in an episode I manage to get myself into a mess. I was on my way to being all sorted have payment plan in place to clear old debts. My last episode I did something really daft and took out an overdraft. I have never had one before and I am now 2900 into one with fees of 3.70 a day. I dont know how to get out of this situation at all. Should I close the account and make regular payments each week to clear this? Would they continue adding the interest? I know my illness is not an excuse but it does make me behave in ways that I usually wouldn't I'm not suggesting I shouldn't pay this back I'm.just looking at a way to get it under control.

Willing2Learn · 14 February 2019 at 1:06PM

Hi cat_79,

Can you afford to pay the overdraft charges and interest? Or is the overdraft debt currently unaffordable?

EssexHebridean · 14 February 2019 at 1:08PM

Hi Cat - well done for looking for help on this one, you're far from the first, I promise you!

Firstly I'd suggest putting together an SOA (Statement of Affairs) - the link is in my signature - you need to make it open and honest, and it must reflect the way things really are in your finances right now, not what you think you "should" be spending. That will help you to see now only what you're spending where in your budget, but also - and more importantly for you right now - will let you see how much money you should have spare at the end of each month to to throw at the debt. If you feel comfortable doing so, post th SOA into here ("format for MSE") and we'll take a look at it with you and see if we can spot any savings you might be able to make.

I'd also suggest contacting your bank directly, setting the situation out to them clearly (they may require proof of your mental health condition) and seeing whether they will agree to freeze interest & charges - in the circumstances they may do.

BaHu67 · 14 February 2019 at 6:06PM

Hello,

When I started to take control of my financial situation I contacted my bank (Lloyds), as the charges on a £2500 overdraft were crippling amonst the other debt I was in. They kindly agreed to freeze the overdraft fees for me for a three month period whilst I got back on track and I had the offfer of setting up a debt repayment plan (with no additional charges).

I did not need to take up the offer on the repayment plan in the end, as I developed a monthly budget, spent a very long time reading through the forums here and devised my own strategy to pay back the debt.

In short, my bank were incredibly understanding and I wish I had contacted them sooner.

Overdraft help

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