*important-unlawful Overdraft Reductions*

[thecosmicpotato]

Hello all,just thought i'd like to state my case.I am a university student and have just drafted this letter to Nationwide.I would greatly appreciate any replies as to whether or not i should send it.Just in case you may wonder why i didnt take out an interest free overdraft with a student bank account,i couldnt due to to failing credit checks for those banks.

 

I recently called into your Southampton branch to make an appointment with one of your staff with regards to an overdraft enquiry.A few weeks ago i was told that my overdraft was to be reduced from the previous £1,200 limit to £500.I soon discovered that i had surpassed the time limit for which bank details for the student loans company could be changed.This meant that I had no choice but to watch £700 of my student loan swallowed up by my overdraft.The time scale between finding out about my overdraft reduction,and that of my loan payment date,was ridiculously small and i did not have the means to pay back the £700.Consequently i

was charged for being over my limit,but this was because i was in no position to be able to raise the funds.I did call to inform the bank that my student loan would be paid in eventually and therefore put the account back into credit,however noone would accommodate my request,I asked the lady in the branch to revert back to my previous overdraft limit of £1,200 for the sole purpose of accessing my loan,but she too said there was nothing that she could do,so together we worked out a budget for what i had left.I soon realised that my expenses were far too high to be able to live off so little money,especially when i also had rent arrears to pay.I have also since been unemployed,which means that i was forced into exhausting my remaining funds.I thus conclude that your refusal to restore my overdraft limit is unfair considering my predicament.I understand that you may have rules and regulations for this but as a full time student I am entitled to the rest of my loan; the impact of this decision has cost me dearly and unlawfully.I ask that you reset my overdraft limit back to the £1200 limit,at least until I have completed my degree, and refund the charges for the dates ( ) If there is any other documentation required from me,and/or additional forms to be filled out,please request/enclose them.Thank you.

 

 

Also interested if anyone else has suffered from having their overdraft limits unlawfully reduced.

[MilkTrayMan]

Hello thecosmicpotato!

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an unlawfully reduced O/D limit.

ALL O/D's are deemed a 'service' + are repayable on demand.

It's going to have to be a case of struggling through until your next term I'm afraid.

Luckily, the summer break is coming up, so U will be able to seek full-time employment to enable U to get by.

An approach to your Student Wefare Officer may be helpful also.

Depending on your personal circumstances, your Uni and/or NUS are able to give temporary monetary assistance.

I trod that path myself on many ocassion many moons ago!

My other advice to U would be to open a Basic Current Account at another Bank + have your future Student Loans paid into the NEW Account.

Welcome to the harsh world of Personal Finance btw!

[indebtstudent]

You can at least claim back any charges but I have to say it is not Nwide's fault you were living in your overdraft (and I know we've almost all done it).

 

Blame the government!

 

Yes it sucks but the thing to do now is learn from this, why do you have an overdraft with Nationwide, which charges interest, when some banks offer interest free overdraft to students?

 

Perhaps you didn't want to get into debt but you're there now so why not get charged (I'm aware Nwide's O/D rate is lower than most but its still more than 0%!!!).