Hi
Currently with HSBC - have been for over 7 years - recently got a v nice & v welcome payrise which will mean a couple of ton better off per month
Really really REALLY want to ditch them now - they are no friend to people with debt problems and for going just £1 over my agreed £200 overdraft limit, by accident twice this month, they've charged me £25 each time - which means £50 coming out, BEFORE I get paid. I've phoned them to tell them this - they were not sympathetic & didn't care - said they couldn't change the date & the £50 would be debited anyway. I said "look at my account - there's no money there!! deduct it from WHAT?? please wait until 15th Apr when I will have a shedload of dough coming in". Answer was a resounding no.
No common sense, no sympathy.
I can't wait to get rid but have a poor credit rating & a pathological aversion to greasing the wheels of the greedy financial money-grabbers like HSBC. Are there any "honest" banks out there for someone who has one loan (never missed a payment with that one) and just one (now cancelled - cheers Egg) credit card, who just wants an account to pay into, take direct debits from, debit card and a minimal "buffer zone" type overdraft?
This payrise will rebuild my credit, no doubt, and I hope to be debt-free within 12 months. I've been in a lot of debt trouble in the past & have paid for it dearly. NOW IT STOPS.
1 - admit your FULL debt to yourself & your nearest & dearest. They will help, not judge.
2 - get some advice. Consumer Credit Counselling Service and Citizens Advice Bureau can't chuck money at you but they aren't patronising and have heard it all before. You're not the first & you won't be the last.
3 - don't be an ostrich. Egg were actually v sympathetic to me, just so happened my card got cancelled. C'est la vie, now I don't have a credit card at all, will work out better in the long run.
4 - don't be tempted to consolidate. This wipes out your debts to one monthly payment, then you think woo hoo! I have money, I can do it all again. 4 years down the line you're still saying "next year is the year I'll be debt free". It doesn't happen, unless you have superhuman willpower.
5 - keep a budget, keep at it, look for ways for extra income. I'm a part-time masseuse, helps keep me in pocket money.
6 - keep speaking to people on forums like this. This is my first post, but not my first time reading.
Any advice on the current account for bad credit (I haven't got any CCJ's or bankruptcy charges though) would be greatly appreciated.
Lil