can anyone tell me what your credit score has to be to be able to get a small overdraft?do all banks differ in how they vet you for an overdraft?i know at abbey,they go off your actual account activity and whether you have been overdrawn over the last 3months .if you have then that goes against you.i was overdrawn by 25p for a matter of an hour when my wage was transferred to when a bill came out.i was charged a fortune and when i asked for an overdraft to stop this happening,they said i couldn't because my rating was down by only a few points and had to keep my account above water for another 3months!and when ive applied for other bank accounts ive only been offered a basic account.i have plenty of money going into my account.

Hi Nick

Just read your email. I credit my bank account in the region of 3k on a monthly basis. I bank with Alliance and Leicester. I recently applied for a £50 overdraft and was instantly declined. How unfair?! What I don't understand is that my credit score is very good. Personally it is based on how well you run your money. What really gets me is when they start telling you on how to run your account!!! Time to move your account maybe?!

Thanks,

Lisa

That's very strange!
Esp. considering students (mind you, these are guys just out of sixth-form/college who either work at McD's or don't work at all) get approved for £1250+ instantly, with only £2k or so (most of which goes on rent) coming in 3 times a year. They have guarantee a student will work during studying?!

I have been using my student credit card with Natwest (after finishing being a student) simply because if you then apply for a new one, they are more likely to decline you, because you have one already. The limit is way too low, and my subscriptions to various things always knock me over the limit, and I make a payment straight away, but they still charge me £12. This is hammering my credit rating, so I told them to shove it.

Hi Nick,

Overdrafts are generally not based upon credit scores (as in scores given by credit agencies) - they are generally assessed on the basis of information that your bank collates about you - this is why Abbey need 3 months of account activity.

You need to keep your account in good standing, otherwise you are simply not a candidate for an overdraft - remember that banks are not out to make your life miserable, but they need to be responsible lenders, and recent events will show that need to be even more careful. You must have been overdrawn by at least a day for it to have registered on their system - since money going in by bacs and money going out by cheque/bacs are applied in that order. It may not be much, but that 25 pence was still not agreed with the bank, and not available to you.

Good luck with the overdraft,

Paul

Hi Lisa,

As I've already told Nick, it's generally not based upon your credit score, but rather your history and account behaviours with your bank. If you do credit that much, have not breached the conditions of the account, and don't have arrears or bad debt write-offs with A&L (for any other product) in the last 6 years, it sounds like you may need to have a talk with them. Most banks have an appeals process for such decisions, which forces their risk/underwriting team to reconsider applications which may have wrongly been rejected by their immediate systems - this may be less trouble than moving banks.

Please also remember that many people do need help in running their accounts, and that that is something which banks offer as a service - the people you speak to are generally experts in banking, despite the bad press they get.

Paul