No money help!!!

OP

No the first installment was 2500. The second and 3rd were less being 1434 the rent was 122 a week including bills. I dont know why its so weird and the first lump was bigger than the rest thats just the way it was. It was private student halls.
Also, It cost me £80 to get here on the train, and then i had to buy literally everything i came up with one suitcase with a few clothes and a few pairs of shoes. My dad doesnt drive so he couldnt bring me. I had to buy bedding, food, toiletries, essentials (bath towels, books for university, stationary, things for my room etc) it all came to about 450.

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Reply 23

OP

Also, i have just applied to hsbc for a basic bank account. Just waiting for them to get back to me

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Reply 24

Original post by 123lat123

To the first commenter, no i have not posted this before, and nothing went wrong with my finances, just the fact i was in my overdraft before i even got my student finance. I wasnt aware how expensive uni would be at the beginning i didnt prepare and get all the info needed like most of my friends did which i know was a mistake. My first rent was 2500 which was how much loan i got which then with the overdraft also i should of had enough money to live however i didnt realise until i got there how expensive things would be. I dont realise how much money im spending til its spent. I dont spend it on luxury items. I never ever go out because i never have the money to or treat myself so thats not why i dont have any. I really appreciate the advice and all the other comments thanks alot im gonna take it all in and try and sort this out im not burying my head in the sand, ive tried applying for jobs and rang stepchange and we sorted out a payment plan. I emailed them all my further info as i never have any credit to ring them i used a friends phone the first time, however they did not get in contact with the bank in the months period they gave me to sort it out with stepchange. Im guessing this is because they dont check there emails very often. Also the bank that gave me the loan was natwest my student bank account. When i applied for it i was already in my overdraft, and i put in my finances ie how much student loan i get the loan was for 2500 to pay my rent. With how much student finance i get it is obvious if they worked it out or whatever that i could not afford the 189 a month repayments. However i guess its my fault for being silly and taking out the loan. It was a very last minute thing as my dad could have not gave me the money and they were giving me days to pay it before kicking me out. Thanks for taking the time to read this and offer your support. I appreciate it.

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Ok its still pretty confusing which is why you need to see someone.Stepchange is a freephone number, so you didnt need credit. It seems you have contaced them before or is it just now? You made some sort of repayment plan, but I think its your job to contact the bank and not stepchanges.It makes a lot more sense to an advisor if they get to see a timeline of how the debt came about and a breakdown of your income and expenses. Go and see an advisor at SU, SAB or talk to stepchange and thye cna get a beter sense of what has happened. Your only potnetial sources of finance it appears are the University hardship fund or a job. Its mu impression the debt may be so disruptive that you may need to consider taking a gap year to sort out your finances. Go and see someone now and that will help reduce some of the stress.

Update.

I see you are posting new information about what happened. This is why you need to be interviewed.

I suggest getting back in touch with stepchange and see if they cna contact your bank and get them to re-open your account. Stepchange can explain why there was some form of miscommunication, which then led the bank to lose patience.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 25

OP

I contacted stepchange about a month and a half ago, and also contacted my bank several times myself to tell them what was happening. I am not expecting things to just work out for me and not do anything. I am trying to sort this out, it just seems like everything i do gets thrown back in my face and doesnt work out. People say to budget. I budget as much as possible. I pay rent and food thats it. Im going to go to the student union tomorrow and after that look around the town centre for a job. Its not easy to get a job especially when you say your a uni student and dont have full availability. They never get back in contact but ill keep trying thanks for the advice

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Reply 26

OP

Also, if i take a gap year i will have the student finance to pay back (more debt) ontop of the debt i already have? I couldnt possibly afford that

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Reply 27

You'll only have to pay back your student loan if your gap year income is above the threshold. Even then, it's better than earning nothing, surely. It's extremely unlikely that NatWest will agree to reopen your account, and I'm afraid you're going to be in the position next year of not being able to get a mainstream student current account with an overdraft, because of the default on the NatWest loan. For these reasons, you do need to talk to a professional debt advisor who can give some more structured advice than you could get here.

Reply 28

Notwithstanding I still dont have an exact picture of what has gone on, it seems like obn your to do list is:

1. Contact Stepchange again and see if they will speak to the bank . there has been some serious miscommunication and you might be able to get them to open your account again. They are more likely to listen to someone else. I dont know the exact reasons why they closed your account.
2. See an advisor at the SU. If you have your stepchange plan take them that. The SU advisor will also know about accessing the uni hardship fund.
3. Contact Uni about hardship fund/ grant. get the forms.
4.. Open new basic account.
5. You dont say if your accommodation is Uni owned or private. If Uni then they are much more likely to be sympathetic.
6. Try to keep calm and keep chipping away at these things. I understand its stressful

If you arent happy with stepchange or the SU then consider CAB or there are other chariies. they all do the same thing.

If you get lost post back here. Hang in there.

Reply 29

Original post by 999tigger

Notwithstanding I still dont have an exact picture of what has gone on, it seems like obn your to do list is:

1. Contact Stepchange again and see if they will speak to the bank . there has been some serious miscommunication and you might be able to get them to open your account again. They are more likely to listen to someone else. I dont know the exact reasons why they closed your account.
2. See an advisor at the SU. If you have your stepchange plan take them that. The SU advisor will also know about accessing the uni hardship fund.
3. Contact Uni about hardship fund/ grant. get the forms.
4.. Open new basic account.
5. You dont say if your accommodation is Uni owned or private. If Uni then they are much more likely to be sympathetic.
6. Try to keep calm and keep chipping away at these things. I understand its stressful

If you arent happy with stepchange or the SU then consider CAB or there are other chariies. they all do the same thing.

If you get lost post back here. Hang in there.

The bank has defaulted the account, set off the credit balance and terminated it. Please don't suggest that they might open it again - you're just giving the OP false hope. They absolutely will not reopen it. Period.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 30

Original post by Reality Check

The bank has defaulted the account, set off the credit balance and terminated it. Please don't suggest that they might open it again - you're just giving the OP false hope. They absolutely will not reopen it. Period.

Not really. As we dont know exactly what has gone on.
Clarly they were interested at some stage in resolving the issue, but they decided at some stage having not heard from stepchange that the OP wasnt taking the matter seriously enough and defaulted then. If I was advising then I would be tlaking to the bank to see why the decision was made.

I don't have the benefit of knowing exactly what happened, any communications explaining this and what their future intentions are. You seem to be able to make these decisions without the need to know such things.

Reply 31

Original post by 999tigger

Not really. As we dont know exactly what has gone on.
Clarly they were interested at some stage in resolving the issue, but they decided at some stage having not heard from stepchange that the OP wasnt taking the matter seriously enough and defaulted then. If I was advising then I would be tlaking to the bank to see why the decision was made.

I don't have the benefit of knowing exactly what happened, any communications explaining this and what their future intentions are. You seem to be able to make these decisions without the need to know such things.

Yes, I have enough experience helping other people with these things and commercial banking experience to be able to say categorically that if NatWest have set off an account, defaulted and terminated it then they will not reopen it. The OP has already said that she's missed more than one loan repayment - whether or not there was communication beforehand is irrelevant. The account became delinquent, the debtor and creditor couldn't come to an agreement, the relationship broke down, the credit agreement was terminated and the accounts were closed.

What makes you think that NatWest might turn round after a conversation with StepChange and say 'oh, ok you defaulted on the loan but we can see you tried to contact us about it so fine, we'll ignore the arrears and reopen the account'. Cmmon..

Anyway, all this isn't helping the OP, which is what the focus should be.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 32

Original post by Reality Check

Yes, I have enough experience helping other people with these things and commercial banking experience to be able to say categorically that if NatWest have set off an account, defaulted and terminated it then they will not reopen it. The OP has already said that she's missed more than one loan repayment - whether or not there was communication beforehand is irrelevant. The account became delinquent, the debtor and creditor couldn't come to an agreement, the relationship broke down, the credit agreement was terminated and the accounts were closed.

What makes you think that NatWest might turn round after a conversation with StepChange and say 'oh, ok you defaulted on the loan but we can see you tried to contact us about it so fine, we'll ignore the arrears and reopen the account'. Cmmon..

Because I have experience working as a debt counselor. Nobody said anything about ignoring the arrears, thats just something you invented to suit your case. banks work out arrangements with debtors all the time. At one stage they were wiling to listen, something went wrong in communications and thats why they shut it down. If I was the Stepchange advisor, then I would be interested in looking for any way in reviving the original plan. It makes sense to find out what happened and explore all avenues rather thna give in.

Reply 33

Original post by 999tigger

Because I have experience working as a debt counselor. Nobody said anything about ignoring the arrears, thats just something you invented to suit your case. banks work out arrangements with debtors all the time. At one stage they were wiling to listen, something went wrong in communications and thats why they shut it down. If I was the Stepchange advisor, then I would be interested in looking for any way in reviving the original plan. It makes sense to find out what happened and explore all avenues rather thna give in.

What do you mean, 'reviving the original plan'? A default notice has been served and the credit agreement has ended. There is nothing to revive! And you're making assumptions now that the reason they shut the account was that communications broke down. There is no evidence from the OP to support this assertion and moreover it's probably wrong - in all likelihood NatWest took the decision to terminate the credit agreement and banking arrangements because the accounts were delinquent with no realistic chance of returning to good order given the debtor's financial position. The real question here is why the loan was advanced in the first place.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 34

OP

Thanks for the advice, but im not interested in another student account with an overdraft. I dont want that facility anymore as i dont want to be spending money i dont have which i realise now. Im going to apply for as many jobs as possible and try to earn some money as funds/bursaries from the uni can take weeks to process. Im going to open a basic bank account, then once that is opened ring step change as you cant set up a credit agreement without one, then i am going to ask to resume the original agreement we had set up. My only worry now is paying my current rent (with a private landlord) i have just come off the phone with my landords and they have given me some time to try and sort something out. Thankyou for all your help and any further information anyone has is widely appreciated. Thankyou

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Reply 35

Original post by 123lat123

Thanks for the advice, but im not interested in another student account with an overdraft. I dont want that facility anymore as i dont want to be spending money i dont have which i realise now. Im going to apply for as many jobs as possible and try to earn some money as funds/bursaries from the uni can take weeks to process. Im going to open a basic bank account, then once that is opened ring step change as you cant set up a credit agreement without one, then i am going to ask to resume the original agreement we had set up. My only worry now is paying my current rent (with a private landlord) i have just come off the phone with my landords and they have given me some time to try and sort something out. Thankyou for all your help and any further information anyone has is widely appreciated. Thankyou

Posted from TSR Mobile

Yes, this is why I suggested that opening the Basic Bank Account was the no.1 priority as you can neither pay your new landlord, nor receive any hardship funds, nor set up a repayment with NatWest without one.
Though your credit agreement with NatWest has ended they will be willing to work with your to come to a sensible repayment arrangement that is sustainable for you, so I wish you the best of luck with it.

Reply 36

Who_Cider

Ah ok I see what you mean with the rent now. Hate private halls they are not set up with poorer students in mind.

Original post by Reality Check

Yes, this is why I suggested that opening the Basic Bank Account was the no.1 priority as you can neither pay your new landlord, nor receive any hardship funds, nor set up a repayment with NatWest without one.
Though your credit agreement with NatWest has ended they will be willing to work with your to come to a sensible repayment arrangement that is sustainable for you, so I wish you the best of luck with it.

To access the hardship fund from universities you need to show three months worth of bank statements. Will NatWest still give the OP these if the account has been terminated? If not they will have real problems accessing the hardship money.

Reply 37

Original post by Who_Cider

Ah ok I see what you mean with the rent now. Hate private halls they are not set up with poorer students in mind.

To access the hardship fund from universities you need to show three months worth of bank statements. Will NatWest still give the OP these if the account has been terminated? If not they will have real problems accessing the hardship money.

Yes, indeed. If NatWest won't help her out (and given the circumstances they probably won't) then the only way the OP can get this information is by doing a Subject Access Request and paying the fee (£10, I think). However, see this page from NatWest
See this, from NatWest regarding old statements;

https://supportcentre.natwest.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1632/~/how-do-i-order-statements-for-a-closed-account%3F

So it is possible. It just depends how coöperative the bank will be, given the default.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 38

Original post by Reality Check

What do you mean, 'reviving the original plan'? A default notice has been served and the credit agreement has ended. There is nothing to revive! And you're making assumptions now that the reason they shut the account was that communications broke down. There is no evidence from the OP to support this assertion and moreover it's probably wrong - in all likelihood NatWest took the decision to terminate the credit agreement and banking arrangements because the accounts were delinquent with no realistic chance of returning to good order given the debtor's financial position. The real question here is why the loan was advanced in the first place.

I am open minded as to what happened , why and when until someone interviews the person and gets all the details. They will then be in a much position to look at whats happened and what the available options are.

We dont know what the details of shutting the account down were. We do know they were in contact with Stepchange at one point and the bank had allowed a 30 days moratorium in which to get things sorted out. The OP then refers to Stepchange failing to contact the bank with any agreed plan, at which point the bank would decide they hadnt heard anything and would proceed as normal. That's what the OP refers to. You seem to think I make these things up.

Obviously you would be looking at why give them such a large loan if they had no means of paying it off. It would seem obvious that if you entered the Summer as a firts year with a £3000+ debt, then you should be working on a plan to sort that out otherwise you arent going to be able to handle even the basic costs the following year.

Anyone pointless discussing it anymore on here. She needs someone who can get up to speed on the situation by interviewing her to get the full picture and then look at the available options.

At the moment there is no income and a £2500 rent payment due for this term alone.

Reply 39