I can't believe I've only just came across this forum.

I opened up a student account around September last year with the Royal Bank of Scotland. My overdraft limit was £1250. I've been having some financial problems over the last year or so, so my overdraft was pretty much maxed out by December. I did NOT at any point, over draw past my limit.

I recieved a phonecall around February, saying that I had not paid anything into the account in the time it had been open, and as a result, am now being charged "interest" on my overdraft, which has taken it over the £1250 limit. I was told that I had to pay £20 in, in order to resolve this. But money is tight, and I told the woman I would try my best to pay it as soon as possible.

About a fortnight later, I recieved a letter saying that they had tried to contact me by telephone, and that if the position is not resolved within seven working days, formal regulatory notices will be issued in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act.

I made a phonecall to my local branch to resolve this, and was informed that they were no longer dealing with my account, and that it was now being delt with by the "Customer Lending Centre". I phoned them, and was told that my total amount now outstanding was now £1,303.79. This puzzled me, because as I hadn't overdrawn, this would mean that within the space of a few months, I had been charged around £60 in interest.

The girl on the phone then requested that I pay them close to £140. I asked her where she got that figure from, and she mumbled on, without being clear, about charges and interest. I told her where to go and that it was nowhere near that amount to be paid, and she told me that In that case, I had to pay £38 in order to avoid legal action, which I did. She informed me that, as I had not paid any money into my account since I had opened it, that it had transformed into a regular account instead of a Student account, which is why I am being charged interest.

I have been told that I must go to my local branch and "plead" with them to change it back into a student account again, otherwise I will face more charges. My local branch apparantly have the right to refuse this request as well.

What puzzles me, is that £1,303.79 minus the £38 I paid over the phone, leaves the balance at £1265.79. Thats £16.79 still overdrawn. I didnt realise this untill I came off the phone.

Do I have any cause for claim at all here? I would really appreciate your thoughts, as money is soo tight at the moment.

Thank you in advance

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have up to date bank statements or the ability to look at the account online?

My initial reaction is that it doesn't sound as if they have levied too many penalty charges yet and you cannot pursue them for routine overdraft interest. This bit of advice may be a bit late but if you have an overdraft it's usually better to churn funds through it if you can ie pay money and take money out. If you simply leave it maxed out they are more likely to do what they've done.

This topic was closed on 03/06/19.

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