Barclays new charges are going to push my financial situ over the edge.

[Diddy]

Hi there. I got notification that Barclays are going to be changing their charging structure for overdrafts to a new system where if you are in overdraft they charge a daily rate.

Now I am in "constant overdraft". Basically when I was in work may years ago I had an arranged £2k overdraft and it is still at roughly £1700.

I dont have the means to just pay it off as I am now a carer for my father which has seen my income drop from about £30k to carers allowance and income support (approx £100 per week). At the moment as the charges stand I can manage the overdraft charges of just over £20 per month without it killing me. But now I am going to be faced with new charges of £1.50 per day which is >£45 per month. I am now at the stage where I feel it is time to do something about the situation.

Now I have had very few bank charges in the last 6 years...maybe 5 maximum. BUT if we were to go back much further to when my troubles started then the account does have many charges....BUT they were with the Woolwich before Barclays took them over. I do know that the Woolwich charges did take me into my overdraft....at around the same time as I had to give up work to care for both my ill parents. But we are talking about 7-10 years ago. I have no old statements that I can use as evidence of these charges so im a bit stuck.

 

So the question is What should I do in my situation - I am already looking at opening an account at another bank and getting my benefits paid into that. But how do I tackle this debt head on before it becomes the familiar nightmare of dealing with DCA's and having fee's stuck on top along with probably a CCJ ect ect. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[fkofilee]

Concentrate on getting that new account open.

 

With barclays watch out for mercers.... They are their tame DCA arm.

[Diddy]

The thing is all my "old" debt problems have vanished from my credit file. When you look at my file it looks "clear" apart from this serviced £2k ish overdraft. So my credit rating must be ok enough to get another bank account. Im not interested in obtaining credit now or in the future anyway as I now live much more frugally than I did. This site has helped me so much in the past to help deal with my debts and I am looking at getting back to work over the next year (I am an electrician but need to update me certs....more £££) as I now have a loving partner who can and will help look after my father while I work. Just cant do so as quickly as June this year and that is when these changes happen...I simply can not afford £45 per month in charges to service this overdraft.

[slick132]

Hi Diddy,

 

Reclaiming bank charges is very rarely a viable option these days, particularly older charges. The only real option is to reclaim recent charges if you are in Financial Difficulty using The Lending Code.

 

Look to move your banking asap to a new a/c.

 

When Barclays realise you're no longer funding the a/c, it is likely to be passed to collections. You can then give them an I&E summary which will show how much you can afford to repay them per month. They should accept this and stop adding interest and charges to the a/c.

 

Then, if you are able to start earning a higher wage again, you should be able to repay them more quickly and have the matter settled.