Community: Real Life

My spiralling bank charges

Saqub, 22, explains how he found himself owing £600 in bank charges after going £1 overdrawn.

Saqub

It all started with a trip to the pub. I had £9 in my bank account and withdrew £10 to buy drinks which left me £1 overdrawn. Because I hadn't arranged an overdraft with the bank they charged me £28, but instead of sorting it out straight away, I ignored it.

The bank sent me a letter saying that I was £29 overdrawn and I threw it away. I didn't have the money to pay it back because I wasn't working, and I didn't have any savings. I just left it and thought I'd pay it off later, but every month the bank charged £28 and took me further into red.

Ignoring the bank

Over the following two years I was well-informed about my growing debt. The bank sent statements every month as well as letters asking to repay the money. I just used to hide them because I thought if I didn't see them it wouldn't be true. I didn't tell anyone about the debt I was in because I felt so guilty about not paying it back - but it was always on my mind. People describe this feeling of having 'a weight on your shoulders', but for me it was getting heavier.

"I could stop worrying and carry on with my life without thinking about how I was going to pay the bank back."

Looking back, I should've paid the debt off when it was small and manageable, but I left it for two years. Then something clicked: I received a letter saying I was £580 overdrawn and I finally decided to speak to someone at the bank. I had a job so was able to pay the money back. I ended up paying it all back in one go, which was a huge relief. I could stop worrying and carry on with my life without thinking about how I was going to pay the bank back.

Claiming the money back

A couple of months after I'd cleared the debt a friend said I should try to claim the money back from bank. I went to see a solicitor who deals with unfair bank charges and he took on my case. I was lucky enough to get all the money back very quickly, so spent it on a holiday with my friends.

I've learnt a big lesson from the whole experience and I won't make the same mistake again. Since then I've been more careful with my money and I'll never go under ever again. If I do I'll make sure I pay it back straight away.

Updated: 17/04/2009


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