Barclays Student Additions Account

Terrible overdraft system for students addition account and very rude service in phone

Absolutely sheet. This is the third time i have requested to increase my overdraft from £200. They tell you to spend less, when contacting them its a charge (0845). Barclays' have a useless specialist team that don't understand personal/cultural/racial differences and circumstances. They ask me to give them information on how much i spend which includes things such as: bills, toiletries, rent, how much of clothing i buy per month, how much i spend in socializing. and then they come with that i still have £700 left in my account from all these expenses. With all the cheek they're tone of voice is disgusting. They have no understanding of the word 'polite'. What they dont seem to understand that there are times where overspending happens unknowingly hence the reason to why people request for an overdraft.

Dont go to barclays, your better off going to santander.

Looking for a student account whose overdraft limit is unofficially capped at £200? Enjoy the humiliation of having to justify every penny you've spent in the last month to a personal banker, so that he can try (and fail) to persuade his blue overlords to up your overdraft limit to a WHOPPING £500? If you've answered yes to either of the above questions, then Barclays Student Additions is the one for you!

Each and every time I have requested an overdraft I have been put through a rigours process aimed at checking my finances, as responsible lenders I can understand this.

Barclays' customer service is second to none in the category of most awful customer service, their advisors are incredibly patronising and the service is generally very poor.

I am angry that I was turned down for an overdraft, when there was a real need and I clearly could pay the amount back; however, the service provided by Barclays is horrendous.

The only reason I am staying with them is so I can take advantage of the current overdraft, I have no intention of paying it off until I graduate - they can pay for their shocking service. I will be moving all my transactions to another Bank promptly.

i am a third year student and decided to go to barclays for my student additions account because they claimed to be so good. however i am trying to extend my overdraft and have had similar problems to those who have already written a review! they do not do what they claim to do and are completely useless in trying to give any reason as to why it was not accepted. one staff member in branch actually turned around to me in front of other people that i was not getting the overdraft extension because i was a student and therefore was unable to afford it, so why bother offering a student account if they dont believe in the students that they are supposedly looking after! i am still unable to get my overdraft extended which means i am unable to pay for food bills or my rent! i am currently trying to find a job but until that time i have nothing! thanks for nothing barclays waste of my time!

I've had this account through my first year of university and it was fine for putting money in and taking it out; one thing Barclays are competent with. It wasn't until the end of summer when I needed some extra money to pay for my first month's rent that I realised they are tighter than the side of a sofa with this proposed £1000 overdraft. All my friends who bank with Barclays have had similar experiences. In the branch they will sit you down and ask you questions about your spending, next they will fax these off to a higher office where it is no longer their problem. I'd be better off trying to sell this pitch to Dragons' Den. So I spent a week of calling the student accounts office and going back into the branch trying to solve this problem by trial and error, they will not disclose what you've done wrong in any detail, they won't reveal the criteria they're looking for and they won't give any personal/factual opinions. After my 4th trip back and forth to the branch I started thinking forget about it, I'll leave it to gravity, incur whatever charges i get for being overdrawn until my loan comes in. The man who I believed to be helping me knew me by name, after another unsuccessful visit he leaned over the desk and quietly said ''to be honest, I've had about 20 students come to me applying for an overdraft, I've only ever seen one get it. So don't give your hopes up''. Well that helps, nice one mate, you've done your job to the fullest of your ability. At the end of the day though I did get a free gourmet card giving me 20% off certain restaurants in my area.

I have been with Barclays for four years, updating to a student account last year when I started University. Though the instant £200 overdraft was useful extending it beyond that is next to impossible.

I needed an overdraft to accommodate for my rent and living expenses until my student loan came through.

I went into my local branch with the intention of extending my overdraft and they gave me an 0845 number, which are extortionately priced to call. It's ironic that the number you call to extend your overdraft will cost you a small fortune.

I asked to use their phone at the bank as I couldn't afford the 0845 number. I then tried to submit an application but was on hold so long that the bank closed and I was forced to hang up the phone.

I rang in the next day to make another application and was told that I was not able to make an application because my i.d hadn't been updated in four years (which is impossible as I updated my i.d when I made the student account just a year ago.)

I was told to go to my local branch with two forms of i.d (a student card and a citizenship card, which on the phone I was told would be acceptable.)

I went into my local branch with the i.d and was told I would need an appointment to update and the earliest they could do was over a week away. The staff were quite rude and couldn't offer any sort of explanation as to why I needed to update my i.d in the first place and just sent me to the branch in town where there were more staff available.

I went to the branch in town and was told that the citizenship card is not on the list of identification they can accept, despite being told otherwise on the phone, and they couldn't accept my student card as it only has a date of expiry, not a date of issue. After taking photocopies of them anyway, I was told to return with my most recent bank statement. Returning with my most recent bank statement, I was finally able to update my identification after 6 visits to 2 different Barclays branches.

Barclays tossed me around like a rag doll in a bureaucratic mosh pit.

The following day I rang in and actually tried to extend my overdraft. It's a nightmare, they wanted to know an insane amount of detail regarding my spending in third term (which was months ago). They wanted to know things like the reason for and destination of a £6.50 train journey I took months ago or how much I smoked per day and the weekly cost of that. In the end I was told not to make an application because it would be denied and apparently a denied overdraft application is bad for my credit rating.

Even if I had gotten the overdraft, I was told I could only apply for £500, which barely covers one months rent and in the time it took me to find that out/sort everything out with my i.d my rent payment was already late.

Anyone thinking of going with a Barclays student account, don't. With LLoyds you can extend your overdraft online in minutes.

I've been with Barclays for nearly 30 years and they have most of the time been pretty good. Don't call their call centre though as you will be passed off to their call centre in Timbuktu and answered by people who can't really effect anything you ask for and can't really understand what you are saying!

But, and here's a big but, all high street banks are all the same to be fair.

What Barclays have going for it is that branch staff are very helpful when you need them and most of the time you end up using their web portal to handle your account. Their web portal is easy to use, does most things I need for day-today management.

My grandfather told me on his death bed....NEVER trust a Bank son!!!!

Crooks, vagabonds, scallywags and greedy scum of the earth.

Fast enough to raise interest rates when the base rate rises.

With Base rates at rock bottom, interest rates on loans/credit are sky high these financial rip-off merchants are still taking customers eyes out. Stuff 'em.

Hang them all in public!

I have been overall pleased with barclays but until I needed an overdraft, they had "pitiful" reasons for denying my request for an increase. I asked for increase because my car broke down and mentioned I need it for long travels to university and back. They refused and cancelled my overdraft application because they found this reason inappropriate and because I am with another bank which is ridiculous, I use direct debits for this account and barclays account for student purposes. Since when was there a limit in how accounts we have?! Reading the reviews they don't seem to care about a change in foreseen circumstances and student needs. Despite providing proof that the upcoming funds will compensate then negative balance, they didn't care, despite maintaining a good standard account with regular funds in the account, they didn't care. All they cared about their selfish reason being with another bank. What was more frustrating, I cancelled the bank account for the sake of increasing my overdraft with Barclays and still they cancel my application because of the amount requested, to which they didn't mention in my previous application.