I'm afraid I can't get by reading this thread without piling in.
Firstly, point of order - it's NOT the credit crunch, not any more.
Get with the times. It's not been the credit crunch for ages - it started out as the 'Credit Crunch', but then it became the 'Global financial crisis', then it was the 'Economic slowdown', then it was the 'Recession', now it's simply the 'Downturn' - and due to the fact that it's even got its own logo now, another rebranding will probably be expensive, so it'll probably stick as the 'downturn'. (Although not if the company that designed the 'Downturn' logo have anything to do with it.)
Personally, I'm better off now than I've ever been, but I don't want to take the "I'm alright Jack" attitude, so instead - do what i do, and be "Jack of all banks, enslaved by none".
I'll share with you my top tip for 'beating' the credit crunch - DON'T beat it. Join it. IF you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
i.e., the credit crunch was caused by people not paying off debts that they had borrowed. So, although it's not easy, the best way to not lose out due to the credit crunch, is to become one of the people that doesn't pay off debts that they've borrowed.
I've got a debt that's still four figures that I'm on a payment plan for which freezes the interest, this is meant for when you can't pay it off, but the truth is that I simply don't want to. If I can do this, everyone can. We all owe it to each other to stick two fingers up to the greedy banks and hit them in the pocket by being savvy to their policies and procedures.
So instead of scrimping and saving and only knitting one lentil instead of two, we should take the attitude that because there's a credit crunch downturn on, we should just accept that we're going to get into debt.
When you do get into debt, you should then sever all relationships with that bank apart from to pay off the debt, which you should agree a monthly payment plan for, and cajole the bank into not charging you interest, which it's a pretty standard thing to do. The CCCS can help - they helped me, but then i sacked them because they wanted proof of my income. The bank won't care - they'll just see a credit for the same amount coming in - like in that indiana jones film where he takes the jewels off a weight sensitive pillar and replaces them with a bag of sand. Besides - they should know how much i earn by howmuch I spend - I keep my main credit card with them, but because the right arm doesn't talkto the left, they don't associate this information.
In times of hardship, i.e. when you're spending more than you earn, then with a view to the above, you should basically regard bank accounts as dispoable. Once you're over limit, you should spend a maximum of one month getting as over limit as you can, and then sack off that account and join another bank, and put it on a payment plan.
I noticed a post from alecs about having problems with this - mate, you should simply sack off that account and get a new acount, possibly a non-overdraft ('basic bank account') one (at least initially), and don't have your income paid into the one that's charging you. This is the first vital step you must take to protect your OWN money. Then you can begin the process of putting it on a payment plan, which should hopefully involve freezing interest and charges, by explaining to them that you are in financial difficulty and that you can only afford to pay so much per month. A very important point to remember is that they aren't legally entitled to any more, much as they may try to convince you otherwise.
