Can I have a student bank account for longer than 5 years because I started a new course?

Question

I did 2 years of a university course, quit, went back to college for a year and then started a new course at university. My bank only offers student accounts for 5 years. Last year whilst I was withdrawing my rent I mentioned to the teller that I had started a new course and would that be ok since it would mean I will end up being a student for more than 5 years, he said "yeah, I think that will be ok" Fast forward to this week, I notice from my online banking that I'm starting to be charged interest on my overdraft, I can only assume that this is because I'm over my 5 year limit.

If I go into my bank with my acceptance letter and explain (again) my situation will I be allowed to keep my account until I graduate? If not, can I open a student account with another bank?

I've googled this but I can't find anything, I can't be the only person in the world with a student account who started a new course and will be a student for longer than 5 years! Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Answer 1

Open a new student account and you are done.  you can then meet me up for coffee.

Answer 2

Each bank will have it own policy so there is no harm in asking, make an appointment with a financial adviser rather then just popping in and asking a clerk. They are more able to tailor for you personally. If they wont, yes you can get another student account with another bank but you will still owe the original bank the overdraft amount and they will keep charging you interest until its paid off. Best thing to do if you do switch to a different bank, is to put a weekly amount of money into your old account to cover any interest charges and a bit more to slowly pay off that overdraft.