The Meaningful Money Personal Finance Podcast · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Elizabeth, who has struggled with overdraft and credit card debt, inquired about potential refunds for persistent overdraft charges and whether this could negatively impact her credit rating. Roger Wix and Pete Matthew reassured her that applying for such refunds should not affect her credit rating. They advised that the key factor is whether the bank exacerbated her financial difficulties, and recommended checking resources like Citizens Advice, StepChange, and National Debtline.
“I recently heard about people who have had a refund on overdraft charges if they were persistently living in debt. I struggle to get my head around if this would apply to me and if anyone could offer any advice.”
“I don't think applying for compensation or refund would affect credit rating. No. No, it doesn't. You can't do, surely? That would be a bit vindictive.”
“The difficulty here is is the bank deciding whether you were having financial difficulties and they were exacerbating it by keeping you in there.”
“I think it's worth looking into. You know, there's a whole load of resources out there. You know, check out Citizens Advice, check out StepChange, see what they say.”