Debit cards for children

[Kazzy E]

Hi everyone, this has not really got much to do with my IVA but thought I would post it anyway as I am so shocked! My son received a letter from Lloyds TSB today, offering him his first DEBIT CARD! He is 14 yrs old!!!! The leaflet which came with it was entitled 'Your child's first Lloyds TSB debit card - a parent's guide'. Am I not quite getting it, or does this shout, 'KIDS - THE IVA APPLICANTS OF THE FUTURE'. He was SO excited at the prospect of his first 'CREDIT CARD'. Needless to say, the letter and leaflet went straight to the recycling bin. I am disgusted! Rgrds Kazzy x

[angela18]

my daughter has a passbook savings account, but was offered a cashcard for this.. can you imagine her being let loose with a cashcard when she is 13 and into shopping... I think not!!

[Kazzy E]

Hi Ang, I agree, my son has had a cash card since he opened his account, but the debit card allows him to go into a shop and pay 'by card'. The way the bank is promoting it, is to convince them that it will teach them good money management skills - in some cases maybe but I am sure most parents would agree with us. It also says in the leaflet that if there is insufficient funds in their account, the card will be declined - this has happened to me in the past at Asda's checkout and I can remember the sheer humiliation this caused me. What it the world coming to? The banks should be ashamed of themselves. Kazzy x

[angela18]

i don't think its good.. i think most kids will just spend all there savings and then leave it when they've gone!! why would a 13/14 yr old need a debit card to spend money. my daughter gets her pocket money and thats it.. she knows when its gone its gone

[Kazzy E]

Glad I'm not alone in my thoughts, just thought I'd open it up for another opinion. Thanks for the replies Ang. Kazzy x

[Soulgrowth]

I think to set your children up with a Cashplus card is a good idea ... if my children were still young I think I would give them one and load their pocket money on to it as it can help to teach them how to handle money responsibly.

But I think this kind of action by the banks is deplorable ... I know that Andy has had some problems with this with his own family.

Debbie

[Kazzy E]

Hi Debbie, my son has a cash card for the bank where he can draw money from the ATM. He's had one for a couple of years and his pocket money goes into the account. He is sensible with that as I keep the card and he only requests it when he can tell me why he wants the money and only takes out what he needs. I am not so sure he would be quite so disciplined if he had a debit card though, its a funny one, because I don't want him making the same mistakes that I have, so maybe to try to teach good handling of money at this age, might make him think about not being in debt when he's older. Not sure on that one! Kazzy x

[Jinx]

I think its the same for all of us... its easier to spend plastic money than it is to part company with reddies!

[Skippy]

I haven't got children, but if I had I certainly wouldn't want them to have a debit card! I also wouldn't be happy about giving them a pre-paid card either - I can't help thinking it would make plastic seem normal to them, rather than appreciating the value of cash.

[jane.l]

I need to open a bank account for my son as he is 16 and needs an account to claim the Education Maintenance Allowance, he can open a Young Saver Account, which will have a debit card and then later, the lady said he could upgrade to an overdraft, I felt like screaming at her "NO, NO, NO" I am going to make sure he does not make the same mistakes I have in life[:0]

[Kazzy E]

Hi Jane, many banks do an under 19 account which my son has. He has always been really sensible with his ATM cash card, but now they have offered him this debit card, I think he's too young. They also put the onus on you to contact them to tell them not to send the cards, if you don't they send it automatically! Trouble is, if they have these cards, then I am sure they begin to develop a credit rating which by the time they are 18 and able to apply for credit, they already have a rating to allow them to do this. I could be wrong but I am sure if they are sensible they will be ok. Kazzy

[kallis3]

My daughter had a Nationwide Savings account for years, then when she was 16/17 and went to college, she opened up a student account at HSBC as she also works part time at Asda. This has no overdraft and an Electron card.

When she was 18 she went to PC World and bought herself a laptop on credit. She did not tell us she was doing this. Since then Beneficial Trust are forever phoning her up to ask if she wants a loan. She always tells them no. I wouldn't mind but she only earns about £400 per month! It would be so easy for her to get into trouble though.

It was just so easy for her to get credit - it is scary! When I was her age and bought my first car I had to have my dad as guarantor!

[Kazzy E]

Hi there Kallis, I know, it is scary as they start so young, and can get into so much trouble. Having been in this situation, I, and most of the people on this forum have had bad enough experiences to hopefully steer their children away from the worries of debt. I will never let my son have credit while he is living with me. What he chooses to do when he leaves home is his business, but I hope he is sensible in years to come as I don't want to have the worry that I have had. Thing is, the poor kids don't stand much of a chance, as my son wants to go to Uni, and with the student loans, they are encouraged to get into debt even when they are studying. Kazzy x

[TheMatrix]

And on their 18th Birthday the bank will probably ask if they have done some kind of financial review, and when they say no they will go through their account and offer them a credit card.

[kallis3]

Kazzy, unfortunately, if they don't tell you, you can't stop them if they are over 18. She had had this laptop for almost three months before we saw it, then she lied and said it belonged to someonelse before we got the truth. She does know about our IVA and the amount of problems we have, so hopefully she will learn by our mistakes. She too is at Uni and running up student loan bills. I wish I could help her but haven't got the money. The only thing we do is not ask for any money from her wages and also pay for her food etc (she stayed in halls last year).

She is also getting offers of credit cards through the post but is sensibly shredding them. She says she doesn't want one.

Hope she sticks to that.