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Thursday, July 24, 2008, 08:00
For nine months the 20-year-old has fought to pay off monthly charges accrued after going 8p overdrawn with Lloyds TSB.
The bank hit her with daily penalty charges of up to £20 and a monthly fee of £15 for having an unplanned overdraft.
The charges mounted up and Laura's basic weekly benefits cheque wasn't enough to meet them.
The costs spiralled out of control and Lloyds TSB threatened legal action against her.
After months of worry, Laura suffered a nervous breakdown in the process.
She finally spoke out to the Echo about the charges this week and the bank agreed to accept an offer from Laura of just £10 to cancel the debt.
Laura, who lives in Monkscroft, Cheltenham, has welcomed the bank's decision to cancel the charges but wants changes to the system.
She said: “I couldn't cope with it. I only went 8p overdrawn but the charges kept coming in.
“I'm on benefits and although I did my best to pay off the charges it was too much.
“They were coming in faster than I could pay them off.
“The bank could see I wasn't in a position to pay but the charges kept coming.”
With her debt behind her, Laura is looking forward to starting a course at Gloucestershire College in September.
She added: “I'm so relieved that the bank has seen sense.
“I'm just sad that it's taken so long.
“I've decided to close the account now and make a fresh start.
“But I hope the bank will now review its system of charges which forced me into a spiral of debt.”
A spokesman for Lloyds TSB, said: “We have had a long conversation with Ms Gibson and agreed a repayment plan for her debt which she is happy to accept and is well within her means.
“Due to her illness, we have waived the outstanding overdraft charges she has incurred.”
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