A YOUNG family have paid out more than £1,000 in bank charges for being overdrawn...by just 8p.

Angela Hannibal and Wayne Green, of Lugar Close, Greenstead, Colchester, are about to be made homeless because of the bills.

They have been paying Lloyds TSB hundreds of pounds in charges since 2008.

Miss Hannibal, 21, opened a basic currrent account with the bank when she was 15, but in 2008 it was upgraded to a “silver” account, which gives customers a variety of benefits for an £8 monthly charge.

When the monthly charge was taken out, it left her with an 8p unauthorised overdraft and the couple were asked to pay £170 in bank charges.

The couple, who are facing eviction because they have been struggling to pay their rent, offered to pay the bank £30 a month to reduce the debt. However, before the amount was fully paid back, further charges were added, leaving them having to pay out about £1,000 in instalments and lump sums over the past two years.

Now the couple, who had baby daughter Ashlyn two weeks ago, say they can no longer keep up the payments since Mr Green was made redundant.

Mr Green, 23, said: “Because we have been paying so much to Lloyds and now I’ve lost my job, we have been struggling to keep up our rent payments and council tax payments.

“Angela didn’t even want the silver account and would have been happy with just a basic bank account, so we are paying all this money out for the sake of an 8p debt which wasn’t our fault.”

Miss Hannibal still owes the bank about £700 and is being charged £10 a day for the overdrawn account, which she stopped using in 2008. The couple say they have visited the bank almost weekly since the dispute began, but have been unable to find a resolution.

A spokesman for Lloyds TSB said: “We can confirm for Ms Hannibal to have been upgraded to a silver account, she would have had to sign for this account, agreeing to its terms.

“If she’s experiencing financial hardship, we would recommend she contacts us, so we can put her in touch with our customer support unit.”