NatWest Student Account Overdraft Issue

mageilken

I just thought I'd share the experience I had with NatWest, or more specifically their Birmingham Collections Department, when I got an automated customer services call from them.

I got asked a few security questions, and was then told that I had not paid enough into my student account and that my overdraft facility would be removed if I didn't pay something like £48.10. I was given the option by credit/debit card, but I'd actually paid in £250 a few days ago (admittedly this is the first amount I'd ever paid into the account since August) and was given the option to tell it about an amount I'd paid in recently. It took what I entered wrong (£2.50 instead of £250) and I got put through to a real person.

He then told me that I hadn't paid any money into the account and that I was on the verge of losing my overdraft facility, and that I'd have to pay it all back with interest. Rather than paying in the £48.10 like the automated thing wanted me to, he wanted my to pay off all of my overdraft of around £850 there and then on the phone by credit card. I told him I could make a transfer, but he said that was no good because he needed to reactive my overdraft (I knew nothing about this, and my accommodation fees come out of this account). I asked him to hold for, or call me back in, 10 mins and I sorted out the money (luckily I had it!) and did as he asked.

Obviously, I asked him for some information to prove he was actually from NatWest, at first he tried to fob me off by telling me how much my current balance was, how much I'd paid in (the £250) and how much my balance was before that (simply math). I asked him again and asked me to hold whilst he checked my account and I was confident he was actually from NatWest.

My balance is now at £0 and my overdraft 'reactivated' (even though I never knew that it was de-activated, nwolb still always said £x available). The guy then said in two days I can take all of that money back out again if I like but I have to pay in at least £5 every 42 days as per the terms and conditions (I never saw that part??) to keep my account in a 'reasonable' state. He said my student loan should be paid into the account and asked where it was going, I simply said another account. It's not like I was taking the full overdraft and dumping it in a savings account, I use it to pay my accommodation fees (which has used most of the overdraft £300/mo for the past three months) and odd bits of shopping at the beginning of the year.

The information NatWest gave me at the start was;
"You must use your account as your main current account and
deposit regular amounts by way of local education funding,
parental contribution, salary, student loan or other funding,
such as sponsorship or bursary. "

Obviously their definition of 'regular' is every 42 days, although I presume that isn't applicable to people who do have their student loans paid in. I even remember that the 'main account' part was only applicable if you had a rail card? I explained to the guy that I was using it as my main account, because it was where all my money was going out from.

Oh well, it's sorted now... but I think it's a bit unfair that I was never provided with a full and comprehensive copy of their terms and conditions that includes this '42 days' information (i.e. their definition of regular) and that the automated message and the real person I spoke to had conflicting messages about the amount I had to pay. Luckily I did have the whole sum of the overdraft to pay off, and I'm aware they can ask you to pay it back at any time - but if I'd been under any other circumstances I could've been really stuck! As I've had no other warning what so ever, and the guy made it sound like my account was frozen, I'm a bit disappointed that they can actually do this!

James

rb10

They are surely perfectly within their rights to do this.

As the T&Cs that you quoted said,

You must use your account as your main current account and
deposit regular amounts by way of local education funding,
parental contribution, salary, student loan or other funding,
such as sponsorship or bursary

Paying money in during August 2008, then no more until February/March 2009 (during which time two payments of student loan should have come in) is hardly 'regular amounts'.

mageilken

Well, whilst I can understand (and I event accept that they were within their rights), I'm still surprised they can do it. It's not my fault that they didn't define 'regular' anywhere, the dictionary definition suggests that it wouldn't be *how often* you paid in, just that you paid in consistently (which could very well be thrice a year).

Student loan payments really have no bearing on it either, as they don't need to be paid into the account - it just suggests that I have some form of income at those times.

Lokolo

Or student loan yes. Its in T&Cs.

withnell

By not paying in your student loan, you're NOT using it as your main account. Simple way to get round it is to get your loan paid in then FP transfer it out into your other account