Default on old bank account! Some questions...

MoneySaverLog

A Subject Access Request although making interesting reading, especially if you ask for everything and anything, will most likely not tell the whole story after the debt was passed onto the DCA.

It would most likely be that the DCA would have issued the default notice, with the old bank account marked as satisified at the time. What I think the OP needs to clarify is that their payment was made before it was passed over to a debt collection agency, are there any statements to show this anywhere? If that is the case then the OP would have strong grounds to have it removed, as there was no debt and any default notice would have gone to an incorrect address after it was settled.

jalexa

sturgeon wrote: »

Would appreciate some advice about the default question, ... I'm hopeful that as I genuinely never saw the default notice that I have good reason for it to be removed.

The two previous posts which mention SAR are on the right lines. Given that the process costs the Data Subject only £10 but the organisation an "administrative fortune" it is a "no-brainer". TBH it is something all customers should do whenever there is the suspicion of being "lied" to.

It is better to make a very open (or all embracing request) rather than alert the organisation to documents you seek, however it may be necessary to ensure that in fulfilling the request they are aware of the previous address.

The failure to update the address is fairly central to your case, but harder to "win" because it is (likely) one person's word against another and the trail has gone cold. Maybe the SAR submission will shed some light. In particular look for branch entered customer information system entries. If there are no customer information system entries at all - query that.

I don't mean to disbelieve you - this is a technical, not a judgmental comment - but did you not realise that apparently your address had not been updated?

Not immediately helpful, but a comment for the benefit of others going forward - take a zero-tolerance approach to bank administrative failure - when it occurs - not years later when it is too late, vigourously enforced - in writing - through the complaints procedure.

sturgeon

MoneySaverLog wrote: »

What I think the OP needs to clarify is that their payment was made before it was passed over to a debt collection agency, are there any statements to show this anywhere? If that is the case then the OP would have strong grounds to have it removed, as there was no debt and any default notice would have gone to an incorrect address after it was settled.

To the contrary I believe the payment was made after it was passed over. Although I've already told Santander that I was not advised there was a formal repayment plan of the tiny overdraft, nor did they write to me warning me I was 'behind' on these payments. I was aware I was speaking to a DCA when I made the payment.

However, the whole point is that what seems to be the DCA, had been writing to the wrong address. It doesn't make sense why the bank did actually have the correct new address but their DCA had an entirely different one.

jalexa wrote: »

The failure to update the address is fairly central to your case, but harder to "win" because it is (likely) one person's word against another and the trail has gone cold. Maybe the SAR submission will shed some light. In particular look for branch entered customer information system entries. If there are no customer information system entries at all - query that.

I don't mean to disbelieve you - this is a technical, not a judgmental comment - but did you not realise that apparently your address had not been updated?

Just to clarify, from my conversation with the bank yesterday, they had my correct home address on record since 2008 apparently. Even so, I received no letters at this address. They might have already sold on the 'debt' to the DCA at this stage, I moved in to that address September 08 and I was '6 months behind payments' in April 09. I wasn't expecting letters from the bank hence I didn't particularly realise my address wasn't updated (although as I found out yesterday, it apparently was).

Therefore throughout this time, someone should have been writing to me. Plus they should have written a final letter warning of a default. God knows why the DCA had a weird address for me. I'm just hoping that their records (Santander are checking with them Tuesday) show they had that wrong address. Plus I presume they have a copy of the default that was sent-showing the wrong address.

I do fear they have a copy with the right address for some reason. However, I simply never received it nor any other letters for months and months. The 'debt' was £300, I could have paid it in a heartbeat. If I was destitute, I'd have eaten noodles for a month to avoid a default on my credit report.

They're meant to be calling me tomorrow after speaking to their collections agency, so I'll update this then.

jalexa

sturgeon wrote: »

Just to clarify, from my conversation with the bank yesterday, they had my correct home address on record since 2008 apparently. Even so, I received no letters at this address

In that case I would go straight for a formal (written) complaint with Santander. Be very wary of personal or telephone contact - it is difficult to cite that as proof.

Make sure that it is clear this is "only something you became aware of yesterday", to avoid being "timed-out" particularly with the likely Financial Ombudsman Service referral.