Natwest said my sister can only have a basic account unless she pays £8 per month

tom717

My sister has just turned 18 and Natwest contacted her about changing her account from their Adapt account (under 18s).

She was being told about all the wonderful benefits of her new account when my mum (who went along to the branch with her) realised this didn't sound normal and asked whether it was a free account. She was told no, if you want a free account we can only give you a basic account which will mean you won't build a credit history and stop you getting a mortgage.

So the bank won't let her have what they call their "Select" account, but she can have a Select Silver account for £8 a month.

My question is, is this normal? When I turned 18 my bank had no trouble giving me an account. I find it especially odd that she has been a customer with them for at least 2 years, and now that she is 18 she has to downgrade her account.

Voyager2002

This is normal, but probably not right. Staff are under a lot of pressure to meet sales targets, including pushing premium, fee-paying accounts. So they often "forget" to mention the fee-free accounts.

Your sister needs to be very clear that the product she wants is the 'Select' account, not the basic 'Step' account and not the 'Select Silver'. She might try asking by email, and if that fails seek a written explanation for their decision.

balmk

I would vote with my feet - loyalty counts for nothing theses days.

tom717

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Your sister needs to be very clear that the product she wants is the 'Select' account, not the basic 'Step' account and not the 'Select Silver'. She might try asking by email, and if that fails seek a written explanation for their decision.

She did, and she was told she couldn't have because she has no credit history (do they even run a credit check when you apply for a current account?).

balmk wrote: »

I would vote with my feet - loyalty counts for nothing theses days.

This is probably what she will do. She has savings in other banks anyway.

KingElvis

tom717 wrote: »

She did, and she was told she couldn't have because she has no credit history (do they even run a credit check when you apply for a current account

Yes, they do credit score you for a current account, they have credit facilities like an overdraft....

However, I fail to see their argument as an 18 yr old would have very little history anyway, this seems a bit spurious to me and I'd go back to them.

Has she always run the other account well?

tagq2

tom717 wrote: »

She was told no, if you want a free account we can only give you a basic account which will mean you won't build a credit history and stop you getting a mortgage.

I thought there were two Select Silvers, and one was (ignoring the insurance perks etc.) just the Basic account plus free use of Link ATMs. If you're not getting credit on Basic - overdraft or offline card or whatever - then you're not getting it on Select Silver (Basic) either.

Anyway, I have a Step account which appears on all my credit reports - even though the limit is £0 I would hope its existence not to count much more in my favour for something like a mortgage than a Current Plus with an overdraft of £100. (Although my Current Plus, opened as a Card Plus in the '90s, appears on no credit report - I miss the days when businesses didn't automagically have permission for this sort of thing!) Of course, if you want a mortgage with Natwest, they might unreasonably weight which particular accounts you have with them...

Get on the electoral roll, get Basic, and when you've been salaried for a while ask for an upgrade to Select (free) if you're not already eligible. I suppose having a mobile 'phone contract or some other piece of trivial credit might also show in your favour?

Chrisblue1962

To me , it sounds as if they are trying to exploit your sister, her age and lack of credit history.

Personally, I'd take my barge pole elsewhere and not allow Natwest to touch it

Can recommend Co-op cashminder account - basic account with online banking and Visa debit card

matrix999

Chrisblue1962 wrote: »

To me , it sounds as if they are trying to exploit your sister, her age and lack of credit history.

Personally, I'd take my barge pole elsewhere and not allow Natwest to touch it

Can recommend Co-op cashminder account - basic account with online banking and Visa debit card

Careful with the Cooperative Bank Cashminder - The Visa Debit card is in fact a Visa Electron Card, although branded as Visa Debit it won't work in certain places... ie paying for train tickets from a conductor on train or Tesco's petrol pumps to name a few.

stclair

I think the best option would be for them to apply for an account in branch.

The system at the end tells them which accounts they would be illegible for.

If it gives them the option for select then they should open that account rather than having to pay a fee for one.

dawyldthing

apply online, you avoid all the crap they try and sell you and its set up within a few days

stclair

dawyldthing wrote: »

apply online, you avoid all the crap they try and sell you and its set up within a few days

People just need to be able use the word NO effectively.