NatWest personal loan advice

LewisC_2

Hi guys,

I have a NatWest personal loan which I'm trying to get paid off ASAP. When I log in to NatWest online banking, it shows my current account and also the loan account, with the account number and sort code.

Question: If I make an online payment to this account number and sort code (of the loan account), is it as simple as that to pay off some of the loan? When I took the loan out (pre-my DFW days!) they said if I ever wanted to pay more off, just pop into the bank. Can it be done via online banking, though?

Any advice gratefully received

its_okay

I would have thought so because it is the same when I used to pay money into my savings account. You could give it a try for a small amount such as £1 maybe and see if it appears, then make a larger payment if it does?

LewisC_2

its_okay wrote:

I would have thought so because it is the same when I used to pay money into my savings account. You could give it a try for a small amount such as £1 maybe and see if it appears, then make a larger payment if it does?

Yeah, that might be worth trying... Anyone else know anything?

cpjackso

Don't worry if you already have paid your account, however from past experience I wouldn't do this. I used to have a natwest loan, and decided to pay it off a month or two earlier. Because I did this, it confused their systems and they continued to take the money out of my account and credit it to the loan (which put it in positive figures!?).

Also - I've noticed with my partners natwest loan that although the figure on online banking says £3000, she could actually go in and pay it off for quite a bit less... The reason why is because it appears to have all the interest included in that figure, whereas if you go into the branch you have to pay 1 or 2 months as a penalty for early payment (not all the remaining interest IYCWIM).

Also - there might be some sort of penalty if you pay more towards the loan.

Best bet - pop into the branch and ask them about penalties etc.

HTH.

Skint_Catt

I think this should be Martins next target! Banning ALL early settlement penalties!!! :T

Seaxwyn

Hi there
I've just been talking to natwest about this very thing - and they said they take two months interest as a fee if you make overpayments. so they advised saving up to pay bigger lump sums at a time.

its_okay

Skint_Catt wrote:

I think this should be Martins next target! Banning ALL early settlement penalties!!! :T

Couldn't agree more!

LewisC_2

Seaxwyn wrote:

Hi there
I've just been talking to natwest about this very thing - and they said they take two months interest as a fee if you make overpayments. so they advised saving up to pay bigger lump sums at a time.

I'd feared as much!! Thanks very much for your help - will stick some money into a savings account each month and as soon as the amount in savings overtakes that of the loan, I'll pay the sodding lot

LewisC_2

Hi,

Does anyone have any more info on this? I just spoke to NatWest and they say there's definitely no penalties for overpayments, and that I can transfer the money into my loan account via online banking like any other payment.

Seaxwyn - Do you have any more info about what they told you?

Anyone else got any idea? Very confused now!

RibenaBerry_2

I think that it differs from loan to loan - some are flexible and allow overpayments, and some are not. For example, my partner and I have a joint loan which isn't flexible (new kitchen!) and he has one himself which is flexible.

Lewis- you don't need to wait until your savings overtake the amount. As someone else has said, the figure on Natwest shows all the interest if you take the full term of the loan to pay it off. If you pay off, for example, a five year loan a year early, you will save a year's interest. Even if they take two months as an early repayment penalty, you will still save 10 months' interest. That means that, when you start getting close to the total (and the longer the loan has left to run, the further from the total you can be, because you are saving more interest IYSWIM), ring them up and ask for a total settlement figure including all fees.

Then get rid of it and smile!

suki43

Skint_Catt wrote:

I think this should be Martins next target! Banning ALL early settlement penalties!!! :T

Oh yes, I couldn't agree more, Catt. You get penalised for poor management and penalised for good management and paying it off early! Incredible.

It seems anything that is deemed free in the UK, is highly flawed and mediocre - banking, education, health service.....sighs.......