Bank's errors giving me bad credit report

barney28

I have recently saved up to get a mortgage but was concernedas I have been refused credit in the past but wasn’t sure why. I signed up toExperian and was shocked to find I have a Very Poor credit rating despite beingup to date on all credit cards etc. It turns out that a bank account I had hugeproblems with due to the bank making mistakes has been registered as defaultand is going to affect my credit rating for the next four years (the accountwas closed two years ago).



The errors on the bank’s part were:

- I went in to my local branch to pay money intomy account to cover my direct debits. I then checked my balance a few dayslater to see that my money had never gone in but the direct debits had gone out– putting me in the red. Went back in branch and they had accidentally paid mymoney into somebody else’s account so there was not enough to cover my bills.The bank then gave me my money back and wiped all charges.

- I decided to close the account after this mess,so went in branch to do so. They took in my bank card and I thought that wasthat.

- I get a letter several weeks later asking me topay bank charges on the aforementioned account (the charges they were supposedto have wiped). I was away at University and unable to return to the branch todiscuss this until the next month, which I told them about and they said wasokay and they’d stop notifying me about charges until then

- Next time I was home from University, I went inbranch to ask about what was going on. Turns on they had forgotten to close myaccount and my bank card was actually sat in an envelope on their desk with aquestion mark written on it as they couldn’t remember why they had it! They hadalso forgotten to wipe the charges. My account was then properly closed,charges all wiped and I thought that was it…



It is these charges that were written off that are flaggingup as red on my credit report and causing me to have terrible credit. Theaccount was closed two years ago and I have little record of what went on onpaper. Not quite sure what to do except go in branch and hope they are a littlemore competent these days – any advice or similar stories? I really want to geta mortgage in the upcoming months but with this credit report I’m unsure I willget one, which is incredibly frustrating as none of the above was my fault!

YoYoY

barney28 wrote: »

I have recently saved up to get a mortgage but was concernedas I have been refused credit in the past but wasn’t sure why. I signed up toExperian and was shocked to find I have a Very Poor credit rating despite beingup to date on all credit cards etc. It turns out that a bank account I had hugeproblems with due to the bank making mistakes has been registered as defaultand is going to affect my credit rating for the next four years (the accountwas closed two years ago).



The errors on the bank’s part were:

- I went in to my local branch to pay money intomy account to cover my direct debits. I then checked my balance a few dayslater to see that my money had never gone in but the direct debits had gone out– putting me in the red. Went back in branch and they had accidentally paid mymoney into somebody else’s account so there was not enough to cover my bills.The bank then gave me my money back and wiped all charges.

- I decided to close the account after this mess,so went in branch to do so. They took in my bank card and I thought that wasthat.

- I get a letter several weeks later asking me topay bank charges on the aforementioned account (the charges they were supposedto have wiped). I was away at University and unable to return to the branch todiscuss this until the next month, which I told them about and they said wasokay and they’d stop notifying me about charges until then

- Next time I was home from University, I went inbranch to ask about what was going on. Turns on they had forgotten to close myaccount and my bank card was actually sat in an envelope on their desk with aquestion mark written on it as they couldn’t remember why they had it! They hadalso forgotten to wipe the charges. My account was then properly closed,charges all wiped and I thought that was it…



It is these charges that were written off that are flaggingup as red on my credit report and causing me to have terrible credit. Theaccount was closed two years ago and I have little record of what went on onpaper. Not quite sure what to do except go in branch and hope they are a littlemore competent these days – any advice or similar stories? I really want to geta mortgage in the upcoming months but with this credit report I’m unsure I willget one, which is incredibly frustrating as none of the above was my fault!

Have you made an official complaint following the bank's complaint procedure?
That would be best

Former_MSE_Wendy

MOVING THREADS FOR BETTER RESPONSES


Hi. I’ve moved your thread away from the Citizens Advice board as your question was not an area the CAB representatives are able to help with at the moment. Hopefully you will receive a better response here. Please see this rule and ifyou have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

bargainbetty

Definitely go in an make a formal complaint. Send off an SAR asking for details of everything done to and on your account, and details of the all the markers applied. Then ou are ina position to go through it with the complaints team and get the defaults removed.

Halfix recently put something nasty on my account, leaving me unable to get anything more than a basic bank account elsewhere - it looks like a default, but I didn't have any credit with them - I had applied for a credit card having been advised I was a Band 1 customer and would get it easily (I only wanted it for cheap international transactions).

They have removed most of the dodgy stuff, but they are still working on getting all the anti-fraud searches they did off the report too, and unlinking an address that was 16 years old!

Keep fighting, and demand compensation for your time, and damage to your fiscal reputation. You won't get much, but make them pay for the time you spend fixing this.

Good luck