Credit Ratings - Bank Total Incompetence

twixattack

To date I have undertaken this whole saga on my own. However, I thought I would share the story and try and get some 3rd party opinions now also.

It spans over a year and is quite complex but I will try and put the salient points in a summary.

In a nutshell I have been trying hard to honour my agreements with my former bank, whilst trying to protect my credit score for when times are better and we can look for a mortgage.

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I was made redundant and could no longer afford repayments on my loan and overdrafts. Bank (major high street) were informed and agreed to put all my accounts on hold for 12months at a minimum repayment of £1 per month.

One year later they registered the whole lot as "default" without notifying me.

Credit score trashed.

After I complained they sent me compensation, promised to remove the defaults and I put a more structured repayment plan in place with them (£several £100's of pounds per month, as I was then back to work)

Defaults were removed and replaced with codes indicating "repayment rearrangements".

My Credit score returns to fair.

3 months later the defaults were back. (credit score trashed again)
I complained again. Again they acknowledged their error, promised to rectify it and sent me yet more compensation.

3 months later the same thing happened again!
Again I complained, again they sent me an apology and compensation and promised to put it right.

Early 2012 I made a quick check on credit files to find that the bank had again got it all wrong and my score was once again trashed.

I wrote again and complained.

May this year, I get made redundant again! I called the bank and advised them that the arrangements I had in place would have to be reviewed in light of my new circumstances.
I was told categorically that they couldn't even access my accounts at the moment as everything was on hold pending outcome of latest complaint. They could not set up any plans, amend the existing one and furthermore noone other than the complaint team were even looking at my accounts. Basically I was in a "black hole".

I asked them to send me an income and expenditure questionairre in leui of when my accounts went live again. They agreed to do this, but it never arrived. and to call me to set up new arrangements as soon as they could. (They didnt)

:- I stopped paying them any money at this time.

June 2012 - Bank once again responded saying they were in error on my credit file, here is some more compensation and we will correct it.

I waited a couple of weeks and checked credit file again. It got corrected and then uncorrected yet again! within this time.

July 2012 - I wrote to the bank again. And asked them to sort it and also advised them that Iw as still awaiting correspondence to set up a new rearrangement to pay. As I am/ was very keen to make sure that once the credit file nonsense gets corrected its then protected the best I can.

This time they accept they made an error and have some more compensation! BUT as I havent paid them anything since April this year I am now in default so they are now going to reapply all the defaults anyway!

Thus 1years efforts and 5 separate complaints down the plughole.
I am, as I am sure you can imagine, feeling very much like the banking industry is totally lacking any moral fibre or basic empathy whatsoever.

Moreoever I have to accept (probably) that any chance of me becoming a homeowner in the UK is gone. I will be 47 by the time my credit file clears again.

Yes "rearrangement to pay" isnt great, but it at least reflect the real situation and is somewhat understood baring in mind the state of the world economy.

But "default" is a credit death sentence and one I have tried desperately to avoid.




2 days ago- I instructed the F.O.S.

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Is it just me, or is this story entirely insane! Talk about customer services.

For almost 12 months all I wanted was my credit files to accurately reflect a change in my payments. Yet as soon as the bank did this, they slapped defaults all over the accounts again without any formal notices. Utterly ruining any chances of getting a consolidation loan from a decent bank to final end this saga.

Despite my better judgement I have been trying to repay these guys in a fair and reasonable way. baring in mind being currently out of work, having a default is just as damaging as a DRO for the next 6years, maybe I should save my self a bob or two!

But seriously other than I took a verbal agreement in April that everything was on hold and stopped paying until things were sorted on that basis.. I am not sure I am in error at any stage.

Seems very harsh to me, but I am fearful that the essence of this story and the repeated, ongoing issues by the bank will just get swept aside with some token...

"its your responsibility to maintain payments, you didnt for the last 2 months (even though verbally I was told not to!).. so tough!"