Nationw offered increase on credit card & overdraft facility withdrawn in one week!!

bexp66

Just needing to sound off a little. A week ago I received a letter from Nationwide telling me that after looking at my accounts and financial dealings they would like to offer me an increase in my credit card from £3000 to £4500. I ignored the letter as I certainly didnt need or want that increase. However one week later I received a letter from Nationwide with regard to my overdraft on my flex account saything that after reviewing my account and financial dealings they are reducing my overdraft facility from £2000 to £500. The overdraft will be reduced one day after the date I need to apply for an increase in my credit card!!!

Is this a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing or is my very cynical view that this is just a way to get me to pay an awful lot more interest on the money they are lending???

I know that they have every right to withdray the overdraft and as annoying and stressful as that is, I am just so cross at it coming so closely after the credit card letter. EIther the first letter is lying or the second letter is!

Luckily we were intending to sell a car to bring down the overdraft anyway so we are just being forcede on to doing this a bit quicker but I just feel for people who receive these letters with no warning and have no funds to find. We did go over our overdraft by £15 once in the past 6 months so I am assuming that is why and we have used it for the past 2 years almost up to its limit each month so I guess they feel we have had a long enough cheap ride.

Anyone think I have any reasong to lodge a complaint though on the basis of the two letters? I am so angry for the complete difference in tone and content.

Thanks!

innovate

Have you compared the charges for your overdraft with the charges for the credit card? You may have different arrangements, but a quick look on Nationwide's website today suggests:

• Overdraft: 18.9% EAR
• Credit cards: around 12.9% to 15.9% APR

If your rates are substantially different, you could try complaining, though I am not sure what you would complain about, and I reckon your chances of getting anywhere with it are next to zero.

bexp66

I will check the rates but I think that what I am frustrated at is that on the one hand they have decided we are running our finances well and a week later they have decided we are not! Nothing changed in that week so either thet have offered to lend us the money irresponsibly or they are taking it away unfairly as overdrafts should not just be called in without reason.

Think I am just annoyed with them although they will have done us a favour in the long run and pushed us into getting rid of a bit more debt! Thant has got to be a good thing!

innovate

Credit cards and current accounts are more than likely to entirely separate organisations, despite the same company name.

ses6jwg

They are different types of credit with different risk models.

As daft as it sounds, I've had people declined for loans of £2,000 then accepted for a credit card with a limit of £3,000.

I've had people declined for overdrafts but approved for credit cards etc etc

mikeymikemcmike

bexp66 wrote: »

I will check the rates but I think that what I am frustrated at is that on the one hand they have decided we are running our finances well and a week later they have decided we are not! Nothing changed in that week so either thet have offered to lend us the money irresponsibly or they are taking it away unfairly as overdrafts should not just be called in without reason.

Think I am just annoyed with them although they will have done us a favour in the long run and pushed us into getting rid of a bit more debt! Thant has got to be a good thing!

I am in a similar siruation. Having recently taken out Nationwide Credit card's 0% balance transfer offer, I transferred a £4000 balance onto the new card from a different card. However, Nationwide actually gace me a £6500 credit limit on the card. A few weeks later (today) I got a letter from them telling me my authorised overdraft is being reduced from £3000 to £2000 from November.

After a very heated 'phone discussion with one of their staff they have agreed to reduce my overdraft by £30 per month but I have to reduce it to zero. If I wanted to reduce it to £2000 I would have had to reduce it by £90 per month. Doesn't make much sense to me especially as I have banked with them for 24 years.

So, I will now reduce the overdraft to zero and then close the account.

I agree it is strange how on one hand they can give me £6500 worth of credit and on the other hand reduct my overdraft by £1000.....

JuicyJesus

mikeymikemcmike wrote: »

I agree it is strange how on one hand they can give me £6500 worth of credit and on the other hand reduct my overdraft by £1000.....

Overdrafts are a much higher risk credit risk than credit cards. A credit card has a mandated minimum payment and, should the company feel it is being abused, they can put a stop to card usage without affecting much else. People can stay up to the hilt in their overdrafts for years and there's nothing the bank can do about it beyond withdrawing the facility, which leads to things like bounced Direct Debits etc.

They may have felt that now you have such massive exposure in the credit card, it'd be prudent to not let you get £2000 in debt on the overdraft too.

Gromitt

You are being a bit silly refusing the increase in your credit card limit IMO. You may not think you need it, but it will reduce your debt to credit ratio (as your available credit will be higher), and so your credit 'score' will be higher.