Attempt at removing a default

dadofdaisy

Hello all,

I was wondering if I could maybe get some assistance with this please,

In 2009 I opened 2 accounts with Alliance and Leicester, 1 for myself and 1 for my wife.
Because I'm the sole earner only my account was ever used "properly" and hers very occasionally up until November when it was stopped being used.

At the end of 2009 we moved address and failed to inform A&L, subsequently resulting in an account underfunding fee which spiralled to £460.xx overdrawn.
In April 2010 the account defaulted, which we knew nothing about until very recently.

I contacted the chief executive of Santander on Monday about the issue and have been dealing with the executive complaints team over the last couple of days.

They have emailed me today with a resolution to my complaint, they feel the charges were applied correctly and inline with the account term and conditions, however they are willing to refund all fees on the account but are unwilling to remove the default.

Any suggestions?
Please don't reply saying its our fault and we deserve it etc etc, it was a mistake that is going to stay with us for a while if not sorted.

Thanks in anticipation.

You-kip

I know you don't want to hear its your fault but I'm afraid its the only Answer.
Whether its a mistake or not a default was rightly put on your credit files and will take 6 years until it drops off from the date it was put on.

Tixy

Very little you can do except maybe ask them to reconsider as a goodwill gesture, if they won't then you are stuck with it.

matttye

Unfortunately you have no right to have this removed. You can only ask them to remove it as a gesture of goodwill, but they seem unwilling to do this.

dadofdaisy

I'm fully aware it's our fault and do appreciate what they've already done for us.
What I was wanting help with (I should have been clearer in the OP), was help wording a reply to the email to help my chances.
Thanks for your replies.

izools

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for your letter dated xx, the contents of which I note.

I would like to thank you for your kind gesture of goodwill with regards to your offer of refunding all applicable charges from the account, I also note your unwillingness to remove the default notice you have recorded with the credit reference agencies.

I would like to refer you to the guidelines set in place by the Information Commissioner's Office with regards to the recording of a default notice on an individual's credit file:

A ‘default’ can be said to occur as soon as a borrower fails to meet the terms of their credit arrangement. However, adopting this definition for credit referencing purposes would create difficulties since it is accepted that not all these defaults should be reported, for example, where weekly payments are late but are quickly remedied.

The term ‘default’, when recorded on a credit reference file should be
used to refer to a situation when “the lender in a standard business
relationship with the individual decides the relationship has broken
down”

This would suggest that the relationship between us had broken down.

Given the fact that no demands for funds were issued, no default notices were received, and no notification that alterations to the account terms had come in to play whereby a dormancy fee would be charged - as no such condition existed whilst the account fell under the Alliance and Leicester brand- I would argue that our relationship did not break down, or at least did not break down as a result of my actions.

It is my position that you failed to fulfill your obligations and your part of our relationship through your failure to communicate effectively to us any requirement to deposit funds in the account to bring it up to date.

Had you fulfilled your obligations by notifying us in any way shape or form that the account had fallen into an unauthorised overdraft position - by way of a letter, statement, email, or phone call, the situation would have been remedied post haste.

You have however not given us fair chance, or any chance at all for that matter, to remedy the situation. Therefore I contest that the default notice is mis-representative of the situation, and therefore inaccurate - a clear breach of the data protection act.

I will contest this position vigorously with your ombudsman and the Information Comissioner if needs be.

In closing, I accept your offer to refund the fees incurred however I do not accept this in full and final settlement of the complaint. Due to your failures I also consider it fair that you expunge the default notice from our credit files.

Failure to action this reasonable and lawful request within 28 days will result in escalation of the matter to the Financial Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner.

Yours Faithfully,

Me.

EDIT: Cleared things up a bit.

matttye

dadofdaisy wrote: »

I'm fully aware it's our fault and do appreciate what they've already done for us.
What I was wanting help with (I should have been clearer in the OP), was help wording a reply to the email to help my chances.
Thanks for your replies.

I would probably come at it from the angle that a default shows bad financial management on the part of the debtor, and that you feel this unfairly labels you given that you only had a temporary slip of the memory by failing to notify them of your new address. Had you known about the charges, you would of course have paid them.

dadofdaisy

izools wrote: »

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for your letter dated xx, the contents of which I note.

I would like to thank you for your kind gesture of goodwill with regards to your offer of refunding all applicable charges from the account, I also note your unwillingness to remove the default notice you have recorded with the credit reference agencies.

I would like to refer you to the guidelines set in place by the Information Commissioner's Office with regards to the recording of a default notice on an individual's credit file:



This would suggest that the relationship between us had broken down.

Given the fact that no demands for funds were issued, no default notices were received, and no notification that alterations to the account terms had come in to play whereby a dormancy fee would be charged - as no such condition existed whilst the account fell under the Alliance and Leicester brand- I would argue that our relationship did not break down, or at least did not break down as a result of my actions.

It is my position that you failed to fulfill your obligations and your part of our relationship through your failure to communicate effectively to us any requirement to deposit funds in the account to bring it up to date.

Had you fulfilled your obligations by notifying us in any way shape or form that the account had fallen into an unauthorised overdraft position - by way of a letter, statement, email, or phone call, the situation would have been remedied post haste.

You have however not given us fair chance, or any chance at all for that matter, to remedy the situation. Therefore I contest that the default notice is mis-representative of the situation.

I will contest this position vigorously with your ombudsman and the Information Comissioner if needs be.

In closing, I accept your offer to refund the fees incurred however I do not accept this in full and final settlement of the complaint. Due to your failures I also consider it fair that you expunge the default notice from our credit files.

Failure to action this reasonable and lawful request within 28 days will result in escalation of the matter to the Financial Ombudsman and the Information Commissioner.

Yours Faithfully,

Me.

Thank you very much!
I was really only after help with points to make but that letter is extremely well worded, I shall compose the email now and get it sent.
Thanks again.

You-kip

You not only failed to notify A&L but you also failed to check your bank account which I find strange.

dadofdaisy

You-kip wrote: »

You not only failed to notify A&L but you also failed to check your bank account which I find strange.

As I said, the account was very rarely used prior to not being used at all. If you had a current account with no money in and no direct debits or standing orders set up would you check it? It was a genuine error.

Tixy

izools - but presumably the bank may have sent demands for repayment of the unauthorised o/d or recall of an authorised o/d and possibly a default notice, just that it went to the old address?

Given the situation in this case that no change of address was notified I'd personally go for requesting a goodwill gesture rather than challenging the entry of a default.