Default advice

What_to_do_now?

Hi
I'm sorry if this is a long post but I really could do with some independent advice regarding a default on my credit file.
In brief, last april (2012) my husband was declared bankrupt and at the time we had a joint account (with overdraft) and loan with Natwest, this was around £13,000. As soon as this happened I contacted NatWest to tell them what had happened, cancel all the direct debits from the account and to arrange to make payments from my personal Santander account - this proved to be very difficult as Natwest were very unhelpful, my letters went unanswered and nobody seemed to know how to do this which resulted in countless phonecalls and worry. Eventually in June they allowed me to set up the repayments but to my frustration I discovered they were taking double payments, 2 of the same amount but on different days. I was so upset by this and contacted NatWest to make a complaint, this also happened in july and august. I called to chase my original complaint and there was no record of it, so I again made another complaint. I was told at this point by the Natwest member of staff to do a 'standing order indemnity' to get back the payments and as we were going through the complaint process to not make any more payments until the matter has been resolved, which I duly did. My complaint was upheld and I again began the journey to make the repayments, I had been passed to 'recoveries'. Again I contacted them to arrange the repayments, I was asked to make the first repayment manually and dd the remaining payments, I was told to make the first payment on a particular date. when I called to make the 1st repayment I was told that the repayment plan had been cancelled and they didn't know why - I again evoked the complaints procedure and was told that payments wouldn't be taken until the complaint was resolved. The complaint was again upheld by Natwest and I again had to contact 'recoveries' to make the payments. Before I did this I noticed that a default had been applied to my credit file because of non payment. I again contacted them to make the repayments and I wanted to question them regarding the default - I wasn't happy about this and the staff member I spoke to advised me to complain about the default, which I did, the staff member also told me the same story as before that no repayments could be set up whilst the account was in dispute. After 3 months of waiting I received the reply from Natwest saying that they wouldn't remove the default and that they didn't agree with my complaint. I contacted the ombudsmen as I feel very dissatisfied with our treatment by Natwest and feel that we have been treated badly and it was NatWest who put the barriers in the way of me making the repayments. I proactively contacted NatWest at the time of my husbands bankruptcy to make the repayments and feel very let down by them.
I have since received an initial reply from the ombudsmen saying that Natwest had acted correctly, but after a telephone call from the ombudsmen she informed me that Natwest didn't have the phone records of my calls and without that evidence she would have to side with the bank as Natwest would want evidence! She also said that she would contact Natwest to see if they would cancel the default out of 'good will' - they said no. I am very upset about this and feel very let down by the bank. I feel NatWest have messed me about from day 1 and have put every barrier in my way when I only wanted to make the repayments! This has been a thorn in my side for over 12 months now and I would really appreciate some advice - apologies for the long rant!

runforlife

Start with a Freedom of Information Request / Subject Access Record for details of your phone calls. In the first instance make sure you get that reply in writing. Ask for the date and times of the calls and the copies of the notes made by the call handler. Don't rely on a verbal response and if there isn't a record then that information will be in writing from the bank. I believe the address to be
Natwest
The Royal Bank of Scotland
Regulatory Risk Data Protection Team
Gogarburn
2nd Floor
Business House B
PO Box 1000
Edinburgh
EH12 1HQ

though you may wish to confirm first. Also you can go into a branch and ask them to fax your Data Protection Request to the correct department. Wait until you get a confirmation that the fax has been sent.

happy_bunny_2

yes, a SAR should get all they have, but I suspect they might not have them.

Worth doing, as there might be notes on your account history that are in your favour here.

So I guess you are now responsible for all of the 13k OD?

Hope you get this sorted.

HB