Help - mistake on credit file = mortgage rejection

Jm0173

We have just been rejected for a mortgage application due to a mistake on my credit file and urgently need some advice about what my next step should be....

We have had an offer accepted on a property, but have just found out that HSBC have rejected our mortgage application.

This was due to a huge mistake relating to an Alliance and Leicester current account which I closed in 2008. The account in question was opened in 2006 and had benefits relating to it, e.g. free travel insurance, as long as £500 a month was paid into the account. In 2008 I started a PhD and so no longer had a regular salary. The studentship I had was paid every three months, so I went into an Alliance and Leicester branch to close the account. I filled in some forms and was told the account would be closed within the next two weeks. I therefore stopped using the account.

A few months later I realised that I hadn't received a letter confirming the account closure. I went into the branch to double check this, but was told the account was £350+ overdrawn. The account had a zero balance when I closed it, but as I hadn't been paying any money in I had been charged, gone overdrawn and then been charged unauthorised overdraft fees and late payment fees which had quickly escalated. I had not been told about any of these charges and only found out as I visited the bank.

After numerous phone calls, letters and visits to the bank Alliance and Leicester agreed in writing to remove the charges and close the account.

Anyway, six years later after being rejected for a mortgage I have realised it is due to late payments on my credit report relating to that account. Everything else on my credit report is perfect.

I have rang Santander numerous times trying to get this taken off my credit record, but am going around in circles with them. They were initially very apologetic and agreed to amend my credit rating but then have heard nothing from them and now they keep saying they will ring me back but I'm still waiting.

I was hoping someone could help me. This is obviously very distressing having found our dream home. HSBC told us that the reason we were rejected was because of the late payments.

If I can get it removed there is a chance we could try to get a mortgage with another bank, but it doesn't seem as though Santander are going to help me...

Any advice greatly appreciated!

colmac71

Hi,
I'm having a similar issue with Alliance & Leicester (Santander) and have spoken to them on 3 occasions with a phone call expected on Thursday.
Have you spoken directly to the collections and recoveries department?
Their number is 0845 603 9035.
Good luck!

Jm0173

Thank you I will try ringing them tomorrow. Good luck to you too!

fermi

Also try complaining to ceo@santander.co.uk

Some people seem to have success doing that.

zaber86

You can contact the credit reference agencies and challenge the record. They are required then to go and check it out with the bank, but if they don't get back to you within i believe 28 days they are required to remove it from your record until they find out the facts from your bank.

Make sure you challenge all three credit reference agencies though. having it left on one may sting you again.

Edit: Ill also add if you use noodle.co.uk, you can challenge callcredit's records easily on the site

Rosco32

Best bet with Santander is to find the complaints section on their website. I had a similar situation with a Santander credit card a few years back and got no where calling them. I then email a complaint and within a few weeks my credit file was updated.

Thrugelmir

Jm0173 wrote: »

Anyway, six years later after being rejected for a mortgage I have realised it is due to late payments on my credit report relating to that account. Everything else on my credit report is perfect.

If you are trying to find a reason behind the decline. Then this isn't necessarily the case. HSBC are probably the most stringent lender in the mortgage market. Lenders use more complex methods of arriving at their own credit scores than mere historical data from CRA's.

There's far more to obtaining a mortgage than having what you regard as a perfect credit score.

Post some information up on the mortgages board regarding the mortgage you applied for, along with income, nature of employment, no of dependents, other debts. Hopefully the sages on the forum can then point you in the right direction.

colmac71

Hi just as an update, I emailed ceo@santander.co.uk as suggested by fermi (for my own issue) - I did this at 11:01 this morning and got a phone call back a short while ago by a nice chappy saying that my information has been corrected and that when they next update to the CRFs it will all be correct. He was a very nice chap.

A big thank you to Fermi