is there such thing as "good will" on your credit report?

mike15_2

Hi all,

I have been banking with NatWest for the last 8 years. I have a current account, personal loan & credit card all with NatWest. I missed 2 payments in a row last year, & of course this has been marked on my credit score. This seems to have dropped my credit score to "poor". Am I able to write to NatWest & request as a loyal customer this blemish be removed from my report? A "good will" gesture if such thing exists with banks!?

Many thanks
Mike

YorkshireBoy

You can ask, but they'll say no. However, were there extenuating circumstances?...or was the bank to blame in any way?


The time to have asked was last year, although I suspect the answer would still have been no.

CreditCrunchie

Yes you can ask. I did this with Nationwide and they were very amenable and removed the mark from Experian within 24 hours. It may largely depend on how sympathetic the person you speak to is, but it is definitely worth a try. I wrote out a letter explaining my circumstances and that I'd been a loyal customer for 8 years, never had any issues before etc, and as I'm currently trying to apply for a mortgage would they please consider removing this one late payment marker for me? I called them on the phone just on the off chance before sending it and happened to get a lovely lady who listened and sorted it all out for me. She even called me back the following day to confirm everything had been done and then notified me a change had been made and let me see my report for free.

Good luck!

mike15_2

Thanks,
No, It was due to a change of jobs, not the banks fault unfortunately.
I will give it a go & let you know my response

Gentoo365

They cannot 'not' report something that happened. That would be a breach of the terms they have with the agency. It would also cause a problem with credit reports being not trusted.

However you could see if they can somehow look into the 'grace period' and maybe consider that possibly you were not really in default as you paid up as soon as you realised the situation.

I once forgot to change direct debit details when changing current accounts (prior to the switching rules). A credit card company decided not to consider that a default (or a missed payment) as it was a genuine admin mistake on my part and they did not contact me about the missed payment.

Your only real argument is that as soon as you were made aware you rectified it. But this may not wash if they contacted you a few times and you ignored them.

forgotmyname

Dont forget the credit score given by the agencies is not something the lenders will ever see.

I score you a chocolate peanut bar (miniature, snack size)