Natwest account downgrade nightmare

ShinyMarble

Hi,
My partner has a Natwest Select Silver Account which he pays £10 a month for, he wants to switch to the normal Select Account which is exactly the same but without the travel/mobile insurance bloat.
He called up Natwest last week to downgrade and after listening to the advisor try and butter him up to stay with the Select Silver account she then informed him that the only account he can switch to is the Basic bank account which he can only withdraw money from Natwest machines from... this is because she informed him that he has bad credit which he knows he has, but why would they give him a Select Silver Account and not a Select Account when technically it's the same but with added "benefits".
Does anyone have any advice on this matter as he could do without the extra £10 a month but needs to have a normal Visa Debit card.

pmduk

The Select silver comes in two formats, one of which is a basic account with the added extras and fee. You could lok at other banks' basic accounts, most of which have no ATM restrictions. I believe Santander only offers a cash card, but all others offer a debit card.

ShinyMarble

Thanks for the reply. It's just that he wanted to go on a Select Account which is exactly the same as the one he's got now but with no monthly charge. But they said he can only go on the bog standard basic account which is very limited, just wondered why they won't let him go on a Select Account from a Select Silver Account... Seems like they really want £10 a month for nothing

mikey_l

When I changed accounts with Natwest they told me that it wasn't just the same account with added features, it was a completely different account, which needed to be applied for and was opened on the basis of a successful "eligibility assessment"

Maybe your husband qualified for the Select Silver at the time of opening, but now no longer qualifies for the Select, hense his only option being the basic.

Has any thing happened which could have affected his credit rating recently?