Best way to pay off defaulted account

Jame5g

Sorry if this is longwinded but here is my story.

In 2008 I moved abroad. I closed all my accounts (energy etc). When it came to closing my natwest account I went to the branch and closed it in person. Brought the account to £0 and handed over my card. I asked the person working at the bank if there was a form to fill in. I was told a simple "no".

Fast forward a few years later and I received a call on a UK mobile which I had kept. It was a debt collection agency (robinson way?!). Short story is there was one direct debit for car insurance I hadn't cancelled so the car insurance company took the money until Natwest decided my account was dormant, which left me at £-1277 of which approximately £500 was interest and charges. I had several conversations with Natwest and the debt collection agency. Natwest had no record of me closing the account.

In my opinion if Natwest closed the account I would have missed payments on my car (sold) insurance and that would have left me in far less trouble than -1277 with Natwest.

I tried to get them to knock off the interest so I paid only what the car insurance company took but they insisted on paying the full amount. I was abroad a basically said tough luck and refused to pay bean unless we could come to a deal.

Since all this happening I bought a house in the UK. The black mark on my credit record didn't affect my mortgage application. I had maybe half a dozen letters off robinsonway but I ignored them.

Now I'm currently trying to improved my credit record as I may want to buy a bigger house in a few years. I can't help but think I won't be so lucky with the next mortgage. Is there a way to settle up the debt fairly? I want to pay nothing but I'm sure that won't happen. Should I contact Natwest directly?

[Deleted User]

Has the account been sold to Robinson Way or just passed to them for collection? You need to speak to whoever now owns the debt. You;re more likely to get a lower settlement figure if it has been sold to a DCA.

For what it's worth, NatWest wouldn't have been able to reject the insurance payment, as it was authorised. The account may have been closed, but the payment reactivated it.

Jame5g

Deleted_User wrote: »

For what it's worth, NatWest wouldn't have been able to reject the insurance payment, as it was authorised. The account may have been closed, but the payment reactivated it.

Such a simple explanation but not something they ever told me. If true perhaps they could have told me to explain why the account was open.