Natwest Consolidated my OD into a Loan Twice

marcjali

Hi I haven't posted on here for a long time, but that was because up until recently I thought the object of MSE was money saving, not getting money back, bt then I was referred to Martin, so here is my story and by posting here, my hope is that he'll see it or at least someone from his team can see it so they can tell him about it.

So when I was 16 (I'm 33 now) I was banking with NatWest who in their "infinite wisdom" decided it was a good idea to give a 16 year old an Over Draft of £1000 and allowing me t go £1000 over the OD limit and then consolidating that into a Personal Loan. Which is bad enough but they did it a second time, so when the recession hit (debatable if we are out of it or not) and I lost my job, there was no PPI on the Loan, which theoretically could have helped me with Loan repayments whilst I looked for new employment (when there probably should have been, although in hindsight, maybe there shouldn't have been anyway, who knows?)

Anyway, that resulted in me having 6 defaults against me, so now a days I can't get credit (which in reality is probably a good thing).

I have not spoken to NatWest for years, and to be honest I have no desire to speak to or interact with lying, money grabbing bankers, I really don't.

Due to their negligence, bad advice, and just taking advantage of a 16 year old kid just to line their pockets, is disgraceful.

I have tried other methods such as the Financial Ombudsmen (who in my opinion is ill equipped to handle this case and who "say" they are impartial are not impartial) they ruled in NatWest's favour even though NatWest were in the wrong, and so I have absolutely no faith in the Ombudsmen.

So, by posting my story on here (which is 100% true) I am hoping to get a satisfactory resolution, so after 17 years I can FINALLY put this messy business behind me and not be on the hook as it were for this, I WANT the debt written off because quite frankly the reason it got so bad was because of the extortionate bank charges that were applied, I believe it was £30 a pop at the time and when you have like 3 or 4 in a week, it soon adds up t the point where it is out of control (which it did) and so now I bank elsewhere, yes ALL banks have their problems and shady goings on, but at least I am not in the situation I was put in with NatWest.

Whilst I know this isn't a Money Saving post I have been told that it is something that would peak Martin's interest and hopefully get me the resolution that I have been fighting for, for 17 years.

Thank you for reading and Martin, thank you in advance for any help you are able to give, in the words of Princess Leia (RIP Carrie Fisher) 'You're my ONLY hope'.

[Deleted User]

Martin's not at his desk at the moment (he's nipped out for a quick smoke), but I think it's time to let this one go.

You need to take responsibility for spending not only the overdraft, but beyond it.

inkwat

I get where you are coming from - I'm appalled that the bank offered a 16 year old a £1000 overdraft.

"You can borrow money at any age, but access to loans may be limited because a lender will not usually be able to take a young person to court if they break the terms of a loan. This is because you cannot usually be legally held to a contract you make when you are under 18."

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/young-people-and-money-advice/young-people-money-and-consumer-rights/

Contact your local CAB and see what they say regarding overdrafts specifically. But it looks like your bank cannot make you legally responsible for debt you incur under 18 years of age.

marcjali

Oh I did take responsibility and I was paying over £60 a month to clear it but to no avail since with interest etc. that's all I was paying off, as I said I now bank elsewhere but to try to rebuild my credit rating has been a losing battle since I have 6 defaults against me and so the resolution I'd want is for the defaults to be taken away and not impede on my credit rating anymore, and any money back from NatWest (IF any is owed to me).

That's basically it, I don't have the means for a lengthy court battle with a bank (especially as I know they have teams of layer that will use any LEGAL or ILLEGAL tactic/ loophole at their disposal).

So I was referred her to Martin.

marcjali

I've contacted the CAB and they're useless as well, that's how I first found the Ombudsmen.

I need REAL advice and a solution, not to go to the CAB and retread everything I did years ago.

Thank you for trying to help, honestly I have done the CAB > Ombudsmen route and it was useless, the Ombudsmen aren't going to go against their financial institution brethren, so I have NO faith in that route.

[Deleted User]

Why do you have 6 defaults on your credit file from an incident 17 years ago?

inkwat

Short of consulting a lawyer I don't think there are any other routes open to you. Technically it looks like you are in the right. Though because you claimed the debt (started paying), they may be able to argue that.

You could try Reddit -

UKfinance - https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/
Legal Advice UK - https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/

marcjali

Deleted_User wrote: »

Why do you have 6 defaults on your credit file from an incident 17 years ago?

6 defaults because this debt was sol and resold so many times to different Debt Collection Agencies, to the point where I don't know where the debt is now, who owns it now, or what.

It is a complete mess. And impacts my quality of life 17 years on.

[Deleted User]

The defaults should have been removed 6 years after they were applied. And the selling on the debt shouldn't have resulted in any increase in the number of defaults.

You need to check this out.

marcjali

Well they weren't removed as far as I remember, when the debt was sold and active with a new company it reset the whole thing, as I say it's a mess which is why I shouldn't have ever been referred to PPI recovery agencies. So I come here for a better way from Martin.

[Deleted User]

That's why you need to get your credit files and start looking at them.

Martin won't do that for you, even when he does get back from his fag break.