Banks and Divorce

Wends4

Hi, I have been through a very acrimonious divorce and Barclays have done nothing to help even though on their web site it says that their focus is to provide you with great service and help you meet your financial needs. I have done two income and expenditure forms with them and in July last year the advisor said on the phone that they would have to contact my ex husband to agree the new payment level for the repayment mortgage, they never did, giving the reason that they don't make outgoing calls. I had logged a complaint about this and even though the bank claim that they listened to the call they are upholding their decision that they did not say that they would contact the ex. I have taken this to the Financial Ombudsmen but because it's a joint account my ex would not agree to it unless there was some monetary benefit. In March this year I updated my income and expenditure form and yet again they have done nothing, all the time the mortgage was going into arrears. I had even asked for a letter from Barclays confirming that the mortgage has always been repayment and not interest only as my ex had stated in his divorce paperwork and in Court, they done it but sent it to the ex and not to me until I chased it up a while later so missed the opportunity of raising the matter with the Courts.This has all affected my credit score and was wondering what would be the best way forward as I don't want to have a poor credit score for 6 years because of Barclays. Is it worth contacting the Financial Conduct Authority about the way in which Barclays have done nothing to help me. If this is not possible, how can I sort out my credit score?

eskbanker

Wends4 wrote: »

in July last year the advisor said on the phone that they would have to contact my ex husband to agree the new payment level for the repayment mortgage, they never did, giving the reason that they don't make outgoing calls. I had logged a complaint about this and even though the bank claim that they listened to the call they are upholding their decision that they did not say that they would contact the ex. I have taken this to the Financial Ombudsmen but because it's a joint account my ex would not agree to it unless there was some monetary benefit.

It's difficult to understand this without more knowledge of the situation - presumably both of you were named on the mortgage pre-divorce but what's the plan now? Is the property being sold as part of the settlement or is one of you buying out the other? The way you've described repayment expectations for your ex while your credit status is being affected suggests that you're both still on the hook for the mortgage, but if this is the case then any division of payments, etc, should have been sorted out by the solicitors and/or court rather than the bank.

Wends4 wrote: »

I had even asked for a letter from Barclays confirming that the mortgage has always been repayment and not interest only as my ex had stated in his divorce paperwork and in Court, they done it but sent it to the ex and not to me until I chased it up a while later so missed the opportunity of raising the matter with the Courts.

I can understand why you'd be unhappy if you'd requested information from the bank and it was sent to your ex - what does your solicitor advise in the circumstances, i.e. is there any prospect of holding the bank liable for the financial consequences of their actions?

Wends4 wrote: »

Is it worth contacting the Financial Conduct Authority about the way in which Barclays have done nothing to help me.

IMHO, no - you can complain to Barclays and if unhappy with their response then you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but not the FCA directly, as they effectively delegate complaint handling to FOS. Personally I'd stick to specific failings or breaches (such as the letter being sent to the wrong recipient) rather than seeking to hold Barclays to marketing spiel.

Wends4 wrote: »

If this is not possible, how can I sort out my credit score?

Although the score itself isn't seen by lenders and so is largely irrelevant, if your credit history is actually inaccurate then you can ask the lender to correct it. However, I get the impression that the credit history accurately reflects a mortgage in arrears that you're named on - if both of you are still named on a joint mortgage then this is undoubtedly a risk, but one that your solicitor should have addressed when sorting out division of assets, to avoid a situation like this developing.