NatWest Bounce Back Loan Refusal

[Deleted User]

I would strongly suspect that it is a new company, with only two months trading (February and March), with an average that I suspect would come nowhere close to getting you to £250k. Also for example and it depends on the sector, the banks will have different tools and data available to analyse startups, so if for example you were in retail or hospitality an initial two months of £20k could be indicative of longer term trading patterns, however if you were in IT, Marketing, Engineering then a £20k March (you do not mention what you turned over in February) could be indicative of both jobs invoiced in February and also invoiced for future work. You also do not say what the average was over February and March. 

I suspect as others do above that the reason it was declined was that you predicted turnover at the level to get the maximum loan, applied for the maximum loan and the details you provided to not indicate a turnover that would have been in that region without Covid-19. Of course there could be wider issues with your application, you could have a CIFAS marker, you may have failed other verification checks etc.

As MovingForwards mentioned it would make sense to contact National Hunter to be sure, you can complete a SAR to find out if you have any fraud flags against your name. https://www.nhunter.co.uk/SAR.pdf

TK67

I applied for a Nat West Business Current Account in May 2020, which finally was opened on the 24th July 2020. I was informed by Nat West staff that once the account is open I would be able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan. Indeed, my welcome email containing my Account Number and Sort Code (received 24th July) invited me to now apply for a BBL. I duly applied for the BBL on the 27th July, only to receive a letter one week later informing me that Bounce Back Loans are not available to Accounts opened post 4th May 2020. Bizarre - I am currently awaiting an explanation from them. It seems they are moving the goal posts on a daily basis. Has anyone else encountered this? 

Grumpy_chap

One of the eligibility criteria for BBLS is that the business was trading before 1st March.  Maybe Natwest are assessing that new businesses only opening their accounts after 4th May were not trading by 1st March.

Jeremy535897

Grumpy_chap said:

One of the eligibility criteria for BBLS is that the business was trading before 1st March.  Maybe Natwest are assessing that new businesses only opening their accounts after 4th May were not trading by 1st March.

It's simpler than that. From NatWest FAQs:

"With unprecedented demand we're currently prioritising existing customers. Bounce Back Loans are available to existing NatWest customers on or before 4 May 2020. If you opened a NatWest Business bank account after this date, you will not be able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with us.

To access a Bounce Back Loan, please contact your current bank. If they are unable to assist, a list of accredited providers is also available on the British Business Bank website."

From https://www.business.natwest.com/business/support-centre/service-status/coronavirus/bounce-back-loan/bounce-back-loan-support.html

se2020

There is no allowance for guessing on the turnover if using a forecast, it need to be based accurately on any previous turnover of the company that has been shown through an existing bank account.
So if you paid in £19k in jan, £19.5k Feb and £20k march they will do the sum of:
19+19.5+20= 58.5 /3 = 19.5 x 12= 234.

Post up the actual figures if you want someone to check but you have failed the assessment process by over declaring the turnover I expect.

macman

I'm not clear what level of loan the OP applied for, but, assuming it was the maximum BBL loan of £50k, it would only be necessary to show a minimum turnover of £200K anyway. Putting in an exact round £250K is bound to arouse suspicions.

funkycredit

Jeremy535897 said:

Grumpy_chap said:

One of the eligibility criteria for BBLS is that the business was trading before 1st March.  Maybe Natwest are assessing that new businesses only opening their accounts after 4th May were not trading by 1st March.

It's simpler than that. From NatWest FAQs:

"With unprecedented demand we're currently prioritising existing customers. Bounce Back Loans are available to existing NatWest customers on or before 4 May 2020. If you opened a NatWest Business bank account after this date, you will not be able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan with us.

To access a Bounce Back Loan, please contact your current bank. If they are unable to assist, a list of accredited providers is also available on the British Business Bank website."

From https://www.business.natwest.com/business/support-centre/service-status/coronavirus/bounce-back-loan/bounce-back-loan-support.html

See, I'd not say that's simpler - far from it actually!! Let's assume you have a business account with someone not participating in the scheme (ie Tide) and switched it / closed it AFTER opening a new account at NatWest. Then what? They are your bank, in fact your only bank. 

It doesn't affect me, we use TSB Business and have for ages. But to test this I applied to Natwest and got the following - so why even let me apply to switch accounts; let alone the fact I'm not interested in BBL with them? But I think the whole thing is a shambles - even not allowing feeder accounts for those interested in BBL. 

Jeremy535897

My comment was in relation to the previous post, and related only to the reason for rejection. I agree it is very poor.

funkycredit

Jeremy535897 said:

My comment was in relation to the previous post, and related only to the reason for rejection. I agree it is very poor.

No, your point affected more than that post. As I explained. Which is universal. 

The whole thing is a joke. The left doesn't know what the right is doing. Period.