How long should I give the bank before taking other action?

purplepixi

Bit of a long story, sorry. I took out a joint loan with my ex-husband. It was in joint names, but I was the one paying for it, as it was used for something I needed at the time. I paid off a fair amount of it. Then we got divorced. He wanted me to take over the loan and have it just in my name. I phoned the bank (Sainsbury's) who said I could only do that if I paid off the loan and took out a new one. So I just continued to pay for the loan.

However, now I've got a bit of a situation with it. Not in a bad way. I've got 12 months left to pay on it, and I've got enough money saved that I can clear it now. 

Myself and my ex-husband aren't speaking (very difficult situation, and certainly not friendly), which seems to be a bit of a problem for the bank. 
I phoned them to ask for a settlement figure, after 30 mins on hold I finally got through. Then I was told I don't have an account with them. Rather confused. They bloke said was it pre-2016. Which it was. Went to a different system. Then told me he couldn't speak to me as I wasn't the account holder. I assured him I was. I had phoned them 18 months prior to update my address, which they were happy to do. Then I was told, "we don't hold this account anymore, you need to phone another number", which I did. And it put me through to Halifax banking. And I got even more confused. I had no idea who I was meant to be talking to so I hung up.

On the back of my paperwork, it also states I can request a settlement figure in writing. So I wrote to the bank using that information. I provided them with the details of the old house, the account number, the original loan amount, both mine and my ex's details. I explained that we were no longer in contact due to a difficult situation, and that I'd like to clear the debt. I also explained that I was fine with them contacting him themselves should they need to. This was on 26th May. I had no response from them.

So on the 1st July I wrote another letter. This time using the details provided on the website for requesting a settlement figure. I briefly explained in this letter that I had wrote to them previously, and included a copy of the letter. I also stated that I would like a response to this letter before I consider seeking advice from the financial authorities.

On Tuesday next week it'll be 2 weeks since I sent that letter to them. I have yet to get any kind of response. Do I have to submit a formal complaint with them before I can take it further? Or should I reach out to the ombudsman next week? This is the first time I've ever had this happen, so I'm not sure what to do.

I just want to clear the debt, and close all ties to my ex-husband completely. Sorry for the essay!

sourcrates

Hi,

Usual responce time for settlement of complaints is 8 weeks, after which you can escalate to the FOS.

Due to COVID-19 this time scale has gone out of the window, most bank staff are still working from home, there will also be a tremendous back log to deal with, and things will not be back to anywhere near normal anytime soon.

My only suggestion is be patient, nothing is moving fast right now.

purplepixi

sourcrates said:

Hi,

Usual responce time for settlement of complaints is 8 weeks, after which you can escalate to the FOS.

Due to COVID-19 this time scale has gone out of the window, most bank staff are still working from home, there will also be a tremendous back log to deal with, and things will not be back to anywhere near normal anytime soon.

My only suggestion is be patient, nothing is moving fast right now.

Thank you so much for replying. I honestly had no idea how long I was meant to wait  - I'll hold on for a bit. Maybe they'll back date the interest to when I first asked, fingers crossed.

Jami74

@purplepixi can you still see the loan online and in your credit files?