Natwest default.. 'poor'credit rating

Hers1357 · 18 August 2020 at 5:55PM

Hi, I'm currently trying to remortgage a BTL property but my broker is having problems because of my 'poor' credit score. In 2004 i had a student account with Natwest and i got a BTL property with them in 2011 which i then sold in 2017. I only used this bank account to pay mortgage payments and once i sold the house, i made sure the balance was at zero and didn't use the account again. However, in 2018 when i wanted to get another mortgage, i noticed defaults on my file from Natwest and upon speaking to them, they'd charged me because i hadn't used the account every 3 months and because i had an overdraft - the account had clearly changed its terms without me knowing. This resulted in £786 of fees and multiple defaults on my credit file. I've already complained to Natwest as the fees seem unfair and they claimed they didn't have my up to date address, despite me applying for several business accounts with them and getting rejected. I've made another complaint via Resolver today. Is it possible to be charged for not using an account for 3 months and for having an OD without me actively agreeing to this? And is £768 worth of fees legit? This is the only blip on my file, but surely it shouldn't be 'poor' from this alone? Thanks

SpreadableToast · 18 August 2020 at 6:05PM

If the terms and conditions of the account include inactivity fees then sure they can charge them. but are you really sure you were charged inactivity fees? Are you sure this had an overdraft? You being overdrawn doesn't mean you had an agreed overdraft in place. £768 of fees for an account that has been in an unauthorised overdraft for a year or more racking up charges and interest seems about par for the course.

PRAISETHESUN · 19 August 2020 at 10:01AM

I'm not aware of any high street accounts that have an "inactivity fee" but it's generally assumed that unless you specifically object then you accept any new terms banks decide to apply to your account. I'd submit a SAR to NatWest requesting details of any changes they've made to account T&Cs. I suspect however it's down to you inadvertently going overdrawn somehow (even by a small amount) and then the daily OD fees quickly snowballing into something massive and defaults being issued.