Missed payments on credit file

OTS6698

Hi

On Friday 1st May 2020 I applied for a payment holiday for my loan with Santander via their website. There was no option for the month of May; therefore, I applied for payment holidays for June, July and August.

Knowing my financial situation was tight due to little work due to Covid I tried to call Santander about the May payment, but kept getting cut off after 20 minutes or so. So I went onto their website and conducted a web chat using my keyboard with a member of staff. I explained that I had just applied for June, July and August payment holidays, but was unable to apply for May. She explained that this was because Mays payment is due to be paid on Tuesday 4th May only 4 days away and is too close to action the holiday for May. After a discussion on what I could do to stop Mays payment being taken, it was clear that my only course of action to prevent the payment coming out was to cancel the direct debit via my bank. This is a record of how the conversation from the last 3 minutes or so of screen captures:

·         Me: If we cancel the DD, what will the consequences be?

·         Santander: Even if you cancel, it is such short timing that it will probably still come out. Still contact the bank and explain, the DD will probably bounce which will mean the DD won’t be paid.

·         Me: Will we be charged or will it affect my credit file?

·         Santander: That’s why you will need to speak with the bank to check what the process is from them. Is that OK?

·         Me: I understand that I have to contact the bank. What I must be sure of is what action if any Santander that Santander may take?

·         Santander: You mean with your credit file due to a missed payment? Once the application goes through, your credit file will be unaffected as the payment holidays will be approved for the months you have applied for. Assuming you applied for the current month on the form.

·         Me: I think you misunderstand me. If we cancel the DD prior to the holiday payment being approved by Santander, will we be charged an amount or will my credit file be adversely affected?

·         Santander: The advice is not to cancel the DD, but as I said previously, if you do cancel on the Bank account, it will probably be too late and the DD will still try to be taken. We don’t charge for that our end if it’s unpaid, we just contact you for payment.

·         Santander: As far as the credit file goes, it could be affected, but this can be adjusted when the payment holiday application goes through

·         Me: I’m sorry, but I relay need you to provide an answer to the question about the credit file.

·         Me: What do you mean adjusted?

·         Santander: As a financial company, we are able to correct any late/missed payments on your credit file, so try not to worry and just wait to hear from the payment holiday team.

·         Santander: Things you need to know. You can pause your monthly payments for up to 3 months. You credit file won’t be impacted. You won’t pay any missed payment fees or charges. You’ll be charged interest on your loan balance during the payment holiday. We’ll automatically restart your loan at the end of the payment holiday. If you’ve mot=re that one loan with us, you must make separate payment holiday requests. You won’t need to do anything else once you’ve completed this online request.

·         Me: OK thanks very much for your time. I’m sorry if I sound abrupt, but we're really worried.

A Few weeks later I saw that my credit file had missed payment markers for May, June, July. I telephoned Santander and asked them to remove them. I was advised that they couldn’t even consider this request as there were outstanding arrears for the May payment where I had cancelled the direct debit. During this conversation I paid the arrears, was then transferred to another person to address the issue of the missed payment makers on my credit file.  A complaint was initiated on the basis that I requested the missed payment markers could be removed as this was my interpretation of what I had been advised during the web chat on 1st May.

On 7th September I spoke to a member of staff from Santander who advised me that they would not remove the missed payment markers from my credit file. He said this was because they could only remove information from a credit file in certain circumstances, namely If it’s inaccurate or a mistake. He went onto say that he had viewed the screen captures I had sent and that his view was that the advice provided by his Colleague during the web chat was on the basis of me applying for May as a holiday and that being authorised. I think his view is incorrect.

I don’t have access to the rest of the conversation, but I’m sure I must have told her that I had just tried to apply for May as a holiday but was unable to; this was the reason for the web chat with them. If she had told me that if I cancel the DD it would result in a missed payment on my file and that they would not remove it, I wouldn’t have cancelled the DD. I have never missed a payment before this.

Any advice or assistance is very much appreciated.

Opts

Jeremy535897

You applied for June, July and August. I take it you did not pay May, June, July or August? That is why May is flagged.

My reading of your webchat is that Santander dodged the question about what would happen to your credit file if you cancelled the May DD at such short notice, but advised you not to cancel the May DD. At no time did they say "OK we'll treat your application as relating to May, June and July, not June, July and August". All you can do is make a complaint, take it through their formal process, and if that is unsatisfactory, appeal to the Financial Ombudsman, but I would not be confident you will succeed. However there are many people with much more expertise than me on these matters. There are other boards dealing with mortgage and credit file issues.

OTS6698

Hi
I think she did dodge the question. I don't know whey she did, all she had to say was that if you cancels Mays DD your credit file will be recorded as a missed payment. Really odd behavior from the advisor.

Jeremy535897

No, it's the modern way. People are trained to answer a set of specific questions, and when a question doesn't quite fit their list, they simply give you the question they can answer, and answer it. HMRC do it all the time.

OTS6698

Why can’t people just answer a simple question. 🤯 

mattyprice4004

OTS6698 said:

Why can’t people just answer a simple question. 🤯 

Perhaps they didn’t have the authority to tell you either way? 

Either way, the credit file is accurate - May’s payment wasn’t made and was still outstanding through the following months. 

Unfortunately credit file records need to follow what’s happened accurately; you missed a payment and this is what’s shown. 

Jeremy535897

As you say, they have no authority to deviate from the strict conditions imposed by the banks.

OTS6698

I can understand that the person I spoke to may not have authority to provide advice, I have no issue with that. Therefore, Their response should be neutral and not misleading or evasive. I guess I will probably have to take this on the chin. 🤯

gg23

OTS6698 said:

I can understand that the person I spoke to may not have authority to provide advice, I have no issue with that. Therefore, Their response should be neutral and not misleading or evasive. I guess I will probably have to take this on the chin. 🤯

They told you not to cancel the DD, you canceled the DD.  How is it anyone's fault but yours?

OTS6698

Because I was advised that:

As far as the credit file goes, it could be affected, but this can be adjusted when the payment holiday application goes through  

Jeremy535897

I fear you heard what you wanted to hear. Understandable really, in this world where the people on the other end of the telephone only have five answers to five questions, and whatever you ask, they just trot out the nearest question and answer.