NatWest removed my o/d without any notice!!

busymummyof2

i have two joint accounts with NatWest both with £1500 o/d limits. When I split with my husband we took one account on each although they remained joined (but that another post) Up till lockdown these were always up to their limits every month and had been for many years.  While on furlough and in lockdown I paid mine off,  Over the last few months I've dipped in and out of it mainly due to not transferring money and making most of the 0%.

Things have become increasing tight over this last month and I know I will need to use the o/d next month before I start my new job.  At the weekend my card was declined and when checking my balance the o/d was gone, I've had no letters or emails saying this was going to happen.  I spoke to the bank and the lending term who couldn't see why it had been removed and now have to wait 4 days for it to be investigated.  Has anyone else had this happen? and what was the outcome?

CRISPIANNE3

busymummyof2 said:

i have two joint accounts with NatWest both with £1500 o/d limits. When I split with my husband we took one account on each although they remained joined (but that another post) Up till lockdown these were always up to their limits every month and had been for many years.  While on furlough and in lockdown I paid mine off,  Over the last few months I've dipped in and out of it mainly due to not transferring money and making most of the 0%.

Things have become increasing tight over this last month and I know I will need to use the o/d next month before I start my new job.  At the weekend my card was declined and when checking my balance the o/d was gone, I've had no letters or emails saying this was going to happen.  I spoke to the bank and the lending term who couldn't see why it had been removed and now have to wait 4 days for it to be investigated.  Has anyone else had this happen? and what was the outcome?

Not happened to me but would not wait around 4 days. I would be on the phone to them today and explain you are starting a new job next month and the reason why you need the overdraft facility.  It is also unusual for a bank to remove an overdraft facility without notice. Good luck!

colsten

As it’s a joint account, may be the notice went to the other account holder?

Unless you expect to get together again, you should both urgently close down those jount accounts, and replace them with sole ones (or convert the accounts to sole accounts if that is offered)

D3xt3r5L4b

Banks can withdraw overdrafts with no notice and also demand them be repaid immediately as well. 

busymummyof2

colsten said:

As it’s a joint account, may be the notice went to the other account holder?

Unless you expect to get together again, you should both urgently close down those jount accounts, and replace them with sole ones (or convert the accounts to sole accounts if that is offered)

I asked my ex and he'd had the same letters as me, the ones saying they want to help us reduce the overdrafts and nothing else.

The original plan was to close them once we'd both paid off our overdrafts as we didn't think we could remove a party and had nowhere to transfer the debt.  Last month the forms were taken to the bank removing each other from the accounts. I thought this may have something to do with the overdraft being removed but they had no record of the forms but did tell me we can removed each other via the app so will be doing that asap.

D3xt3r5L4b said:

Banks can withdraw overdrafts with no notice and also demand them be repaid immediately as well. 

I had heard this in the past but would have thought the call centre would have seen this as a note when I called.

stclair

I used work in the NatWest Personal Lending team, and advisors in telephone banking never used to be able to see such notes. Have you stopped paying money into the account it may have spooked them, it’s all system generated so if you speak to them they could possibly re-instate it. The thing is overdrafts are repayable on demand without any given reason if your in constantly that might also be a reason aswell it may be a sign of financial difficulties. You should consider opening a new account to have your salary etc paid into. 

ratechaser

stclair said:

I used work in the NatWest Personal Lending team, and advisors in telephone banking never used to be able to see such notes. Have you stopped paying money into the account it may have spooked them, it’s all system generated so if you speak to them they could possibly re-instate it. The thing is overdrafts are repayable on demand without any given reason if your in constantly that might also be a reason aswell it may be a sign of financial difficulties. You should consider opening a new account to have your salary etc paid into. 

I suspect it's not even due to money going in or not. I got an email today from Natwest saying they were cutting my overdraft facility in half.

More specifically, this is an overdraft that was never originally requested and has never been used, on an account held for 33 years, that has always had 1 or 2 regular salary payments going in. And my Experian credit score is 999 (ok, that last bit is obviously tongue in cheek...)

So, the issue of notification aside here, they are clearly making some fairly sweeping cuts to their overall overdraft exposure that goes beyond individual risk factors.

born_again

ratechaser said:

So, the issue of notification aside here, they are clearly making some fairly sweeping cuts to their overall overdraft exposure that goes beyond individual risk factors.

Which is good news for customers as they will not be paying massive interest rates on their O/D.

Given at the moment a O/D has a greater interest rate than many credit cards.

Thrugelmir

ratechaser said:

stclair said:

I used work in the NatWest Personal Lending team, and advisors in telephone banking never used to be able to see such notes. Have you stopped paying money into the account it may have spooked them, it’s all system generated so if you speak to them they could possibly re-instate it. The thing is overdrafts are repayable on demand without any given reason if your in constantly that might also be a reason aswell it may be a sign of financial difficulties. You should consider opening a new account to have your salary etc paid into. 

I suspect it's not even due to money going in or not. I got an email today from Natwest saying they were cutting my overdraft facility in half.

More specifically, this is an overdraft that was never originally requested and has never been used, on an account held for 33 years, that has always had 1 or 2 regular salary payments going in. And my Experian credit score is 999 (ok, that last bit is obviously tongue in cheek...)

So, the issue of notification aside here, they are clearly making some fairly sweeping cuts to their overall overdraft exposure that goes beyond individual risk factors.

Providing unused overdrafts costs banks money.  As they are required to maintain capital buffers under regulatory requirements. Same principle applies to credit card limits granted. Banks will obviously be working their way through accounts looking at both historical and current activity , then applying suitable adjustment or not as the case maybe. 

busymummyof2

stclair said:

I used work in the NatWest Personal Lending team, and advisors in telephone banking never used to be able to see such notes. Have you stopped paying money into the account it may have spooked them, it’s all system generated so if you speak to them they could possibly re-instate it. The thing is overdrafts are repayable on demand without any given reason if your in constantly that might also be a reason aswell it may be a sign of financial difficulties. You should consider opening a new account to have your salary etc paid into. 

Thank for the reply.

We both stopped having our wages paid into the two accounts, my husband when we split up last year and I stopped when I was made redundant in July.  Though I still have around £1500 a month of other income paid in and still have all my direct debits leaving the account.  I said I'd like it to be reinstated as want prepared for it to be gone.  I have managed not to get in any further debt since lockdown started  and have been paying other things off but my redundancy payment has now run out and I am not starting my new full time position for a coupe of weeks so was relying on it to cover my mortgage payment which starts again next month.  
Once I'm back on track again I have no intention to get back into regular use of the o/d so it could be reduced but would like to keep something as a buffer for cash flow over the month.

I'll give them until tomorrow to come back to me then will be ringing again.
I do have another bank account which I opened when they closed the branches in the two towns I visit most and will probably move my other banking over after this.

busymummyof2

I suspect it's not even due to money going in or not. I got an email today from Natwest saying they were cutting my overdraft facility in half. 

More specifically, this is an overdraft that was never originally requested and has never been used, on an account held for 33 years, that has always had 1 or 2 regular salary payments going in. And my Experian credit score is 999 (ok, that last bit is obviously tongue in cheek...)

So, the issue of notification aside here, they are clearly making some fairly sweeping cuts to their overall overdraft exposure that goes beyond individual risk factors.

Glad you don't need the overdraft they're reducing.
I could have sorted my finances out and understood if they'd notified me they were reducing or even removing, but to literally remove it when I had just gone into it I just don't understand.