Tesco Bank sending contradictory messages on overdraft - anyone else?

K_W_the_Second

YorkshireBoy said:

...I wouldn't want a £500 (Covid lifeline freebie) overdraft usage reported to my credit file when all I was making was 1.xx% for 3 months, which must be somewhere close to £1.25
And if it was for a purchase I'd rather have used my savings.

I can't complain if my credit file records the £500 o/d. But I can complain if Tesco report I've transgressed their rules over it

 in some way.

King Weasel

[Deleted User]

K_W_the_Second said:

YorkshireBoy said:

...I wouldn't want a £500 (Covid lifeline freebie) overdraft usage reported to my credit file when all I was making was 1.xx% for 3 months, which must be somewhere close to £1.25
And if it was for a purchase I'd rather have used my savings.

I can't complain if my credit file records the £500 o/d. But I can complain if Tesco report I've transgressed their rules over it

 in some way.

King Weasel

What answer do you want here? 
Complain about the tone of their letter but they can withdraw their overdraft on demand and account with notice.

callum9999

dahj said:

K_W_the_Second said:

YorkshireBoy said:

...I wouldn't want a £500 (Covid lifeline freebie) overdraft usage reported to my credit file when all I was making was 1.xx% for 3 months, which must be somewhere close to £1.25
And if it was for a purchase I'd rather have used my savings.

I can't complain if my credit file records the £500 o/d. But I can complain if Tesco report I've transgressed their rules over it

 in some way.

King Weasel

What answer do you want here? 
Complain about the tone of their letter but they can withdraw their overdraft on demand and account with notice.

Incredibly obviously, the answer they are seeking is an answer to the question "what are Tesco talking about". 

They've made no complaint whatsoever about Tesco withdrawing the overdraft (quite the opposite in fact), they are concerned because Tesco have informed them that their credit report has been "damaged" and might be damaged further.

You'd know this if you bothered to actually read their post.

I don't know what Tesco are referring to, but if you're sure that you've not done anything wrong then I'd imagine this is down to an error. Presumably that initial letter was meant to get you to pay back the money, but because you haven't (as they never actually got back to you to tell you) their system thinks you're "resisting", and printed that letter just before you'd paid it off.

I'd personally just leave it a while, checking your credit report periodically just in case they actually do enter missed payments over it.

K_W_the_Second

Thanks for all your comments.

I've just sent off my complaint letter - no time to do it earlier - seeking (unspecified) financial recompense and assurance my credit file won't be damaged. I checked Experian today, courtesy of MSE credit club, and the £500 debt is there along with my £2000 o/d facility so everything looks fine there. I'll update you with their response.

King Weasel

[Deleted User]

callum9999 said:

dahj said:

K_W_the_Second said:

YorkshireBoy said:

...I wouldn't want a £500 (Covid lifeline freebie) overdraft usage reported to my credit file when all I was making was 1.xx% for 3 months, which must be somewhere close to £1.25
And if it was for a purchase I'd rather have used my savings.

I can't complain if my credit file records the £500 o/d. But I can complain if Tesco report I've transgressed their rules over it

 in some way.

King Weasel

What answer do you want here? 
Complain about the tone of their letter but they can withdraw their overdraft on demand and account with notice.

Incredibly obviously, the answer they are seeking is an answer to the question "what are Tesco talking about". 

They've made no complaint whatsoever about Tesco withdrawing the overdraft (quite the opposite in fact), they are concerned because Tesco have informed them that their credit report has been "damaged" and might be damaged further.

You'd know this if you bothered to actually read their post.

I don't know what Tesco are referring to, but if you're sure that you've not done anything wrong then I'd imagine this is down to an error. Presumably that initial letter was meant to get you to pay back the money, but because you haven't (as they never actually got back to you to tell you) their system thinks you're "resisting", and printed that letter just before you'd paid it off.

I'd personally just leave it a while, checking your credit report periodically just in case they actually do enter missed payments over it.

callum9999 said:

dahj said:

K_W_the_Second said:

YorkshireBoy said:

...I wouldn't want a £500 (Covid lifeline freebie) overdraft usage reported to my credit file when all I was making was 1.xx% for 3 months, which must be somewhere close to £1.25
And if it was for a purchase I'd rather have used my savings.

I can't complain if my credit file records the £500 o/d. But I can complain if Tesco report I've transgressed their rules over it

 in some way.

King Weasel

What answer do you want here? 
Complain about the tone of their letter but they can withdraw their overdraft on demand and account with notice.

Incredibly obviously, the answer they are seeking is an answer to the question "what are Tesco talking about". 

They've made no complaint whatsoever about Tesco withdrawing the overdraft (quite the opposite in fact), they are concerned because Tesco have informed them that their credit report has been "damaged" and might be damaged further.

You'd know this if you bothered to actually read their post.

I don't know what Tesco are referring to, but if you're sure that you've not done anything wrong then I'd imagine this is down to an error. Presumably that initial letter was meant to get you to pay back the money, but because you haven't (as they never actually got back to you to tell you) their system thinks you're "resisting", and printed that letter just before you'd paid it off.

I'd personally just leave it a while, checking your credit report periodically just in case they actually do enter missed payments over it.

Reading between the lines, the account isn't getting an income and the OD was used 
The letter was seeking repayment of the overdraft (which are repayable on demand) which the OP acknowledged using.

burner04

Hope you get some form of compensation for your trouble. Hold out for £50.

md258

This makes sense when you look at it from Tesco's point of view on the date the letter was generated:
- Customer is already close to their overdraft limit, so their credit file is already not perfect eg "damaged".
- Tesco are removing their overdraft. If the customer remains overdrawn, this will be reported to the CRAs as "damage".
- This is a change to the customers account that could impact them quite negatively if they don't take action, hence the strong wording.

Tesco won't have the time or resources to individually message people depending on their exact circumstances. Identifying people who will stooze the overdraft is difficult to do in advance but they have identified you now and are using the generic "removing your overdraft" letter.

Nebulous2

K_W_the_Second said:

Thrugelmir said:

Did you use the account for any other activity or just borrow the money? 

I only used it occasionally to pay in and then withdraw small amounts to keep the account active, so the answer is effectively no. But how might this have a bearing on Tesco's behaviour?

King Weasel

Banks get twitchy about overdrafts on accounts that don’t have a decent turnover. We sometimes see it here on student / graduate accounts. They get a free overdraft, then switch most of their business to another bank, expecting to get to keep the free overdraft and it gets recalled. 

Nebulous2

md258 said:

This makes sense when you look at it from Tesco's point of view on the date the letter was generated:
- Customer is already close to their overdraft limit, so their credit file is already not perfect eg "damaged".

I’m not sure where you got that from? 

My reading is is that they had a £2000 overdraft, but were only using the £500 free element. 

[Deleted User]

Nebulous2 said:

md258 said:

This makes sense when you look at it from Tesco's point of view on the date the letter was generated:
- Customer is already close to their overdraft limit, so their credit file is already not perfect eg "damaged".

I’m not sure where you got that from? 

My reading is is that they had a £2000 overdraft, but were only using the £500 free element. 

The OPs conduct has come to their attention and they've chosen to withdraw lending facilities. They were a bit sloppy but ultimately ODs are repayable on demand.