NatWest closing my 2 Reward accounts out of the blue

colsten

jimjames said:

Just thinking about this a bit more, would a credit check even show an overdraft if it wasn't being used? I can't recall ever seeing one listed on my account when I've checked my credit file. In which case it makes even less sense to bump up limits that are not even needed.

Credit Karma shows unused overdraft, like so:



Experian shows this:

PRAISETHESUN

I used to stooze my FD and M&S Bank fee-free ODs and they definitely counted towards the credit limits/utilisation on my files - similar to what @colsten describes above, just with 100% instead of 0%.

Alex9384

Thrugelmir said:

How many bank accounts do you operate? 

Asking for higher credit limits serves no practical purpose. Other than to draw suspicion to oneself. 

If I count Revolut and Wise (former TransferWise) as bank accounts, then 14, minus 2 NatWest will be 12. Or if I open HSBC and Virgin, it will stay at 14. I only have overdrafts on 3 accounts (highest is 1000 on Monzo), plus another 2 that are now going to be closed.

Alex9384

Zanderman said:

I'm with jimjames on this. 
An overdraft implies, to me, living beyond - or potentially living beyond - your means.
Several overdrafts amplifies that impression.
Whereas a credit card, paid off each month, implies 'can be trusted with credit'.
I always make a point of saying NO to an overdraft when offered - and I have lots of accounts where it has been offered!
I regard having an overdraft facility - whether used or not - as something that looks bad on credit files, not good. 
Banks annoy me even if they default me to a basic one - I think the Coop offer me a £200 one, which has never ever been used.  Several thousand seems a lot! 

We are not lenders but I see it differently.

Overdraft can be a safety net "just in case", not necessarily living beyond your means. Especially if the OD has never ever been used. Lenders can see this. It means two things. First, banks trust me enough to offer me large overdrafts. Second, I never use it and don't rely on it, thus 'can be trusted with credit' like you said.

Alex9384

See? Colsten has more OD than me and no one is wondering why. If I'm not mistaken, he has around 35 current accounts in total.

I'm adding my screenshot from ClearScore. So, yes, overdrafts are definitely seen even if unused.

Alex9384

Looks like NatWest removed hard searches after they decided to close my accounts?

I can't believe it. NatWest removing their searches sounds almost like a sci-fi  At least after reading some reviews and some posts on MSE forum.

kaMelo

I'm not so sure this is necessarily about overdrafts, although they are definitely on their radar at the moment, reducing overdrafts for existing customers.
I haven't seen whether you answered the question about whether both rewards account were solo or not. I actually think this is more the issue.

Ed-1

kaMelo said:

I'm not so sure this is necessarily about overdrafts, although they are definitely on their radar at the moment, reducing overdrafts for existing customers.
I haven't seen whether you answered the question about whether both rewards account were solo or not. I actually think this is more the issue.

The thing is, if that was the case, why not - as a bank - do the sensible thing and give notice to say that the extra Reward account will be downgraded to another account? That is what a bank with any decent service would do. Not terminate an entire banking relationship and ban the customer.

Alex9384

kaMelo said:

I'm not so sure this is necessarily about overdrafts, although they are definitely on their radar at the moment, reducing overdrafts for existing customers.
I haven't seen whether you answered the question about whether both rewards account were solo or not. I actually think this is more the issue.

Yes, both were solo.
I think I asked someone at NatWest last year and they said I can have 2 Reward accounts but I would have to search in my message history which I'm a bit lazy to do now.

Thrugelmir

In the middle of a pandemic/recession applying for overdraft facilities of which you have no need is somewhat daft. Lenders haven't the time or resources to drill down into the finer detail. One lost customer is neither nor there. Particularly if they have banking facilities elsewhere. The old 80/20 business model.  20% of customers generate 80% of profits.