Having a major panic after founding out my Santander account has defaulted- advice would be amazing

lululululu

Hello 

i have a Santander account but haven’t been using it for years as I’ve been abroad and using revolut. Was going through docs today and found my Santander details. Tried to log on to my account but my number has changed so it didn’t work. Called, only to be told they took away my right to a free unarranged overdraft and having been charging me fees to the point where I have 2000 that was apparently sent to a collection agency who tried to contact me. All this time I haven’t been getting letters as I’ve been abroad. 

In a state of panic and depression as now my bank has defaulted. What can I do? Do I pay it back straitght away? This will be difficult but possible for me. Or should I place a complaint?? Is there anything I can do to fix this situation?

lululululu

Hello 

i have a Santander account but haven’t been using it for years as I’ve been abroad and using revolut. Was going through docs today and found my Santander details. Tried to log on to my account but my number has changed so it didn’t work. Called, only to be told they took away my right to a free unarranged overdraft and having been charging me fees to the point where I have 2000 that was apparently sent to a collection agency who tried to contact me. All this time I haven’t been getting letters as I’ve been abroad. 

In a state of panic and depression as now my bank has defaulted… What can I do? Do I pay it back straitght away? This will be difficult but possible for me. Or should I place a complaint?? Is there anything I can do to fix this situation?

MorningcoffeeIV

Get it paid off. You don't seem to have anything to complain about if you didn't check your account or change your details for years.

The default will drop off after 6 years from being applied.

hoverFrog1

You should definitely not acknowledge that you own them any money at all or make any payment to them as it amounts to the same thing. They changed the terms and conditions of your account which caused them to rack up charges. They didn't inform you of these changes.

Demand that all charges be refunded and make a complaint to the ombudsman.

RAS

When did you go abroad?

sourcrates

Once defaulted, that`s it, probably a lack of contact from both sides has resulted in this situation.

You can lodge a complaint, you won`t get the account back, but some other compromise may be made.

The debt will stay with the bank until they decide to off load it, some debt purchasing company will buy it as one of a bulk purchase, they will write to you and you can repay it at an affordable rate according to your budget, as with any other debt.

Or you can make similar arrangements with the DCA contacting you now.

EssexHebridean

Stop, breathe… When did you stop using the Santander account? Are you sure that you haven’t been told about the removal of the OD facility - have you still been getting emails in relation to the account or have you changed email address and the bank aren’t aware? Get all your information in a row and then you will be better placed to work out what to do - if you weren’t informed then a complaint and a request that the accrued debt should be written off might be the way forwards, but otherwise it might depend on timescales. 

Are you still abroad, and if so are you intending on returning to the U.K. any time soon? 

lululululu

thank you for your replies.

I went abroad several years ago. I can't remember the last time I logged on to my account online, and as I have no access, it's difficult to have an exact date but I think it would have been in 2021.

I just checked my emails and found an email from 2022 saying 'charges are due to be applied to your account' and an email from April 2023 (last month) saying that my statements are available to view. Those are the only two emails in the past two years. The statements email seems strange as on the phone they told me that the account defaulted and was closed in November 2022.

can I maybe request access to my statements? It's hard to file an accurate complaint without having the numbers in front of me. Is there somebody to contact to do this?