Complex issue with bank- not sure what to do

Bob8181

I’m reaching out to share a really difficult situation I’ve been going through with NatWest, in the hope that someone might have some advice. 

My story starts in 2023. At the time, I was in a very vulnerable place—recovering from a serious accident and struggling with my mental health. My finances were a mess, and I was relying on payday loans and short-term borrowing just to get by. Even though no other lender would touch me, NatWest approved me for a £10,000 credit card. It was a catastrophic decision that left me in a terrible state.

I tried to challenge this as irresponsible lending. While the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) ruled in NatWest’s favor on that specific point, they did uphold three other complaints I had raised about that same period, acknowledging that I was in severe debt and shouldn't have been given further credit. That’s a separate, ongoing battle, though.

The situation took a turn in December 2025, when NatWest made an error on my account, wrongly sending me a default notice and terminating my account a few days later. I raised a complaint and involved the FOS. While they were investigating, my account was placed on hold. I contacted the collections team twice, desperate to set up a repayment plan so I could pay off what I owed, but I was told not to—they claimed it would remove the account hold. I even emailed a staff member I’d worked with previously, but they couldn't help. I felt completely blocked from paying. To make matters worse, NatWest locked me out of my online banking and stopped sending me statements.

Eventually, NatWest admitted they were at fault. They offered me £200 and explained that the default and termination notices shouldn't have been issued. They said the termination notice had been rescinded and replaced with a standard account closure, but added: 'when the FOS have received their decision you will be required to bring the account up to date'—referring back to that first irresponsible lending complaint.

Now, in June 2026, following the FOS final outcome, I reached out to NatWest, only to be shocked to find my account marked as delinquent with the full balance due. This was completely out of the blue; I haven't received a single statement since November 2025 and have been locked out of my online access since December 2025.

I understand that I should have been sent a valid default notice before they could demand the full balance, but that never happened. Now, my credit file is going to be damaged until the very last penny is paid off. If NatWest had just accepted my offer to set up a repayment plan back in March 2026, we wouldn’t be here.

I’m sharing this to see if anyone has any advice on how to handle this. Thank you.

fatbelly

So you are saying that your credit file is marked incorrectly? How is it marked? I would have expected the Dec 2025 default to show which would mean it would drop off in 2032, regardless of payment. If they removed it, what did they replace it with? Are they pursuing you for payment?

Best to check all 3 agencies.

ManyWays

To double check, NatWest have closed the credit card account and demanded full repayment? Not your bank account?

What was the FOS final decision?

Have NatWest stopped adding interest?

Do you have other debts as well?

sourcrates

If they removed the default as part of the FOS complaint, there is no other way to mark the account, other than delinquent, as you didn`t have a current arrangement to pay set up, credit file wise the default would have been better as it would have dropped off automatically after 6 years regardless, this delinquent status can show indefinitely.

However, you can add a notice of correction to your file to explain what went wrong, if you wish, and the more time that passes, the less effect it will have on you, it does vary, but most lenders only look at perhaps your last 3 years credit history when making lending decisions, so really things will improve going forward.