Prose from a Poshboy

[Honeybadger]

Sorry guys, I cannot resist writing a bit more of a rant about banks...

During one of my phone calls to the Natwest I was told that my account was due to be closed on 21st September. Now, the way all my direct debits are set up is that they all go out in the first week of the month, mostly on 1st of each month. So, once I found out my account switch had not gone through, I decided to let the direct debits ride in the Natwest account until the second week in September. That way all my bills for September would get paid with no issues, and then in the second week in September I would begin the process of ringing every company and setting up new direct debits with the Yorkshire Bank. Seems like a sensible decision, right?

Then this Friday (28th August) at 4.30pm I got a phone call from someone at Natwest.

"We made a mistake when we told you your account would close on 21 September. Actually your account is due to be closed at the end of the month. I cannot tell you the exact date, but it will be within the next few days."

This was 4.30pm on a Friday before a bank holiday weekend. And right at the end of the month, i.e. just before all my direct debits were due to go out! And because it was bank holiday weekend I could not do anything to get it sorted.

So this means that from tomorrow every single one of my direct debits is going to bounce! Mortgage payment, all utility bills, mobile, sky... everything! And I cannot do anything about it at all. And they only told me this at 4.30pm on a Friday going into bank holiday weekend. They've proper fucked me lol.

Basically this means that I am going to have to spend tomorrow and Wednesday sorting this out, and also that I must hope that my credit rating is not fucked because of it. It will probably be okay, just a massive ballache. But it is not guaranteed to be cool at all, and I am completely steaming at the Natwest.

[George2Loose]

Despite the fact they have no legal obligation to tell u why, they can't treat u like shit. Raise a formal complaint and if they don't give u a satisfactory outcome go to the ombudsman.

[shipitgood]

Hb did you stick in a comPlaint? And were you withdrawing/ depositing from an online site or in cash? For cash it's going to throw up so many red flags re financial crime/ money laundering, but if it's from betting sites then there's an audit trail, so don't imagine that would be an issue for a bank.

[George2Loose]

Also while you're at it cause them some pain and ask for a subject access request. U want all calls and notes they've made. They will charge u a fee but they have 45 days to comply and produce all the data. U may find some info that they've not disclosed. At the very least you'll cost them some time and money.

[shipitgood]

Hardly treating customers fairly! Defo put in a complaint or go to the ombudsman if no satisfactory response from the bank

[Honeybadger]

Despite the fact they have no legal obligation to tell u why, they can't treat u like shit. Raise a formal complaint and if they don't give u a satisfactory outcome go to the ombudsman.

Hardly treating customers fairly! Defo put in a complaint ombudsman if no satisfactory responses

Yeah I am for sure going to make a formal complaint to Natwest and/or go to the ombudsman. I would not have bothered until the phone call I got on Friday informing me that my direct debits were all going to bounce. But after that I decided that, as soon as I have done the fire-fighting necessary to sort all the direct debit bounces out, I am going to devote a lot of time to getting revenge on Natwest - and at the very least get some token compensation. They'll probably offer me like £100 as a goodwill gesture or something, so not really worth my time tbh. But I am so annoyed I am going to do it anyway.

[Doobs]

Hardly treating customers fairly! Defo put in a complaint or go to the ombudsman if no satisfactory response from the bank

Definitely this.  And I am pretty sure there is a good chance your credit rating will be affected with the missed payments, so make sure natwest compensate you properly and get it wiped clean on your behalf.  

Smile (co op) have always been good to me.  Think they need every depositor they can get given the state the bank is in!  Several large banking transactions gone through with just a bit of hassle(normally get the fraud team ringing me up, but always been good when I have explained).  

[Honeybadger]

And I am pretty sure there is a good chance your credit rating will be affected with the missed payments, so make sure natwest compensate you properly and get it wiped clean on your behalf.  

Oh dear Well obviously I hope you are wrong about this! I have been doing some googling and it seems that usually when a direct debit bounces it is automatically re-tried 7 days later, and if it goes through fine on the second attempt then credit rating is not affected. If this is the case (obviously it might not be) then as long as I scramble and get all the direct debits set up ('manually' over the phone) at my new bank tomorrow then all should be good. But of course I cannot be sure about this.

Once I have tended to the immediate concerns (making sure all my bills are paid for September) then I will of course make enquiries about whether my credit rating has been affected. And if it is affected in any way then I am going to go medieval on Natwest's ass!

[shipitgood]

In the 1st instance you need 2 complain 2 natwest, only if you are unsatisfied with their response can you go to the ombudsman. Weather on the phone or in branch if you say you want to make a complaint they have 2 log it / give you a time frame to get back to you. I had 2 make a complaint with my bank a while back, but like yourself I had been passed from pillar to post getting mucked about, the main thing was the time/ phone calls it took 2 get resolved, eventually I went into the branch to make the complaint iirc they offered me £100 plus cost of phone calls which I accepted just 2 put it 2 bed. I think the initial offer was a bit less which I refused then they increAsed it to 100. Clearly mention the annoyance / upset not to mention the time you have spent on this and the aggravation it has caused. Yes it's annoying, really annoying the fact they are closing your account, but it's the poor way they have handled it/ dealt with you. If they offer you x amount £ if you don't feel it is satisfactory just let them know, but generally will have an upper limit of compensation they can offer depending on nature of the complaint. Sent from iPhone incase predictive text has went crazy!

[SuuPRlim]

They'll probably offer me like £100 as a goodwill gesture or something, so not really worth my time tbh. But I am so annoyed I am going to do it anyway.

More brags on top of brags!

[Doobs]

And I am pretty sure there is a good chance your credit rating will be affected with the missed payments, so make sure natwest compensate you properly and get it wiped clean on your behalf.  

Oh dear Well obviously I hope you are wrong about this! I have been doing some googling and it seems that usually when a direct debit bounces it is automatically re-tried 7 days later, and if it goes through fine on the second attempt then credit rating is not affected. If this is the case (obviously it might not be) then as long as I scramble and get all the direct debits set up ('manually' over the phone) at my new bank tomorrow then all should be good. But of course I cannot be sure about this.

Once I have tended to the immediate concerns (making sure all my bills are paid for September) then I will of course make enquiries about whether my credit rating has been affected. And if it is affected in any way then I am going to go medieval on Natwest's ass!

Don't take my word for it, I am not an expert.  I have seen a credit reference though and am fairly sure it includes made (and missed) payments. I have no idea how much grace you get on a missed payment so you may well be right.  I would definitely check my credit reference after all this happens though.

[mulhuzz]

Start counting now exactly how long it has taken you to deal with this issue.

When they present a goodwill offer, present them the number of hours you've spent dealing with this issue and multiply it by some reasonable hourly which includes the opportunity cost of not, say, working on your website/marketing/etc for I-pools and present this as a counter offer. I'd imagine £35-£40 is a reasonable hourly but that obviously depends on your own circumstances.

[RED-DOG]

In the 1st instance you need 2 complain 2 natwest, only if you are unsatisfied with their response can you go to the ombudsman. Weather on the phone or in branch if you say you want to make a complaint they have 2 log it / give you a time frame to get back to you. I had 2 make a complaint with my bank a while back, but like yourself I had been passed from pillar to post getting mucked about, the main thing was the time/ phone calls it took 2 get resolved, eventually I went into the branch to make the complaint iirc they offered me £100 plus cost of phone calls which I accepted just 2 put it 2 bed. I think the initial offer was a bit less which I refused then they increAsed it to 100. Clearly mention the annoyance / upset not to mention the time you have spent on this and the aggravation it has caused. Yes it's annoying, really annoying the fact they are closing your account, but it's the poor way they have handled it/ dealt with you. If they offer you x amount £ if you don't feel it is satisfactory just let them know, but generally will have an upper limit of compensation they can offer depending on nature of the complaint. Sent from iPhone incase predictive text has went crazy!

Was anyone else tilted 2 fuck by this post?

[shipitgood]

Yes, very much so! Most tilting post of 2015

[Rexas]

You shouldn't have any issues with your credit rating as long as you have got it sorted within a few days HB. Regarding the whole natwest issue, I'd make a formal complaint about the whole thing and make a subject to access request as someone mentioned above, that way you may well find out what the issue was and you may also find that they take you a lot more seriously.