Natwest threatening Default

[Vash]

*sigh* New here, thought I'd post here to get some advice since I'm simply ripping my hair out.

 

I first off would like to explain the details. I have a student account with Natwest with an interest free overdraft of £1250. Being a student I've obviously spent the overdraft.

 

I have however been good with this account, I have NEVER had charges, never gone over the overdraft, I would say I'm a pretty good customer but then I guess if they're not having excuses to charge me they won't agree with that.

 

So I hadn't put money into the account for awhile, it lay dormant after I spent my latest student loans on rent and food and such. So the account lay dormant. I then received a letter saying I had to bring the account up to active status or whatever so I put £400 in which had to eventually come out because I need to eat and pay rent.

 

Then I got another letter a few weeks later threatening to close my account and to phone them to arrange when I can put money into the account. So I phoned them and told them the student loans company have delayed my loan until January, which is the truth, the student loans company are not exactly in a rush to give out money anymore. They said it was fine.

 

A couple of weeks later I get another letter saying my account needs to be fully paid off (ie I need to phone them to arrange a payment plan) or they will issue me with a default (including a fee) as well as £125 if I don't send my card back in two pieces.

 

So I went into the branch today and the woman at the desk was really confused because of how great my account was, and she said it was a debt collection agency I had to phone. I had a lovely phone call from the rudest lady ever who almost tried accussing me of committing fruad and having another student account with them (my boyfriend sent money to the account from time to time to keep it active). I explained to her who he was and she said I had to pay in full, then I could pay half, then 10%, then agreed to me sending £80 by November 30th. I asked her how long the money would have to stay in and she said it has to stay their permanently and that my overdraft would be reduced by £80 once done. She said if I don't do it I will get a default, if I take it out after I will get a default and she also told me this happened before, though I never got a letter saying I was getting a default, and when I said this she said it was "irrelevant" and that the Terms say I'm suppose to put money in every 160 days??

 

I have absolutely no money. I can't even pay rent and have to ask one of my fellow house mates if he can loan us the money until I have it in January. We have just enough money to get food for us to live until that time.

 

The thing that annoys me is not the £80 payment I have to make, it's the fact I'm being defaulted even though I have kept my account in good standing. Are they even allowed to do this? Do they not realise that people can't just crap out money and give it to them? If I could I just do it and close the account.

 

Is there anything I can do? I'm not even sure I can get this £80 in time.

[Vash]

Any help? This is what the letter I got said:

 

Regrettably, requests to bring your account within the arrangements agreed have been unsuccessful. Matters have reached a serious stage. We can now formally issue you with Default/Termination notices for the total amount you owe plus interest and charges.

 

Some of the actions open to us for accounts in default are:

 

-Registering your details with Credit Reference Agencies, which can affect your ability to obtain further credit in the future.

-Withdrawal of you banking arrangements.

-Passing details to our Debt Recovery department who may commence legal action against you.

 

If we need to proceed down any of these routes, the cost of doing so will be added to the amount due by you to us.

 

To avoid this, please contact us immediately by telephone on the number quoted above with your proposals for repayment.

 

In the meantime, if there are any cheque books and/orcards connected to the above account(s), these must be returned to us for cancellation immediately. For security reasons please cut the cards in two across the signature and magnetic strip before posting.

 

If the cards are not returned immediately, Recovery Agents may be instructed to collect the cards. This would result in a fee of £125 being charged to your account.

 

 

Re-reading this I'm really confused. The woman on the phone said I can have my account back if I pay the £80 by November 30th but my overdraft will "be decresed by £80". To me that sounds like they're just making me pay of the debt. I'm not sure if I'll get my account back at all. I don't have money to make a repayment plan but when I have money next year I want to pay the overdraft off and not have a default against me.

 

I'm also worried that they've just issued me a default anyway and she's just lying to me about putting in £80 just to get me to pay some money in? I can't check my credit report because I've already checked with Experian years ago and can't afford £6.99 to check (yes, it's really that bad) and Equifax won't let me use my Natwest card because it's Maestro and not Visa.

[Vash]

Alright, looking at my statements I'm really frustrated.

 

The woman said I hadn't made a payment since April, the payment was from, my boyfriend's account of £500.

 

Last month, October, I paid in £400 from my boyfriend's account and when I told her this she said it "didn't stay in long enough" but I had to pay rent 2 weeks later so I couldn't keep it all in at that time. And the payment in April wasn't even left in my account as long as the October one.

[bazaar]

First things First, I hope you now realise that these people will tell you anything over the phone, so the rule of thumb is DONT CALL OR SPEAK TO THEM.

Obviously youve got to pay this off somehow, but be aware that if you pay in some money, they may reduce your overdraft without telling you, then you get hit with more charges.

IMHO, if the bank are OK, you need to not listen to what this DCA are telling you and deal direct with the bank. Get an arrangement sorted with the bank, NOT the DCA.

[Vash]

I am confused though, does this mean the default has already been applied to me? And the woman on the phone was just talking utter crapola? I don't want to risk getting a default if they haven't already (and they haven't sent me a formal legal letter saying I've received a default...)

 

But I also don't want to put money in and then them reduce it and add a crap ton of charges.

 

And it was the Natwest lady who put me on the phone to them, I didn't want to phone them initially.

 

I'm really not sure what to do, should I try and put the £80 on Monday or what (if I can even get it)? I think the bank will just keep asking me to phone Birmingham Collections.

[bazaar]

Dont worry, its their inhouse hounds who she put you through to, Barclays have them as well ( Mercers).

They usually have them located in the bowels of the building, usually because they smell quite foul, Due to soiling themselves quite regularly.

But mainly because they talk such utter drivel, the bank employees would be throwing themselves off the highest building.

In all likely hood, theyve defaulted you already, thats how they all operate,

[Vash]

Dont worry, its their inhouse hounds who she put you through to, Barclays have them as well ( Mercers).

They usually have them located in the bowels of the building, usually because they smell quite foul, Due to soiling themselves quite regularly.

But mainly because they talk such utter drivel, the bank employees would be throwing themselves off the highest building.

In all likely hood, theyve defaulted you already, thats how they all operate,

 

LOL thanks for that image.

 

And great, so now I've got 6 years of bad credit because...I didn't keep my student account as active as they'd like? What utter bullcrap.

 

I still haven't received an actual letter saying I've been issued a default though.

[Vash]

I have now received the default notice letter. I've read here that there's a way it has to be written for it to be legal.

 

I haven't got a scanner where I am but I might be able to scan the notice up soon if anyone can take a look for me? I'm kind of stressed about this since my credit has been ruined for 6 years just because I didn't use the account enough.

 

They also reduced my overdraft by £79 earlier before they did this.

[Vash]

Any help?