Natwest Credit Card problems

[purp751]

Hi folks,

 

having yet more "fun" with Natwest credit card,

 

due to one thing and another I have not been able to make my payments for the last two months,

 

I contacted Natwest and explained the situation and gave them outgoing and income figures over the phone,

was then told they would send out an income and expenditure form for me to fill out and return which I have done with the same figures

and also a covering letter as requested explaining my situation and making a repayment offer I think I could afford, which I did,

 

today got a letter back from them saying the figures are incomplete and the offer is not satisfactory

and asking me to ring them again with figures!

 

So yet again it seems Natwest are acting as a law unto themselves, they are still charging defaults and interest

whilst having been told I cannot service the existing debt, is there anything else I can do they seem to ignore anything that doesnt suit them!

 

Just to show the difference

 

my wife rang Barclaycard with the same problem and they agreed to freeze the interest for a year and accept £50 per month

and review again in a year and that was all over the phone with no hassle!

[citizenB]

What do they mean the figures are incomplete.

 

IMHO, you need to deal with this in writing only. It seems they are not treating you fairly have you pointed out to them that other creditors have accepted your offer ?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Did NW explain how the figures were incomplete and why the offer was unacceptable?

The bank can of course set it's own requirements, the OFT Guidance states they should consider ''reasonable '' offers.

[purp751]

Hi citizenB ,

I have no idea what they mean by the figures being incomplete,

I filled out the expenditure form exactly the same as what I had told them over the phone,

which showed I have £8 disposable incoime a month,

 

I had explained ove rthe phone and in the letter that I should be able to get money together to make a payment of £50 per month,

 

I am sick to the back teeth of them,

I still havent had a satisfactory result from them regarding the ppi they mis sold me

as I discovered afterwards it didnt cover me as I'm self employed

and it took me four months of phonecalls and letters to get them to cancel it

[purp751]

Hi Brigadier, the letter says "We have considered the offer and regret to advise the offer is unacceptable on the basis that:

The income and expenditure proposals are incomplete

Insufficent free income to enable you to maintain monthly payments"

 

The form was completed as best I could with my wage I draw from the business and the outgoings that are paid from that wage

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Barclaycard dealing with your wifes offer really has no significance when dealing with your account all companies do their own ''thing''.

I wouls certainly refer NW to the OFT Guidance.

[citizenB]

Ah, I think I can see what they are saying.

 

You claim to have £8.00 disposable income per month but have told them you will pay £50.00 per month.

 

Aside from the fact you should not offer more than you can genuinely afford - they are probably thinking that you are hiding something from them.. eg the difference between the £8.00 disposable income and the £50.00 !!

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi Brigadier, the letter says "We have considered the offer and regret to advise the offer is unacceptable on the basis that:

The income and expenditure proposals are incomplete

Insufficent free income to enable you to maintain monthly payments"

 

The form was completed as best I could with my wage I draw from the business and the outgoings that are paid from that wage

 

Is there anything you did not answer on the I&E form.

 

You can of course state that £x per month is all you can offord to pay without hardship take it or leave it , judge would look seriously

at their refusal.

[purp751]

I filled in everything that is paid out of the wage that I draw from the business, other household expenses are paid by my wife from her income, as the cc is in my name only I filled out the I&E from based solely on my income and expenditure

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Ahh there's the answer they want a ''household'' income and expenditure, it's a difficult to make the see that it's your debt alone, especially if another income is contributing to the day economy of a family.

[purp751]

Ah, I think I can see what they are saying.

 

You claim to have £8.00 disposable income per month but have told them you will pay £50.00 per month.

 

Aside from the fact you should not offer more than you can genuinely afford - they are probably thinking that you are hiding something from them.. eg the difference between the £8.00 disposable income and the £50.00 !!

 

Sorry forgot to say during the initial phonecall they said they would probably not accept £50 as it is less than the monthly interest

[purp751]

Ahh there's the answer they want a ''household'' income and expenditure, it's a difficult to make the see that it's your debt alone, especially if another income is contributing to the day economy of a family.

 

Right I shall try again then, not that it will make any odds to the available income, usual Natwest "helpfull banking", having read the article on the new banking code of practice last night though I think theres plenty of breaches of contract from their side that could be brought to bear to persuade them to be more helpfull as a last resort

[citizenB]

Sorry forgot to say during the initial phonecall they said they would probably not accept £50 as it is less than the monthly interest

 

What are they on.. That is the point - you want the interest frozen so you can catch up with yourself !!

[purp751]

You know that and I know that however Natwest as usual live in their own little world

[jackospades]

I was told by the FOS that once you have contacted a lender to inform them of payment difficulties,

and that you want to make payment proposals,

the lender has to treat you sympathetically.

 

this means stopping interest and any charges for an agreed period.

 

If they fail to do this, make a formal complaint to Natwest,

and if you get no joy tell them you're writing to the FOS with the complaint.

 

It may take some time to resolve, but the FOS will tell natwest to refund all the interest and charges etc they have made since you advised them of your situation.

 

meanwhile natwest will default you so they can offer non contract payment terms.

 

I've been paying natwest £1pm for over 6 years, no interest/fees and it's off my CRF now too.

 

They were ok once I filled in the I/E form..and have been fine ever since..kept it in-house too.

[fletch70]

The OFT guidelines say forbearance for vulnerable debtors so not quite the same thing.

 

I think CB has hit it on the head,you show 8 but offer 50 that would sound fishy to me. If you talk to CAB or NDL they can be quite helpful in filling in the I&E forms.

Edited February 23, 2013 by citizenB

[jackospades]

The phrase used by the FOS was.."It (the bank) has an obligation to treat you positively and sympathetically once it is aware you are in financial hardship. If you can only make a nominal payment to your debt, I would not expect xxxxxx Bank to allow this debt to escalate." They also stated "xxxxx Bank should not have charged you any interest and charges between you informing them of your situation and the date the account was closed."

 

As regards the I/E statement submitted by the OP, it is a mute point as to whether this is considered sufficient for the bank to be 'aware' of the financial difficulties...particularly as the OP is accounting for less available monies than that which has been offered.

 

I would probably think that despite some confusion over the figures, it does enough to satisfy making the bank aware. But I might be wrong.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Exactly right, the OFT Guidance is clear on this, it most certainly does not refer only to those considered vulnerable.

[fletch70]

Sorry i missed an important bit out however In section 2.2 of the debt collection guidelines it says exercise forbearance and consideration in particular towards debtors experiencing difficulty.

It then goes on to say establish and implement clear appropriate and effective policies and procedures for identifying and dealing with particularly vulnerable debtors.

 

The problem is unless we provide accurate details of our circumstances how can they know. I guess as well that the definition of difficulty is subjective. I have a friend who thinks they are struggling because their income has dropped to 50k.

 

It Will also depend on if any reasonable estimate of how long the difficulties Will last.

[purp751]

Well having done some more workings out and still having got nowhere fast with Natwest we have taken advice and put all our personal debt into a debt redution plan,if Natwest had been reasonable I would have dealt directly witht hem to repay the debt as they havent they can reap what they sow, thanks for all the advice

[fletch70]

I can't say i blame you. It really does take the stress out of it. Can i ask if you have gone for a free or commercial debt solution?

[citizenB]

I have a friend who thinks they are struggling because their income has dropped to 50k.

 

I am sure a few of us on CAG would like to be struggling on this amount

[fletch70]

Indeed. What i was trying to say is that financial difficulties are subjective and who could blame a bank wanting to be sure they are genuine.

Don't get me wrong he is aware that he is fortunate but they have gone from 200k combined to 50k

[purp751]

I can't say i blame you. It really does take the stress out of it. Can i ask if you have gone for a free or commercial debt solution?

 

Hi Fletch,

gone commercial as was recommended as a good one, on no win no fee,

 

Natwest are still on their usual though

 

had a letter the other day stating they had not heard from our debt management company

and if they did not in 14 days would resume debt collection action,

 

well obviously they have heard from our debt managenment company

else they would not know I'm with one, its like banging your head on a wall

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Why not put that question to Natwest, how do they know about the DMC.?