Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

[Ragamuffin]

Hello all,

This is an odd situation, I broke up with my ex about 3 years ago and we had a joint account which had an overdraft that existed before I was even on the account. He wanted to get a loan from Natwest and they told him that he wouldn't be entitled to the loan but would get the loan if I joined his bank account as a joint holder. They declined the loan anyway afterwards.

I filled in the forms and provided documents but still they processed this information and put the wrong date of birth in.

When we broke up, a week later, both me and my ex went down on a Saturday and removed myself from the joint account and they took my old bank card off me at that point relating to the account. They stopped sending me letters and removed the record for that debt off my credit report.

My ex continued to operate that account as solely his from that point, He was struggling to maintain his overdraft and fell in to debt.

Natwest then began ringing me to which I advised I had not liability for the debt, I no longer held the account which they now deny saying I was never taken off the account? They say they have no record of it and sadly I dont have the letter they gave me because it's been lost in the move and been about 3 years since i've had any contact with Natwest and I never suspected I'd need it again. I also could not discuss the accoutn with them over the phone because they hold an address for me I don't know and have never lived at because it's the ex's. Plus they had the wrong DOB for me despite my documents on file.

Whoever is dealing with the debt, possibly not belonging to Natwest directly called me about the debt, I advised the situation but again could not complete security. He asked me for details for my ex which I did not provide because I don't know who they are and whether they are even legitimate. He then quoted my current address which I've never provided Natwest or anyone related. I asked where he had gotten the address from and he said 'Probably from your husband'. My ex isn't my husband and never had been, he also did not provide them with my address and he himself has stated the same to Natwest that I was taken off the account.

Yesterday, Natwest or the debt company on their behalf on Natwest headed paper, sent me a letter about the debt and demanding payment of £3,300.00 plus a number of threats on the back of it.

I am finding this extremely distressing and I dealt with this 3 years ago and been removed. I haven't had any letters from them in that time period plus do not hold a card for it etc.

They stated they'd cancelled the overdraft and are demanding full payment of the overdraft, my ex advised he has made an agreement to clear the debt which they haven't accepted.

I feel they've obtained my details dishonestly and breached data protection and my privacy. Plus we have a child together and providing me details regarding my ex's financial situation could actually be a problem for him if he was earning more and I used it for CSA purposes.

I feel that Natwest's behavior is of detriment to him plus me, but I do not know how to proceed regarding it. Plus, even if my ex provided them my address, should they really go about updating my details on the back of a third party? It seems like it's open to all sorts of fraudulent potential?

Kind regards, I appreciate any help you can offer.

[leclerc]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

Hello all,

This is an odd situation, I broke up with my ex about 3 years ago and we had a joint account which had an overdraft that existed before I was even on the account. He wanted to get a loan from Natwest and they told him that he wouldn't be entitled to the loan but would get the loan if I joined his bank account as a joint holder. They declined the loan anyway afterwards.

I filled in the forms and provided documents but still they processed this information and put the wrong date of birth in.

When we broke up, a week later, both me and my ex went down on a Saturday and removed myself from the joint account and they took my old bank card off me at that point relating to the account. They stopped sending me letters and removed the record for that debt off my credit report.
He can't do this without your signature on a form to remove you from the account although taking your card at that point should have a relevant marker on the account re card cancelled. You might want to check this point with them in this respect.
Did you sign any letter for him to take to the bank? Something is missing from your narrative since you say that they stopped sending you letters and removed your default markers. It's important to know when?

My ex continued to operate that account as solely his from that point, He was struggling to maintain his overdraft and fell in to debt.

Natwest then began ringing me to which I advised I had not liability for the debt, I no longer held the account which they now deny saying I was never taken off the account? They say they have no record of it and sadly I dont have the letter they gave me because it's been lost in the move and been about 3 years since i've had any contact with Natwest and I never suspected I'd need it again. I also could not discuss the accoutn with them over the phone because they hold an address for me I don't know and have never lived at because it's the ex's. Plus they had the wrong DOB for me despite my documents on file.
Was a complaint ever rasied about the date of birth issue at that time? Have you asked them to fish out the joint account joining paperwork and confirm that the DOB was incorrect?


Whoever is dealing with the debt, possibly not belonging to Natwest directly called me about the debt, I advised the situation but again could not complete security. He asked me for details for my ex which I did not provide because I don't know who they are and whether they are even legitimate. He then quoted my current address which I've never provided Natwest or anyone related. I asked where he had gotten the address from and he said 'Probably from your husband'. My ex isn't my husband and never had been, he also did not provide them with my address and he himself has stated the same to Natwest that I was taken off the account.
He's potentially lying to get information from you.
Yesterday, Natwest or the debt company on their behalf on Natwest headed paper, sent me a letter about the debt and demanding payment of £3,300.00 plus a number of threats on the back of it
What was the address given on the headed notepaper?

I am finding this extremely distressing and I dealt with this 3 years ago and been removed. I haven't had any letters from them in that time period plus do not hold a card for it etc.

They stated they'd cancelled the overdraft and are demanding full payment of the overdraft, my ex advised he has made an agreement to clear the debt which they haven't accepted.

I feel they've obtained my details dishonestly and breached data protection and my privacy. Plus we have a child together and providing me details regarding my ex's financial situation could actually be a problem for him if he was earning more and I used it for CSA purposes
Until we have ascertained whether they have made any mistake then jumping to conclusions will not help.
I feel that Natwest's behavior is of detriment to him plus me, but I do not know how to proceed regarding it. Plus, even if my ex provided them my address, should they really go about updating my details on the back of a third party? It seems like it's open to all sorts of fraudulent potential?

Kind regards, I appreciate any help you can offer.

having seen the above and made comments on the above, there are a few things to ask.
1) What is the address that natwest has sent the letter from?
2) What authorisation in writing did you give to your other half to remove yourself from the account?(if the answer is none then that is a problem).
3) three years ago you said you spoke to your natwest and told them you were no longer together, do you remember exactly when?(that might help reduce the overall amount since clearly the account should have been blocked at this point since they were told that you were not together).

Let's start with the above three questions and work onwards with this.....

[Ragamuffin]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

1) I don't have the letter on me as I'm at work but it came from a Birmingham address.
2) Both me and my ex were present when we completed the forms to remove myself from the account so it was authorized by both of us.
3) To be specific, it's probably has been 2 years since - September 28th 2012 would be the exact date we had the appointment at the branch in which we both filled in the paperwork to have me removed.

In relation to your comments: My ex accepts full liability for the overdraft, So I don't believe he is lying about anything although as you can imagine this has caused some tension between us.

I asked Natwest to check the original documents which they at first didn't do, the second time she said she did but couldn't find anything adn the third time he finally sorted it so it's correct now.

I do know that Natwest have made a mistake because I filled in the form to remove me and my ex did the part he needed to do at the same time.

[Amethyst]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

Send a Subject Access Request to Natwest which should show up all these details of taking you off of the account, screen notes and appointment records.

[Ragamuffin]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

If it's a SAR on a joint account (although technically not) Do I need to follow any procedure? Or get written consent from my ex?

[leclerc]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

1) I don't have the letter on me as I'm at work but it came from a Birmingham address.
Ok that may well be Birmingham collections potentially

2) Both me and my ex were present when we completed the forms to remove myself from the account so it was authorized by both of us.
That means that you may well be able to remember the customer bank worker you spoke to, ie male or female and they would have completed a form. They should have cancelled the card on the account on their system so clearly something must clearly have been marked on the card which is good

3) To be specific, it's probably has been 2 years since - September 28th 2012 would be the exact date we had the appointment at the branch in which we both filled in the paperwork to have me removed.
Was the issue of the date of birth ever discussed in that meeting due to the fact that you were being removed?

In relation to your comments: My ex accepts full liability for the overdraft, So I don't believe he is lying about anything although as you can imagine this has caused some tension between us.
Just to be clear with you, I can only base any comments on the information given. Now that we have the full facts then clearly my viewpoint is that you have acted correctly and that clearly when the form was taken in that it would have been sent for processing so there MUST be a record somewhere of that document even if there was an issue with the paperwork
I asked Natwest to check the original documents which they at first didn't do, the second time she said she did but couldn't find anything adn the third time he finally sorted it so it's correct now.

I do know that Natwest have made a mistake because I filled in the form to remove me and my ex did the part he needed to do at the same time.

I think there is a natwest error in view of point 2 so clearly we need to work out when you went into the branch if that is possible, ie month and year would be good for now since the bank can do an audit check on the account to see who accessed the account details since clearly they must have looked at the account on that day.
Once we do have that then, yes it is possible as Amethyst has said to do a SAR but perhaps what might be even more useful is to make a formal complaint on the basis of maladministration of the account because you went into the branch, completed paperwork and either the paperwork was lost or that the instruction to convert the account was not completed.

Here is one reason why it might not have been done: was the account in credit on the point in which you asked for it yourself to be removed? If the answer is NO then the fault lies with the branch bank worker you spoke to because the account MUST be in credit prior to someone being removed from it. I'd still say it's maladministration btw.

[Ragamuffin]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

Just an update on this one. The account was likely in the agreed overdraft but the woman advised that as the overdraft existed before I went on the account there would be no problem with it going back to sole account in his name.

My ex processed his complaint btu didn't send on to the Financial Ombudsmen afterwards. I haven't seen the letter but he is bringing me a copy and said his says that it says yes we did tell you several times she was removed from the account etc etc but they haven't fixed the problem.

I've made a complaint in my own right now and they responded on the phone saying they had no record of me being removed and I asked for written confirmation. In the letter however it states something different than I was told on the phone she advises that they have a record on the 29th September 2012 that I completed a remove party from the the joint account.

She said that they sent me a letter on the 5th October 2012 (I never received this letter?) requesting confirmation of my income and mentioned the overdraft on the account. This was diarised for 30 days and without response from you the case was closed 6th December 2012 and I wasn't removed.

I'm confused regarding why they would need my income details to be removed? If they needed this information why it wasn't done in branch or part of the form I completed in branch. I moved in the month of October so potentially the letter missed me after all I had just broken up with my ex and he moved back in with his parents and I moved in to my own accommodation with my daughter.

They were told the situation in branch that we had split up. Why had they kept telling my ex that I was removed from the account if I wasn't?

This is all very frustrating. I assume my next port of call in the Ombudsmen??

[leclerc]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

That is a nonsense that you need to supply information to the bank about YOUR income if you are coming OFF the account since the overdraft facility is serviced by the other party to the account and not yourself.

That does sound strange that they did not process the removal since the request was clearly in a valid form(apart from their nonsense over your income)....

[Ragamuffin]

Re: Natwest Joint Account Overdraft - Help

I just wanted to add an update to advise an outcome. I did have to take this to the Ombudsmen in the end. Natwest did finally back track and remove me off the account. Quite a little after the event but its always nice to hear the outcome of problems or so I believe.