Natwest Credit Card Default

[Frankie15]

Hey, I am wondering if anyone can give me any advice - I have a default on my Experian from a Natwest credit card. Basically I moved abroad around four years ago and my direct debits for the min payment of my card stopped after around a year. I didn't receive any correspondence to my new address, then three years later I get a letter from a debt collection agency to my parents house. I paid the debt off in full (this is around a year ago now) and now I have moved back to the UK and looking to get a mortgage next year. Is there anyway the default could be removed due to the fact the didn't send any default notice to any address, let alone my new one? I have written to them a few times and all they have said is now the account is closed and settled they can't find any information on it, it isn't even showing as settled on Experian!

Sorry for the essay, any help would be great!

Thanks,
Frankie

[Debt Camel]

Re: Natwest Credit Card Default

Hi Frankie,

Did you inform the bank that you had moved? If you did, then you have a good case for saying that the bank should have contacted you at your new address, not defaulted the account and passed it to a debt collector. This is the "“I was never properly informed about the debt” case in this article: http://debtcamel.co.uk/get-rid-of-a-default/

It sounds as though the banks systems are in rather a mess so they may not be able to find whether you told them that you were moving.. In this case I suggest a letter of complaint from you saying that you did notify them of your new address and you settled the debt promptly when you became aware of it, so you consider a default is unfair. Ask them to delete it or you will take your case to the Financial Ombudsman. (The FO not the ICO as this is more easily treated as a matter of fairness than of the ICO's rules).

Ultimately if they refuse and FO says no, you can at least insist the credit record should be changed to show a balance of zero and with the correct settlement date. I don't suggest mentioning this now as it will obscure what you really want to happen.