Help with NatWest Professional Training Loan

[Emmalouise1989]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post here so I apologise in advance if I miss any key points out.

 

I'm looking for some advice with regards to numerous problems I've had with my Professional Training loan I took out with Natwest about five years ago.

 

Bit of Background

This has become something of a long story so please bear with me.

 

 

I took the loan out for £20k, around £30k by the time interest went on (can't remember exact amounts, it was a long time ago)

to put me through Law School.

 

 

About 3 - 4 months after I took the loan out, I found out that NatWest were not going to offer the loan any more

and as such the 'graduate specialist' that I had been assigned to help with problems I had was reassigned to another area of the bank,

and I was told she could no longer help me, I had to deal with the graduate area of the call centre.

 

Problems

1. As far as I (and my parents, who were in the initial loan meeting with me) can remember, I was told my repayments would be around £150 - £190,

and they would confirm this with me in writing nearer the time of my payments commencing, towards the end of my year's loan deferral while I was studying.

 

 

I put in a call to the call centre around October (loan payments due to start in January) to check the amount as I hadn't heard anything,

and was told again £150 or so. I wrote this on the back of a notepad I had as I hadn't had anything in writing from them.

 

First payment for £299 goes out in January.

Obviously this is almost double their lower estimate of £150.

When I queried this, I was told it was an 'administrative error' and that the lady who had given me the £150 figure had not factored in the interest.

 

 

When I put in a complaint, I was told that unless I could produce it in writing they would not take my complaint any further.

Funnily enough, both times, these figures were given to me verbally, and the only recourse the bank would offer was to increase my overdraft.

 

 

I have been struggling along but making the £299 payments for the last 4 or so years having decided that I would just get on and manage.

 

2. This product came with a year's payment holiday while I was studying, with the option of an extra 3 months if I went to a particular Law School (which I did).

I initially turned down the extra 3 months on the basis that it would be an incentive to get a job.

 

 

I got a job straight out of college, but unfortunately had to move out of my rental accommodation on incredibly short notice

(landlord sold the house out from under me) which floored my finances around November time (again, repayments officially due to start in January).

 

I went into my local branch and put in the request for the extra 3 months payment holiday I was told I could have.

Nobody knew about this, and after lots of to-ing and fro-ing we finally established that, yes, I could apply for it.

 

 

I went through the paperwork with a lady in the branch and she told me she would submit it and I didn't need to do anything further.

I heard nothing further from them, and as stated above my first loan payment went out unexpectedly in January, instead of April as I was expecting.

 

Calling back into the branch, the lady I spoke to there could remember me filling in the paperwork and she said she sent it off,

but the admin centre denied all knowledge, claiming to have never received it.

 

 

Another complaint made and I was told there was nothing they could do, once they had started the loan payments they couldn't delay them again.

Again, they offered to increase my overdraft rather than solve the problem.

 

3. When I took the loan out, I was told it wouldn't affect my ability to get a mortgage as it was classed as a 'Student Debt'.

Now my partner and I are trying to buy our first property together, and following a meeting with a mortgage adviser,

was told that this loan does indeed count against me and most banks will not touch me as long as that loan is outstanding.

I have about six years of repayments left - and we simply cannot wait that long to get a house.

 

 

Yet another complaint to the bank and I was told this was obviously another 'admin error' from someone who didn't understand the loan fully,

and again, if I can produce written evidence they will consider my complaint. Yet again, no written evidence.

 

I am absolutely at the end of my rope with the bank and the 'admin errors' I keep encountering,

they don't seem to appreciate that their 'silly mistakes' are causing me huge stress with my finances.

 

Can anyone give me any advice as to where I go from here?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the rant

[dx100uk]

it might pay you to sent them an sar

 

 

that will get you a full copy of all the paperwork

including, hopefully the agreement you signed.

 

 

did they make you take out any silly insurances like PPI etc etc?

dx

[Emmalouise1989]

Thankfully not, no. I think I actually took this loan out after all the PPI stuff kicked off so it wasn't offered.

 

I have copies of my paperwork and everywhere it lists things like repayments and such they are either left blank or 'to be discussed', 'to be determined'. This seems to be the problem, as I can't produce proof of the verbal conversations we had when it was discussed. I don't seem to be able to get them to do literally anything without somehow proving what was said. I do recall several conversations with their call centre where I requested they email me with details of my loan repayments and such and was informed they 'don't put information like that in writing'. Probably for this exact reason.

[dx100uk]

get an sar off

they must detail your telephone conversations with brief note

 

 

might have something

[BankFodder]

Yes, take the advice above and get the SAR. The first document disclosure may contain very little but if you find that it misses things like screen notes and telephone records and so forth then you will need to complain to them that they have not complied with your disclosure request and that you want them to let you have everything.

 

Don't expect a lot of cooperation from the bank.

 

One thing you can learn here is never to trust them. If you ever have any meetings with your bank then you should take in a concealed recorder and make sure you get everything. If you have telephone calls with the bank then you must record them. Stop doing things on the telephone without getting a recorder and making sure that you get evidence of everything that is ever said.

 

When the banks try to sell you something you will find that they say anything they want. It is typical of them to be vague about all the repayments – but I don't believe that they don't put this kind of thing down in writing. It seems to be casual and reckless to my mind.

 

See what you come up with – and get ready to make a complaint to the ombudsman in any event. Don't expect an ombudsman complaint to be particularly quick – in fact you can expect it to be particularly slow. Even if you don't manage to get the evidence that you need to substantiate a firm complaint, you can still complain about the casual way and over in formal and non-businesslike way that this situation has been managed by the bank.

 

However, once you get some recorders, it would be a good idea to start trying to have meetings and conversations with the bank and hopefully get them to commit themselves in a way which you can then use as the basis for a serious complaint. – In other words you should try and stitch them up.

[Emmalouise1989]

Thanks for the advice, both of you. I've got the SAR ready to go so hopefully that will turn up something useful.

 

Watch this space.