Natwest Loans Review

Good Points
None.

Bad Points
Everything.

General Comments
I took out a £5,000 loan with Natwest in 2003 to cover credit card debt and overdraft. Not realising the slippery loan slope, I then had to take out a further £7,000 in December 2004 to cover more debts and the previous loan. The bank were tripping over themselves to give me the money, and when I went in to sign the forms I was told that the money would arrive in my account shortly before Christmas, and £5,000 would be "bounced" out into my Natwest credit card account, with £2,000 left in my current to clear my overdraft. I asked repeatedly if I had to make any transactions to complete this "bounce" of money, but my personal banking manager reassured me that it would all be done by the bank. After a long Christmas holiday, I was surprised to find that I had much more money than I thought in my current account. So, I paid off several bills and credit cards with the left over money, thinking I was well on my way to getting my finances in order. In May 2005 I received a call from Natwest saying that I owed them £12,000 and they were cancelling my credit card and freezing my current account until I paid them. The "bounce" had not taken place, and the loan money had NOT gone to my credit card or previous loan account, but it had sat in my current account the whole time, hence my surprise at the healthy state of my bank account. I had an emergency meeting with my personal banking manager, in which he said that he had "accidentally forgotten" to make the infamous "bounce" transaction and he was "really sorry" but there was nothing he could do, and I still owed the bank £12,000 because I had spent the money, despite on my loan form the reason for the loan was to clear my Natwest credit card and overdraft, not for any other purpose. I approached the financial ombudsman who stated that although it would be illegal for me to use the loan money for something else (like a car), it wasn't illegal for them to forget to transfer it. I kicked up a large fuss with Natwest, after which they fired my personal banking manager and gave me a "goodwill payment" of £300. I carried on pressing charges and had a meeting with my new and highly sycophantic bank manager last July, who promised he'd have a full report for me within a month. He has not returned my calls, messages and letters since.