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Hi Everyone
I hope I can get some advice as to what to do next.
I opened a student overdraft account in 2008 and paid my student loan into it in September. The account was opened in Northern Ireland and there is no branches anywhere else in the UK. My uni was on the mainland. I want to be careful not to give too much away but the problems began in Jan 2009 and are ongoing to this day!
JAN 2009
I received threatening phone calls, voice mail messages & letters from a private agency hired by Ulster Bank chasing me for alleged debt. I should add at this point that the debt in question belonged to a lady with the same first initial as mine and a similar surname.
The guy was very agressive and was making reference to places i have never lived and so on. This went on for a few days and only stopped when during one phone call the man asked for my DOB. He hung up without saying another word. He then rang my mother at home and apologised to her (not me).
April 2009
Things went quiet for 3 months, and then in april 2009 I got a letter from Ulster Bank themselevs (which was addressed to the lady they were confusing me with). I mistakinlgy opened the letter as we have similar looking names and the letter was asking for debts to be repaid and it asked to contact Ulster Bank to arrange repayment. I couldn't believe they had made the mistake again, and to add to that I now had her full sort code and account number at my disposal. I then rang Ulster bank and told them about this. They apoligised and told me it was a technical error and that it wouldn't happen again.
Nov 2009
I went to buy something in a shop and my card was declined! When i called Ulster bank they said my overdraft facility had dropped off and they couldn't give me a reason why. They told me that it would be placed back on the following day.
I was left as a student in an airport on the mainland with no money. This reoccurred every few weeks without fail. Ulster bank throughout this could offer me no reasons as to why this kept happening. My local branch began to know me on first name terms.
Feb 2010
I wanted to make a payment online for rent but the card was declined. So fearing the worst i called the branch. They advised me to try it in a hole in the wall. I duly did this and my card was promptly swallowed! I asked in the branch of RBS where my card was swallowed and they told me it is shredded within the ATM. This meant i was left with no way of accessing money (as all ulster bank branches are located in NI only).
I called Ulster bank outraged, and they rang the recoveries dept and they said my account was placed in recovery and it had to be cleared before i would be issued with a new card, which could take weeks to be sent out. So there i was with my rent still to pay (to a very over bearing scottish man) with no money and no way of getting any. This was a catalyst for my decision to leave uni as it caused extreme financial and personal pressure and animosity between me, my co habitants and my landlord to the point were he told me he "would rather i shipped out of the flat". I still have this phone call saved on my phone.
Faced with this, my bf paid for a boat for me to come back home to try and sort this out once and for all. What followed was another letter from the recoveries dept demanding money, each time i called up to try and get it sorted no one could explain it still and i even had one lady laugh as i explained my situation to her at Ulster Banks head office in Belfast.
March 2010
I was given another assurance this would never happen again. The recoveries dept had told my local branch it had been fixed and would never happen again. I got a replacement card late march. My account was bumped up by £250. I later found out this was from Ulster Bank via letter.
April 2010
I received another letter asking for me to pay off debt (again the debt of the other woman) and that my account was put into recovery. I then rang the recoveries dept directly and explained my case. The team leader spoke with me after several phone calls to this dept back and forward. He gave me assuance it had finally been resolved. I asked if all this had affected my credit rating. He said no it would not.
July 2010
I tried to open a new student account with halifax as i decided to go back to uni. The application was declined. I have never had bad credit in my life. Infact i never had credit before the Ulster Bank overdraft. Halifax couldn't say why it was declined so i decided to check my credit report. To my horror i discovered that Ulster Bank had filed a default on my credit report. The kicker here was that the default was in THE OTHER LADYS NAME!
Furious, i contacted Ulster Bank in branch again and they assured me they would get it sorted out. The recoveries team leader rang me four days later. When i explained what had happened, he said he had been in contact with equifax and that he could not remove the default!!!
So now i had to have this removed myself with a notice of correction. The default was removed from my account totally. Equifax confirmed this. I have not checked my report since. My solicitor had written to them and they said I had been compensated £250 which should be "satisfactory" (never mind the cost of travel to get home to sort the mess out and repaying friends who gave me money to eat) and that Ulster Bank resolved the problem with my credit file (which they did not, I did via NOC).
Nov 2010
I received another letter asking me to contact the branch. I did so and they told me they want the over draft repaid as i had not paid the student loan into it this year. I explained to the lady on the phone my situation and she said and i quote "oh your that girl". She then asked me to prove that i still received a student loan and she would see what she could do given the circumstances. I suspect she will do bugger all and I will be forced to make repayments i cant afford.
Is there anything I can do because i had a solicitor and he has done bugger all too. The compensation actually came because I had drafted a letter explaining the above (in march 2010) and sent it to Ulster Banks Internal complaints procedure.
Since Ulster Bank have said they feel the complaint has been dealt with, what can I do now?? Can anyone help me please. If Ulster Bank had not of cocked up my Overdraft so badly I wouldn't have opened a new account and I wouldn't be in this mess.
I hope I can get some advice as to what to do next.
I opened a student overdraft account in 2008 and paid my student loan into it in September. The account was opened in Northern Ireland and there is no branches anywhere else in the UK. My uni was on the mainland. I want to be careful not to give too much away but the problems began in Jan 2009 and are ongoing to this day!
JAN 2009
I received threatening phone calls, voice mail messages & letters from a private agency hired by Ulster Bank chasing me for alleged debt. I should add at this point that the debt in question belonged to a lady with the same first initial as mine and a similar surname.
The guy was very agressive and was making reference to places i have never lived and so on. This went on for a few days and only stopped when during one phone call the man asked for my DOB. He hung up without saying another word. He then rang my mother at home and apologised to her (not me).
April 2009
Things went quiet for 3 months, and then in april 2009 I got a letter from Ulster Bank themselevs (which was addressed to the lady they were confusing me with). I mistakinlgy opened the letter as we have similar looking names and the letter was asking for debts to be repaid and it asked to contact Ulster Bank to arrange repayment. I couldn't believe they had made the mistake again, and to add to that I now had her full sort code and account number at my disposal. I then rang Ulster bank and told them about this. They apoligised and told me it was a technical error and that it wouldn't happen again.
Nov 2009
I went to buy something in a shop and my card was declined! When i called Ulster bank they said my overdraft facility had dropped off and they couldn't give me a reason why. They told me that it would be placed back on the following day.
I was left as a student in an airport on the mainland with no money. This reoccurred every few weeks without fail. Ulster bank throughout this could offer me no reasons as to why this kept happening. My local branch began to know me on first name terms.
Feb 2010
I wanted to make a payment online for rent but the card was declined. So fearing the worst i called the branch. They advised me to try it in a hole in the wall. I duly did this and my card was promptly swallowed! I asked in the branch of RBS where my card was swallowed and they told me it is shredded within the ATM. This meant i was left with no way of accessing money (as all ulster bank branches are located in NI only).
I called Ulster bank outraged, and they rang the recoveries dept and they said my account was placed in recovery and it had to be cleared before i would be issued with a new card, which could take weeks to be sent out. So there i was with my rent still to pay (to a very over bearing scottish man) with no money and no way of getting any. This was a catalyst for my decision to leave uni as it caused extreme financial and personal pressure and animosity between me, my co habitants and my landlord to the point were he told me he "would rather i shipped out of the flat". I still have this phone call saved on my phone.
Faced with this, my bf paid for a boat for me to come back home to try and sort this out once and for all. What followed was another letter from the recoveries dept demanding money, each time i called up to try and get it sorted no one could explain it still and i even had one lady laugh as i explained my situation to her at Ulster Banks head office in Belfast.
March 2010
I was given another assurance this would never happen again. The recoveries dept had told my local branch it had been fixed and would never happen again. I got a replacement card late march. My account was bumped up by £250. I later found out this was from Ulster Bank via letter.
April 2010
I received another letter asking for me to pay off debt (again the debt of the other woman) and that my account was put into recovery. I then rang the recoveries dept directly and explained my case. The team leader spoke with me after several phone calls to this dept back and forward. He gave me assuance it had finally been resolved. I asked if all this had affected my credit rating. He said no it would not.
July 2010
I tried to open a new student account with halifax as i decided to go back to uni. The application was declined. I have never had bad credit in my life. Infact i never had credit before the Ulster Bank overdraft. Halifax couldn't say why it was declined so i decided to check my credit report. To my horror i discovered that Ulster Bank had filed a default on my credit report. The kicker here was that the default was in THE OTHER LADYS NAME!
Furious, i contacted Ulster Bank in branch again and they assured me they would get it sorted out. The recoveries team leader rang me four days later. When i explained what had happened, he said he had been in contact with equifax and that he could not remove the default!!!
So now i had to have this removed myself with a notice of correction. The default was removed from my account totally. Equifax confirmed this. I have not checked my report since. My solicitor had written to them and they said I had been compensated £250 which should be "satisfactory" (never mind the cost of travel to get home to sort the mess out and repaying friends who gave me money to eat) and that Ulster Bank resolved the problem with my credit file (which they did not, I did via NOC).
Nov 2010
I received another letter asking me to contact the branch. I did so and they told me they want the over draft repaid as i had not paid the student loan into it this year. I explained to the lady on the phone my situation and she said and i quote "oh your that girl". She then asked me to prove that i still received a student loan and she would see what she could do given the circumstances. I suspect she will do bugger all and I will be forced to make repayments i cant afford.
Is there anything I can do because i had a solicitor and he has done bugger all too. The compensation actually came because I had drafted a letter explaining the above (in march 2010) and sent it to Ulster Banks Internal complaints procedure.
Since Ulster Bank have said they feel the complaint has been dealt with, what can I do now?? Can anyone help me please. If Ulster Bank had not of cocked up my Overdraft so badly I wouldn't have opened a new account and I wouldn't be in this mess.
gh
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