Partially upheld: account access failures, default reporting, communication issues complaint against NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (NatWest)
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5951701 of 2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00. account access failures, default reporting, communication issues complaint against NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (NatWest). Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5951701 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (NatWest) |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | account access failures, default reporting, communication issues |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Pay Mr B £300 compensation (less any amount already paid) for distress and inconvenience caused. Refund the costs of calls Mr B made to NatWest between February and August 2025 if Mr B supplies evidence of these costs. |
Summary
Mr B complained about a default reported to credit reference agencies on his loan account and issues accessing his accounts after moving abroad in January 2025. NatWest had granted a three-month payment break but account blocks prevented Mr B from accessing online banking, making calls, or using online chat from abroad. After the payment break ended, Mr B missed loan payments from May 2025 onwards and a default was recorded in June 2025. The ombudsman found NatWest should have been clearer about why the account blocks were in place but upheld the default as appropriate, since Mr B's current account lacked sufficient funds to make payments regardless of online access. The ombudsman awarded £300 compensation and ordered refund of call costs, rejecting claims regarding GDPR breaches, discrimination, and consumer duty violations.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Mr B did experience genuine issues accessing his accounts from abroad and that NatWest could have been clearer about why these issues were occurring rather than maintaining he could use methods he had already shown he was having trouble with. However, the ombudsman was not satisfied that full access to online banking would have prevented the missed payments, as Mr B's current account lacked sufficient funds and the eventual payment came from his father. The ombudsman noted that NatWest's terms and conditions transparently disclosed that account functionality could not be maintained for customers outside the UK, and that NatWest was required to report accurately to credit reference agencies. The ombudsman rejected claims regarding GDPR breaches, discrimination, and consumer duty violations as either outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction or not substantiated by the evidence.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (NatWest), all decisions | 92 | 5% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 22,070 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website