Not upheld: unfair treatment of vulnerable consumer; alleged breach of CONC 7.2, CONC 7.9 and Principle 6 regarding forbearance and fair treatment complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6044595 of 2026-04-29T00:00:00+00:00. unfair treatment of vulnerable consumer; alleged breach of CONC 7.2, CONC 7.9 and Principle 6 regarding forbearance and fair treatment complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest). Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6044595 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-29T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest) |
| Product | Overdraft |
| Claim type | unfair treatment of vulnerable consumer; alleged breach of CONC 7.2, CONC 7.9 and Principle 6 regarding forbearance and fair treatment |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None ordered. The ombudsman urged Mr A to engage with the third party debt holder and seek assistance from a trusted relative or debt charity. |
Summary
Mr A complained that NatWest treated him unfairly after he disclosed a mental health crisis in July 2022 and requested debt forbearance, supported by medical evidence. He alleged NatWest breached FCA guidelines by failing to show forbearance and escalating the matter despite established vulnerability. NatWest's Specialist Support Team wrote off interest from September 2022 onwards but ultimately removed the account from SST in August 2023 and sold the debt in October 2025 after Mr A failed to provide complete requested financial information despite multiple contact attempts. The ombudsman rejected the complaint, finding NatWest had acted reasonably in requiring information to provide appropriate assistance and could not maintain the account on SST indefinitely without such information.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that NatWest had acted fairly because: (1) it needed current financial information to provide appropriate assistance, which Mr A did not fully provide; (2) the account could not remain indefinitely on the Specialist Support Team without information; (3) forbearance was shown through interest write-off and cessation; (4) NatWest made reasonable attempts to contact Mr A over several years; and (5) the decision to sell the debt was reasonable given the circumstances and the time elapsed.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest), all decisions | 91 | 6% |
| Overdraft, all decisions | 3,791 | 24% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website