Banking Blunder at NatWest Almost Costs Homeowner Their New Property: How It Happened!

About two weeks prior to the finalization of purchasing my new house, I informed my bank, NatWest, about the incoming transfer meant for my solicitor through my current account. The bank confirmed everything was in order and even sent a complimentary bottle of alcohol as a gesture of goodwill.

After transferring £260,000 to my account, NatWest unexpectedly denied me access to my own funds. Initially, they demanded that I send sensitive information via a public fax service, followed by a requirement to update my biometric information at a bank branch.

They directed me to branches far from my residence in Northern Ireland—one in Cornwall and another in the Hebrides. In response, I arranged a ferry trip to the mainland. However, in a last-minute change, the bank allowed me to update my biometrics locally at Ulster Bank.

During this time, the sellers of the property grew impatient and decided to relist it for sale.

In a state of urgency, I contacted NatWest’s fraud department, which then informed me that I could have authorized a Chaps payment over the phone all along. Following my instruction, the bank confirmed the recipient’s account details and promised an immediate transfer. Unfortunately, this promise was broken twice due to the bank misrecording the sort code. For this oversight, NatWest offered a mere £175 compensation.

AF, Bangor, Co Down

The transaction was completed two weeks later than intended, with NatWest’s delays nearly costing you the house and incurring additional month’s rent.

You described the ordeal of being denied access to your life savings as horrifying. When I investigated, NatWest issued an apology for the “inconvenience” and acknowledged a “service failing” that led to a “slight delay”, specifically related to the sort code mistake.

The bank stated that the extra measures were for security purposes and only conceded to more service errors after persistent questioning. They admitted they should have considered “emergency” measures for quicker information exchange and finally acknowledged that your experience fell below their usual standards. Your complaint is now being reviewed by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

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