Metro Bank’s credit file markers are adding to the pain of our son’s death | Banks and building societies

Our 19-year-old son died in July after a long illness. The last years of his life were very difficult as we tried to support him while keeping life as normal as possible for our other children.

Amidst the stress, we were late with two payments on our mortgage from Metro Bank in February and March. As of April we are fully up to date.

Recently, our application to remortgage our home with Nationwide was denied because Metro had placed late payment markers on our credit report.

We explained the circumstances in August and, given our good repayment history, we requested it to remove the markers as a gesture of goodwill. He refused. This causes us extreme stress as we rebuild after our loss.
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Your family has endured unimaginable anguish. Your son died in hospital and you are awaiting an investigation to determine the cause. During the pandemic, the 14-year-old suffered an acute nervous breakdown.

Over the next five years, he was repeatedly sectioned, hospitalized and housed in secure children’s homes 60 miles away. For two years, you had to manage his care at home until it became impossible to keep him and your other children safe. His last nine months were spent in supported accommodation and you traveled 120 miles round trip to visit him several times a week.

This is when you fell behind on your repayments twice. Credit reports should reflect missed payments or defaults so that lenders can make informed decisions about whether an applicant can afford the transaction they are requesting.

However, according to rating agency Experian, lenders may choose to amend records in exceptional circumstances. Your situation is certainly exceptional, so I asked Metro if they could remove the tags.

This time it was okay. He told me that if he had known about your ordeal when the payments were missed, he would have taken note.

“We understand that not all customers want to talk to their bank about their personal situation,” a spokesperson said. “However, for those facing financial difficulties, we advise speaking to us as soon as possible to discuss the support options available.”

Nationwide told me they were also unaware of the extenuating circumstances and promised to review your application. Unfortunately, this resulted in a second rejection because the bank statements you submitted suggested you would struggle to repay the loan.

You say the cost of your son’s funeral has temporarily depleted your balance. I suggest you wait until your finances have recovered and then reapply for a mortgage, as multiple applications in a short period of time can hurt your credit score. In the meantime, I wish you and your family the best of luck in your future without your son.

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