FNB and Barrett and Associates - ********* Practices!!

My experience with FNB has been extremely frustrating and confusing. FNB handed my loan over to Barrett & Associates, who notified me of this and sent me a settlement amount. No one from FNB had contacted me prior, this is an old account and I had no idea there was even an amount outstanding. I no longer bank with them. As soon as I received the letter, I paid the full settlement and provided proof of payment to Barrett. However, I received no acknowledgment from Barrett.

On 06 December, I received a letter from FNB confirming that the loan had been settled and that I would receive a final paid-up letter within 45 days. During this time, I also received another letter from Barrett, indicating an additional settlement amount and claiming that if I paid this sum by 31 January, the account would be closed and settled. I paid it by the due date and sent proof, but again, there was no acknowledgment from Barrett.

On 14 February, I received a call from Barrett, claiming that there was still an unsettled amount with FNB. I explained that I had already paid as per the settlement letter and was under the impression that the account had been closed. She asked for proof, which I sent once again.

On 21 February, I received another call from Barrett about the unsettled amount, and once again, I confirmed that I had paid and sent the required proof. She said she would follow up. On 25 February, I received yet another call about the unsettled amount. I reiterated that I had already paid and sent proof, and she promised to follow up.

At this point, I followed up with FNB, only to be informed that I still owed a balance and needed to pay immediately to close the account. I paid again, despite not understanding why I was being asked to pay another amount when I had already settled as per the settlement letter I received in January. I explained my confusion to the FNB agent, referencing the settlement letter and my payments to Barrett. The agent assured me that the account would be closed and acknowledged the investigation, but I have heard nothing since then. I have also received an email stating that I need to OPEN a new account, in order to CLOSE this facility, but I no longer bank with FNB and they closed my account a year ago due to inactivity.

After receiving the 6 December letter confirming my loan was settled, I should not have been required to pay any further amounts. Once the settlement amount is paid in full and acknowledged, the account should be closed, and I should have received the final paid-up letter without further issues. The repeated requests for payments after the settlement in December are completely unacceptable.

To make matters worse, my credit report now shows a defaulted payment, even though I have been making all payments on time. I was completely unaware that this account had been in arrears, especially considering that this is an old account, and FNB had my contact details on file. No one from FNB contacted me to inform me of any issues with the account.

This experience has been nothing short of a nightmare. The lack of communication, the repeated requests for payment after I’ve already settled, and the failure to update my credit report correctly is completely unacceptable. I trusted FNB to handle this account professionally, but the lack of transparency and resolution has left me extremely dissatisfied.

Given the ongoing issues with communication, payment requests, and my credit report, I am reporting this matter to both the Banking Ombudsman and National Credit Regulator (NCR). I believe this issue falls under their jurisdiction as it involves possible miscommunication, ********* practices in debt collection, and incorrect credit reporting. I encourage anyone facing similar issues to do the same, as it seems to be a recurring problem based on the reviews here.