Dear James,
My 17-year-old daughter has been refused a student bank account with NatWest. They are saying that they are not allowed to give us details as to why (when her twin sister has been granted an account) and suggested that it may be something in her credit report? At 17 she is unable to apply herself - can you help? I am a member of Experian.
Dee, Milton Keynes
Dear Dee,
I suggest you accompany your daughter back to the bank and ask them to explain the problem. Considering your daughter’s age it is unlikely to be credit scoring as the bank won’t expect her to have a credit history at such a tender age. I think it’s more likely to have something to do with checking and confirming her identity. Many banks do use credit report information to help them check the identity of new customers electronically, but when this can’t be done they will usually resort to paper-based documents. It might help if you arrive armed with documents confirming your daughter’s identity (some form of photo ID) and her address (two original documents/letters/statements linking your daughter to her address). Hopefully you’ll quickly get to the bottom of what I hope will prove to be a minor hiccup.
James