Mortgage underwritters and proof of cleared finances?

[SFire89]

So a bit of background...

I'm currently in the process of trying to buy a house and I need a mortgage to do so. The lender I'm currently in progress with is (apparently) happy to go ahead with the amount I require on the basis that the HP agreement I had with Vauxhall would be cleared before the mortgage is accepted.

I paid the car off on the 2nd of June in full, and provided the Clearance letter stating that "We have pleasure in confirming that the account is now paid in full and that we have no financial or other interest in the vehicle", as well as a screenshot of the statement balance of the finance account (CSLink). The letter is headed paper from Vauxhall and I proceeded with the full mortgage application on 30th after getting an appointment with a Nationwide advisor.

The proofs were provided and the bank statements sent along with the other bits of proof show that the payment came out straight to Vauxhall and the regular payment for the car wasn't taken on the scheduled date that month. All seemed well, and seemed to be moving forward (even got the mortgage valuation done within this time).

Unfortunately, I had a reply at the beginning of the week - "Our underwriters want a document confirming that the balance and has been settled and showing what outstanding balance has been settled with them". Another call to Vauxhall customer service, and I've been sent the same clerance letter and a Settlement Statement - however, the Settlement Statement is dated to the last time the finance agreement was in place - it just states that to settle I need to pay the £12000-odd and doesn't make a reference to the payment being made (it's the exact same statement I got when I initally went to settle the account). However, with the bank statement, and the letter from Vauxhall I would have thought this was sufficient proof, but clearly not.

In the event they don't accept the Settlement Statement, what exactly should I be asking for? I've used the above words verbatim with the customer service at Vauxhall and it's led me to this point, but the agents I've spoken to on the phone seem a bit confused at my request - in their opinion, a Clearance letter should really be the bottom line.

Anyone that's dealt with Vauxhall and knows the magic words I should be speaking to get this document that Nationwide are asking for? Any help would be greatly appreciated. If this isn't the best part of the forum, please point me in the right direction

[Sarnie]

A broker would have told you that Nationwide will continue to take credit commitments into account until they show as settled on your credit files.

They would have told you not to apply until this had happened and that nationwide would make it very difficult/near impossible for this to progress no matter what evidence you provided.......

[RDOVEN]

That's the thing - it's settled and I've even logged into Experian to verify it. A simple credit check would be sufficient - why are Nationwide so particular?

[Sarnie]

RDOVEN said:

That's the thing - it's settled and I've even logged into Experian to verify it. A simple credit check would be sufficient - why are Nationwide so particular?

Your username has changed?

Have you asked them to re-credit score you?

My assumption would be that it wasn't settled on your credit file when you applied but is now........

[RDOVEN]

Sarnie said:

Your username has changed?

I submitted the username change before posting, but for some reason it didn't take until just now. Weird *shrug*

Sarnie said:

Have you asked them to re-credit score you?

My assumption would be that it wasn't settled on your credit file when you applied but is now........

So that's the thing - the full application wasn't put into practise until well after I'd settled with Vauxhall on the 2nd of June. The initial application and decision in principle was given back in May, and then after a meeting with an advisor at the end of June, the full application with proofs was submitted - I'm assuming that the credit checks would have been done at that point? Interestingly enough, Experian doesn't seem to think they've searched at all...

The credit account is marked as being settled on the 3rd of June, with the full mortgage application being submitted around the 30th - is there any sort of delay on a credit agreement being marked as settled?

Plan B if the answer comes back as "computer says no" was to ask for a credit check or offer a HPI/Experian report as proof, but still thought I'd ask if this is an unusual burden-of-proof circumstance. But apparently with Nationwide it's not so unusual?

[Sarnie]

RDOVEN said:

So that's the thing - the full application wasn't put into practise until well after I'd settled with Vauxhall on the 2nd of June. The initial application and decision in principle was given back in May, and then after a meeting with an advisor at the end of June, the full application with proofs was submitted - I'm assuming that the credit checks would have been done at that point? Interestingly enough, Experian doesn't seem to think they've searched at all...

The credit account is marked as being settled on the 3rd of June, with the full mortgage application being submitted around the 30th - is there any sort of delay on a credit agreement being marked as settled?

Plan B if the answer comes back as "computer says no" was to ask for a credit check or offer a HPI/Experian report as proof, but still thought I'd ask if this is an unusual burden-of-proof circumstance. But apparently with Nationwide it's not so unusual?

"Experian doesn't seem to think they've searched at all..."

......because they don't use Experian. Check your Equifax and Transunion credit files.......