I did a mortgage with Halifax a few months ago. They accepted pdf statements from the banking app I use (Starling).
I went via a broker, who said it was supposedly Halifax not accepting the pdf version. However, these were pdf statements from NatWest (my main bank at the time) - so this wasnāt an issue with Monzo. Rather that I could imagine Monzo doing the mortgage application process very well, cutting out the broker.
This is odd - I recently got an offer via a broker for a Halifax mortgage and only ever provided PDF statements for my Monzo accountsā¦
Perhaps it depends on the LTV and the perceived level of risk from the application, eg if you are right up at the top end of what you can afford, and after 95% mortgage they might be stricter than a mortgage for 50% LTV you can afford many times over
I think it more likely to do with individual brokers, and the things they know that work. They want to do the least work possible, so if they know that a bank will accept notarised statements thatās what they want.
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It looks like some people are able to setup their DD with Barclays. Iām wondering if itās the case that they have 2 systems, an internal one that is used by the employees to start a new mortgage and the customer-facing one that you can use after becoming their customer. With the internal one (probably being very old) not being able to handle Monzo accounts yet.
Iāve also had two bad experiences with my Monzo account recently:
- My local water provider doesnāt allow me to set up direct debt with Monzo.
- When trying to top up a Vodafone SIM card I got āchargedā on my Monzo card twice but their system failed to recognise the payment, it worked when I tried with another credit card (same issuing entity).
Honestly, the only way to actually try to fix the problem where it exists - were it me as the Barclays customer - would be to raise a formal complaint (āI wish to make a complaintā) with Barclays about their system being out of date, or their staff not being appropriately trained, and how their systems or training failure - whichever it may be - added wholly unnecessary stress to what is already a complex, long, and stressful process.
If indeed Barclays is unable to originate Direct Debits against Monzo rather than merely mistaken, I should also express my surprise and disappointment about this given it is my understanding that they are obligated (the word āmustā is used) under the Clearing Codes Rules to keep their list of sort codes up to date weekly and given Monzo has had their sort code for years, at this point there would appear to be no discernible reason other than either incompetence or anti-competitive behaviour for a Direct Debit Originator to not be able to accept correctly formed Direct Debit instructions naming Monzo as the customerās bank.
I would also express that it is not fair nor reasonable to put the burden on the customer to āfind another bankā whether or not this was expressly advised by Barclays staff rather than merely implied by their refusal to process the direct debit instruction when in fact the only correct response when the sort code was confirmed to be correct was to ensure that Barclayās systems were immediately brought up to date.
Of course this requires people to put effort in to make complaints - usually after they have solved their immediate pain point as you have - but if you did it you stand the best chance of making things easier in future if not for you, then for others.
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I also have Mortgage set up with Barclays using DD from our Joint Account and itās working fine for about a year. In the beginning, they were confused about the pots and how the money is organised but that was before they approved our application. The problem is probably with Barclays tech or with the person sitting in front of the monitor entering numbers 
I can guarantee they get the feed from VOCA weekly.
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I canāt comment on dd but donāt get any issues with faster payments to/ from monzo to Barclays
Id certainly complain, express your dissatisfaction, the distress it is causing you through your house purchase, their failure to provide a service (not accepting your payment details), go in to detail about time specifics, dates, be clear and thorough.
Also throw in the fact youād prefer this to be resolved with Barclays, but wonāt hesitate to take this to the ombudsman.
I did exactly this with them a year ago and got Ā£400 compensation, albeit a different matter.
Top tip: Save yourself future stress and just avoid Barclays.
Hate is a strong word, but from multiple experiences over the years, I can honestly say that Barclays is the only financial institution that I hate, and I have a story about mortgagesā¦
We went to a broker for our mortgage, but it was our first home, and we didnāt have a big enough deposit for most houses we were looking at, so we only had 2 choices really which were both those āLend a handā type mortgages where our parents could put up some money in a savings account to temporarily cover the deposit deficit. In hindsight, we should have applied to the banks direct, but instead we carried on with the broker who applied to Barclays on our behalf, and we were declined at the initial stage by Barclays (the stage before actually fully applying). I asked the broker if he could send through the forms he submitted to Barclays, and having read through them he had messed up the form completely (he had put our wages through as a totally different amount to what they were, considerably less)
I raised this with the broker, and his response was āoh yeah, Barclays online forms for brokers are terrible and you have to put things in an odd way for it to workā. Couldnāt fathom out why this was rejecting though - our credit scores were fantastic (high 900s, and we had no debt, good paying jobs etc)
So we decided to sack off the broker and go direct. Booked an appointment in branch with a mortgage advisor, went in, and decided that it would be upfront and honest to admit that we had technically already applied, but the form was submitted incorrectly. So we sat down, and the second I told him that, he literally sighed, closed the lid of his laptop, and sat there with folded arms.
He told me there was no point in applying because it would be no different. I hadnāt even gone into detail about what was wrong on the form that was submitted. He said that the rejection was probably due to our credit score. I showed him proof that our credit scores were fine, but he was not interested.
Anyway. Went over the road to Lloyds, who were lovely. Applied. Got accepted. The mortgage advisor at Lloydās said that Barclays must have been idiots as our scores were very high (Canāt remember what it was, but it had an āAā in it for sure, āAā something or other!)
So yeah. I say screw em. Thereās other banks who will take Monzoā¦ Lloyds do for one!
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I moved my banking from Barclays to Abbey National back in whenever when I discovered that they were supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa, so may I be the first to welcome you to the Vendetta Against Random Corporations Club?
You might want to also consider Currys PC World. I havenāt bought anything from them since an employee tried to mislead me back in 1980, when they were Dixons.
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With you on this one. Not from 1980 mind you. More 2002 but same outcome. Refuse to go there for anything.
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You donāt hear people reference Boaclays a lot these days
Personally what I find appealing is an attractive interest rate. The amount of years left on my mortgage and what I have to pay each month is much more relevant to me than a seamless/pain free onboarding experience. If Monzo can offer both, then Iām all for it.
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We donāt see a score from the CRA, we get all your data and calculate our acceptance based on our current risk criteria. You might have a really good history of paying debts but work in (hypothetical example) theatre and we know theatre is boned for the foreseeable future. Itās all based on the current risk appetite of the bank in question and whether you fit that profile, there is no score.
Hi,
I wanted to share my experience with Barlclays mortgages and monzo accounts.
We have just changed mortgage provider to Barclays and they would not accept Monzo when we were setting up the direct debit, so we used another account.
Then when it was done and they wrote to us confirming payment details, we called them and changed the direct debit to our joint monzo account.
There were no issues at all - they just asked for sort number, account number etc. and they got on with it.
So try again. I decided if it didnāt work Iād of set up a standing order instead from our monzo account to mimic a direct debit in terms of date/amount etc.
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So this sounds like there is an out of date list of sort codes at whatever department/system that establishes mortgages and first sets up the direct debit.
Iād still be inclined to complain about it as it is a stupid problem for them to have at any level and the only way itāll get fixed and IMO they should pay you for the time involved in having to set up one DD only to change it afterwards.
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I do understand that itās more than just your credit rating, what I donāt understand and what bugged me about the whole thing is how damn rude the Barclays mortgage advisor was! He wouldnāt give us the benefit of the doubt that the original submission could well have been bungled by the broker. Barclays also had a mortgage eligibility checker on their website at the time that we had entered our details into, and it said we were eligible. And that itself ran a soft credit check. We told him this, but he didnāt care! Yes I know itās based on other factors, but really, weāll never know for sure, as Barclays never actually put through a correct application for us!
To be honest Iām bitter about many things with Barclays. Main thing most recently is their shambolic handling of the iPhone upgrade programme* - yes I know strictly speaking Barclays Partner Finance is separate from Barclays, but itās owned by them and has their nameā¦
*In short, Barclays (not apple) insisted that loans for the iUP were completed in person (despite the fact that they offer almost identical loans in every way for the iPhone payment plan that can be completed entirely online and can also incorporate a trade in. It makes absolutely no sense). Due to lockdown, this meant that people on the iUP were left in limbo with their old phone with no option to upgrade. In the US they donāt have this issue as the loans are provided by a different provider (Citizens one) who allow everything to be completed online and via post. What really baffled me is when Apple said I can go into the store and hand in my phone to pay off the loan!! Soā¦ I canāt go into the store to upgrade my phone, OK fair enough, I get that. Covid is serious and I shouldnāt be putting peoples life at risk over a bloody phone. And yet, I apparently CAN go in to give them my old phone??? It was all really badly handled. The blame lays squarely with Barclays as itās their silly requirements that hindered the whole thing. Hopefully Apple soon swaps to Klarna (who Samsung use for their programme) or someone else who isnāt stuck in the 1970sā¦
/rant
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