Here’s what happens when your UK credit card debt gets sold on
Key Points
- NatWest sold a batch of defaulted credit card and loan debt in June
- Group write-offs reached £487 million in six months, against £192 million a year earlier
- Credit card accounts in default rose to £296 million from £242 million
- Selling a debt does not reduce the amount owed or cancel the agreement
- The bank holds £84 million against customers it considers most at risk
NatWest sold a batch of defaulted UK credit card and personal loan debt in June, part of a sharp rise in the amount of household borrowing the bank has written off this year.
Group write-offs hit £487 million across the six months to 30 June 2026, against £192 million in the same period last year. Personal customers accounted for £265 million of that, split between £172 million on loans and overdrafts, £80 million on credit cards and £13 million on mortgages.
Credit card balances in default rose to £296 million from £242 million at the end of December, and the bank’s retail impairment charge climbed to £280 million from £226 million.
NatWest points to cards taken out since 2022 now reaching the age at which problems typically surface, rather than any broad deterioration. Arrears across its retail portfolios stayed broadly stable through the half.
What happens to the debt?
Selling a defaulted account transfers the right to collect, and little else.
The sum owed stays the same, the terms of the original credit agreement carry over, and the borrower must be told in writing who owns the debt.
Debt purchasers and collection firms operating in the UK need Financial Conduct Authority authorisation and follow the same consumer credit rules as the original lender.
A sale does not restart the clock on how long the debt remains enforceable.
NatWest said it charges off a credit card after roughly 12 missed payments, and writes off unsecured loans once recovery attempts run out, in all cases within six years of default.
It also holds an £84 million buffer against customers it judges most exposed, naming over-indebted borrowers, those with weaker credit card affordability and lower-income households facing fuel poverty.
