Letter of Complaint - NatWest
emmalt
Posts: 152 Forumite
How about this letter of complaint. I will read it again tomorrow (I am tired now) but any comments gratefully received.
I regretfully have to write this letter of complaint, as I am angered by the way I have been treated as a customer of the last five months or so.
At the end of March 2007 I tried to pay for my car tax with my switch card. To my surprise, as I have an overdraft facility of over £6,000, this was declined. Naturally I rang my branch to find out the reason why and was told that my card had been cancelled and a new card had been issued. I had not received my new card even though I had set up my post to be redirected (I had moved house but had not yet informed the bank). I was concerned that my card had been cancelled without my knowledge and asked for the reason why. My card still had two years left to run. The person I spoke to did not know why this had happened but logged this as a concern for me. I was told that somebody would look into this and call me back with their findings. To date I have not had a call back regarding this. I asked for a new card to be sent but to the Aylesbury branch instead of my home address to ensure that it could not be intercepted. A week or so later I received my card, which had been sent to my old home address not to the Aylesbury branch as requested.
This prompted me to inform the bank of my change of address. I looked on my statement to see how to do this. It states that ‘if you have changed your address or telephone number, please let us know’. I wrote a letter to my branch dated 2nd April informing them that I had moved house and that I wished to cancel my Advantage Private Account. A few weeks later I noticed that my statements were still going to my old address and that I had been £220 on my charge card for the Advantage Private Account I had cancelled. I rang my branch who informed me that they letters sent to the branch were passed onto another department to deal with. Obviously the letter seems to have got lost but if I wrote another letter to the branch explaining what had happened my address would be changed, the Advantage Private Account cancelled and monies refunded. I duly wrote a letter dated 16th May explaining the above. For a few weeks I heard nothing and noted that my statements were still being sent to my old address. Again I rang my branch and this time the call was answered the branch manager. I explained all of the above and was told that to change my address I needed to go into a Natwest branch in person. I stated that this surprised me as I had been told my one of his staff to write to the branch. He stated everyone in his team knows the procedure and that is what I would have been told! When I asked why my Advantage Private Account had not been cancelled even though I had written twice he did not have an answer.
I duly went to the Aylesbury branch and went through the whole procedure for changing my address. I also explained that I was still waiting for feedback as to why my card had been cancelled. The lady looked at my account and saw that there had been a concern raised but that this had been closed without any notes. She made an educated guess that my card had been cancelled as the Advantage Private Account had charged their logo and had issued new cards. How much did that cost!
I also asked that my Advantage Private Account be cancelled but it seems that I cannot do that in my branch but that I have to speak to my account manager for that. The lady tried to contact Alan Trafford but the call went to voicemail. She gave me the number and I left a message to be called back. Later that day I received a call from Emmy. I explained that I had twice tried to cancel my Advantage Private Account but to no avail. She cancelled the account over the phone and told me that I would get a refund in due course. I received a letter stating that the Advantage Private Account had been cancelled but no refund. My charge card was no longer visible on my on-line banking. I called and spoke to Emmy again who informed me that the reason I had not had a refund was because I had changed my name (I got married last year) and my charge card was still in my married name. Apparently, they could only issue a cheque in my maiden name. I stated that this was not a problem as I still had a bank account in my maiden name. Emmy said that she would arrange this. Also there was a problem with the amount. I would not get a full refund as I had not cancelled on time. I explained that I had twice written to cancel the account but that NatWest had lost the letters. Emmy stated that she would arrange for a full refund.
Weeks later nothing had happen. No refund. I called again, explained the whole situation again. The person pointed out that I had had a refund of £18.34 on the 26th June. I hadn’t noticed this as I had been looking for an amount of £220. My concern was noted and I was told that somebody would call me back. I am still waiting for the phone call.
Monday 31st July I called again as I had not yet had a refund. I spoke to a Linda who noted my concern and told me that somebody would call me back within 48 hours. Friday 3rd August I had not yet had a call back or refund. I called AGAIN this time I made it very clear that I was fed up and that I wanted an answer. I was put through to somebody else who asked for the whole story again. She put me on hold whilst she investigated the issue but as it took such a long time I eventually went back into a queue and my call was answered by Lucy. Lucy investigated the issue and told me that I would be called back within an hour by Catherine. I relented and hung up.
Catherine did call me back within an hour as promised. It seemed that I had been refunded £201.66 onto my charge card and the £18.34 to my account as previously stated. A cheque had not been sent as I had changed my name (also previously discussed with Emmy). I told Catherine that all this heartache would have been avoided had NatWest not removed my on-line access to my charge card account. I have been told that I will see a refund either Monday 6th August or Tuesday 7th.
I am frustrated with the way that the whole thing was handled from beginning to end. I felt that the staff were inconsistent with their advice to me and that the situation was never taken seriously. Somebody was always going to call me back.
Another incident which highlights how your staff do not take situations seriously was the following. I had transferred some money from another bank to my NatWest account. The other bank had mistyped the sort code. I had already called the other bank and was told to call NatWest, who would have the money in a suspense account, explain the situation and they would correct the issue. When I called, explained the issue, the person dealing with me said ‘Yes?’ in a tone of ‘what do you want me to do about it’. Whether the other bank was right or wrong with their advice is irrelevant. I do not expect anybody in the service industry to speak to a customer like that.
I have until recently always been happy with NatWest and have had no cause for complaint but the last five months or so I have been very disappointed with the service that I have received.
I regretfully have to write this letter of complaint, as I am angered by the way I have been treated as a customer of the last five months or so.
At the end of March 2007 I tried to pay for my car tax with my switch card. To my surprise, as I have an overdraft facility of over £6,000, this was declined. Naturally I rang my branch to find out the reason why and was told that my card had been cancelled and a new card had been issued. I had not received my new card even though I had set up my post to be redirected (I had moved house but had not yet informed the bank). I was concerned that my card had been cancelled without my knowledge and asked for the reason why. My card still had two years left to run. The person I spoke to did not know why this had happened but logged this as a concern for me. I was told that somebody would look into this and call me back with their findings. To date I have not had a call back regarding this. I asked for a new card to be sent but to the Aylesbury branch instead of my home address to ensure that it could not be intercepted. A week or so later I received my card, which had been sent to my old home address not to the Aylesbury branch as requested.
This prompted me to inform the bank of my change of address. I looked on my statement to see how to do this. It states that ‘if you have changed your address or telephone number, please let us know’. I wrote a letter to my branch dated 2nd April informing them that I had moved house and that I wished to cancel my Advantage Private Account. A few weeks later I noticed that my statements were still going to my old address and that I had been £220 on my charge card for the Advantage Private Account I had cancelled. I rang my branch who informed me that they letters sent to the branch were passed onto another department to deal with. Obviously the letter seems to have got lost but if I wrote another letter to the branch explaining what had happened my address would be changed, the Advantage Private Account cancelled and monies refunded. I duly wrote a letter dated 16th May explaining the above. For a few weeks I heard nothing and noted that my statements were still being sent to my old address. Again I rang my branch and this time the call was answered the branch manager. I explained all of the above and was told that to change my address I needed to go into a Natwest branch in person. I stated that this surprised me as I had been told my one of his staff to write to the branch. He stated everyone in his team knows the procedure and that is what I would have been told! When I asked why my Advantage Private Account had not been cancelled even though I had written twice he did not have an answer.
I duly went to the Aylesbury branch and went through the whole procedure for changing my address. I also explained that I was still waiting for feedback as to why my card had been cancelled. The lady looked at my account and saw that there had been a concern raised but that this had been closed without any notes. She made an educated guess that my card had been cancelled as the Advantage Private Account had charged their logo and had issued new cards. How much did that cost!
I also asked that my Advantage Private Account be cancelled but it seems that I cannot do that in my branch but that I have to speak to my account manager for that. The lady tried to contact Alan Trafford but the call went to voicemail. She gave me the number and I left a message to be called back. Later that day I received a call from Emmy. I explained that I had twice tried to cancel my Advantage Private Account but to no avail. She cancelled the account over the phone and told me that I would get a refund in due course. I received a letter stating that the Advantage Private Account had been cancelled but no refund. My charge card was no longer visible on my on-line banking. I called and spoke to Emmy again who informed me that the reason I had not had a refund was because I had changed my name (I got married last year) and my charge card was still in my married name. Apparently, they could only issue a cheque in my maiden name. I stated that this was not a problem as I still had a bank account in my maiden name. Emmy said that she would arrange this. Also there was a problem with the amount. I would not get a full refund as I had not cancelled on time. I explained that I had twice written to cancel the account but that NatWest had lost the letters. Emmy stated that she would arrange for a full refund.
Weeks later nothing had happen. No refund. I called again, explained the whole situation again. The person pointed out that I had had a refund of £18.34 on the 26th June. I hadn’t noticed this as I had been looking for an amount of £220. My concern was noted and I was told that somebody would call me back. I am still waiting for the phone call.
Monday 31st July I called again as I had not yet had a refund. I spoke to a Linda who noted my concern and told me that somebody would call me back within 48 hours. Friday 3rd August I had not yet had a call back or refund. I called AGAIN this time I made it very clear that I was fed up and that I wanted an answer. I was put through to somebody else who asked for the whole story again. She put me on hold whilst she investigated the issue but as it took such a long time I eventually went back into a queue and my call was answered by Lucy. Lucy investigated the issue and told me that I would be called back within an hour by Catherine. I relented and hung up.
Catherine did call me back within an hour as promised. It seemed that I had been refunded £201.66 onto my charge card and the £18.34 to my account as previously stated. A cheque had not been sent as I had changed my name (also previously discussed with Emmy). I told Catherine that all this heartache would have been avoided had NatWest not removed my on-line access to my charge card account. I have been told that I will see a refund either Monday 6th August or Tuesday 7th.
I am frustrated with the way that the whole thing was handled from beginning to end. I felt that the staff were inconsistent with their advice to me and that the situation was never taken seriously. Somebody was always going to call me back.
Another incident which highlights how your staff do not take situations seriously was the following. I had transferred some money from another bank to my NatWest account. The other bank had mistyped the sort code. I had already called the other bank and was told to call NatWest, who would have the money in a suspense account, explain the situation and they would correct the issue. When I called, explained the issue, the person dealing with me said ‘Yes?’ in a tone of ‘what do you want me to do about it’. Whether the other bank was right or wrong with their advice is irrelevant. I do not expect anybody in the service industry to speak to a customer like that.
I have until recently always been happy with NatWest and have had no cause for complaint but the last five months or so I have been very disappointed with the service that I have received.
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Comments
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I am glad I posted this. The IT dept is putting Office 2007 (oh joy of joys) onto my laptop tomorrow so if I loose everything I have a back up.
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Far too long. Something punchy and to the point is far more likely to get results. Also littering a letter with names is not a good idea, particularly if you are then going to post them on an internet site.0
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I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding the inexcusably poor service I have recently received from <<insert bank name here>>.
At the end of March 2007, a payment from my debit card was declined. As I have an overdraft facility of over £6,000, I was surprised by this, and contacted my branch immediately, to learn that for no reason which they could discern, my card, which expires in 2009, had been cancelled and a replacement had been issued. I had received no prior notification of this, and nor had I received this replacement.
At the time, I was told that somebody would look into this and call me back with their findings. To date I have not had a call back. In the meantime I requested a new card, which was sent not to my local branch as I requested, but to my home address.
I have recently moved home and wrote to my branch on 2nd April 2007 to inform them of this, and also to inform them that I wished to cancel my Advantage Private Account. However, this latter request was not carried out, and on examining my statements thereafter, I found that I was still being charged for an account which I had requested to be cancelled.
Having received no response, I telephoned my branch who advised me to write again. On 16th May 2007 I wrote a further letter reiterating the situation. Again, I received no response, and in the interim discovered that bank statements were still being delivered to my old address, despite my having informed you twice now that I had moved.
In a further telephone call to my branch, during which I had to explain the situation in full again, I was told by the branch manager that in order to change my address, I needed to go into a Natwest branch in person. This requirement had never previously been communicated. Moreover, he was unable to explain why my Advantage Private Account had not been cancelled.
After a considerable number of further telephone calls and discussion with various customer advisers, the Advantage Private Account has now been cancelled; however, to date I have received no refund of the charges taken in error since my initial letter of cancellation. Despite several more telephone calls during which I have several times been promised a refund, nothing has materialised.
I am exceedingly disappointed in the inconsistent and unprofessional service which I have received. I require an immediate refund of all charges owed, and would appreciate an offer of compensation with respect to the extensive amount of time spent in trying to resolve this matter and with respect to the interest I have lost ((or accrued - if it put you into your o/d)) on the erroneous charges which you have applied to my account.
I look forward to receiving your swift response.
Yours faithfully,
emmalt0 -
Just a quick one really, I remember your original thread. The first issue is the card but that is not the primary issue because that is dealt with in that you have a new card. The issue is the refund and that is the most important bit.
The refund of charges is primary and the switch card issue is not the main issue. JMHO.0 -
What a nice person you are, lavendyr to go to the trouble of writing a letter.0
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yes, u want it short and precise, otherwise it won't get get read. when i wrote to vodafone, i timelined all events which was probably easier to digest. i also mentioned otelo (the telecommunications ombudsman), my problem is pretty much sorted now, someone from 'head office' rang and dealt with it0
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I only rephrased the original.
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I only rephrased the original.
No Lavendry you have re written it. May I say much better than the original though. Quill is right you are wonderful. :A
I think yesterday I was so concerned with getting everything on paper that had happened I didn't stop writing. I didn't remove the names from the letter before I posted it either which Tom pointed out. I realised later but it was too late.
It wasn't just the refund that got my goat it was the whole thing from the beginning.
If you don't mind I will use your version with a few amendments. For example I was told that I would see the refund on my account by today and guess what - nothing!
Thank you all for taking the time to read my rather long post.0 -
You're very welcome and please feel free to use/amend that version as you need. 0
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Update
It worked!
I have the money refunded finally!
All interest lost (just under £3):rotfl:
£5.00 compensation
A box of chocolates
And best of all - bubble wrap (that the chocolates were wrapped in)!:rotfl:
Thanks for all you help - especially Lavendyr0
This discussion has been closed.
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