NatWest (merged)

cunard · 15 November 2006 at 5:07PM

I am trying to help my son reclaim bank charges from NatWest.
Over the last three years my son has had to pay unauthorised overdraft charges every month of £28. This has often been charged even when it has been the previous months charge that has made the account exceed the agreed limit. He only works part-time and is low payed so he is having great problems trying to keep the account in credit each month so the charges don't apply.
Is it advisable to try to claim back these charges (about £900) when they are still applying them each month, or is he best advised to get the account in order first?
Do NatWest close customers accounts that make claims for repayment?
Any advice about NatWest policy on this issue and what would be the best way to proceed greatly appricted.

Red_Panda_2 · 15 November 2006 at 5:12PM

Hi Cunard - I would advise to start the claim sooner rather than later, the charges seem to snowball, so it will be hard to get the account back in order while the bank is still charging him every month.

Natwest do not seem to close accounts down but I would advise for him to open a back up account just incase they do - unlikely but you never know what they will do next!

Read the info on here and it will be a breeze - good luck

Jonni2bad · 15 November 2006 at 8:49PM

Red_Panda wrote:

...Read the info on here and it will be a breeze - good luck

Certainly good luck, but let's not get confused with large numbers of people having their charges refunded with it being a "breeze" - there are many pitfalls to making claims and the banks change their tactics all the time.

If you, or your son for that matter, are serious about reclaiming your rights, please take as much time as humanly possible understanding the process involved, the timescale for action and the potential workload that this may involve.

There is a guide on this site. There is also a comprehensive guide on the Consumer Action Group website - a small community of only 90,000 members.

nickmack · 15 November 2006 at 10:02PM

If you read and follow the instructions carefully, you should be able to claim the money back.

Don't be too concerned about what NatWest's policy is on this matter. They will just say you're entitled to nothing. Ignore them and follow the procedure to the letter. Do not be put off and do not deviate from what you've said you'll do.

themoneyspender · 15 November 2006 at 10:49PM

Hi

Just about to send my first letter to NatWest, but have the following two questions:

Can I reclaim not only charges, but also referral charges? The second question is what about the interest each month?

I have scrolled through the FAQ but could not find any answers.

Cheers. Any help would be appreciated.

Don_Tuaca · 16 November 2006 at 9:58AM

Can any one help. Natwest have filed a defence. So i believe we now have to go to court. I need some more amo....

Does anyone know how much Natwest has already paid out.

Has anyone filled out the Allocation questionaire?

Any advise - i never thought it would go to court - so i need to be prepared. Should i get expert witnesses etc...

Thanks
Poul

Jonni2bad · 16 November 2006 at 2:14PM

themoneyspender wrote:

...
Can I reclaim not only charges, but also referral charges? The second question is what about the interest each month?

1) Yes, referral charges can be reclaimed.

2) Standard overdraft interest is not reclaimable, but any overdraft interest that you can show was caused by those charges would be.

There are several variations of spreadsheets on CAG that should be able to help you work these out, at least to some degree...

tross_2 · 16 November 2006 at 2:15PM

Hi i have a Natwest Current Account, with a overdraft of 800, which is up to the limit by the end of each month.
Will the bank make me pay off this overdraft before they will pay out the charges they will owe me.
My salary goes into the bank at the end of each month.
I cannot afford to pay back this amount untill i have received the money they owe me.
I also have all my direct debits going out of this account.
I need this overdraft each month to live off unfortunately.
PLEASE HELP!
If i am successful in claiming back these charges,it will enable me to get out of this mess.

Jonni2bad · 16 November 2006 at 2:16PM

Don_Tuaca wrote:

Can any one help. Natwest have filed a defence. So i believe we now have to go to court. I need some more amo....

Does anyone know how much Natwest has already paid out.

Has anyone filled out the Allocation questionnaire?

Any advise - i never thought it would go to court - so i need to be prepared. Should i get expert witnesses etc...

Thanks
Poul

Hi

There is a guide to completing the AQs on Consumer Action Group. You can use these to your advantage by asking the Judge to order Standard Disclosure even though you are likely to be heading for a small claims track case hearing.

weeman_4 · 16 November 2006 at 2:28PM

If they won't budge then either push them further or you could open another current account with a free overdraft and then use that to get out of the current account over draft. Then shutdown the second current account...

truly-madly · 18 November 2006 at 12:22PM

Hello.

Firstly, thanks to this site (stumbled upon by accident), for giving me the info to start a claim for unfair bank charges.

Briefly, I used the set letters and was made an offer by the Natwest bank (about half the amount I claimed). I rejected this and made a claim through the online moneyclaim site.

I obviously wasn't as thorough as I should have been regarding the particulars of my case and when I went back to the site it just said I couldn't take any more action online. This morning I received the defence! It's pretty long-winded but I understand it (I think!). From the original set letter, they've highlighted the phrase 'unlawful at Common Law Statute and recent Consumer regulations', and asked I specify the facts I'm relying on with regards to the above. First question: Where can I get this info? ie. the actual paragraphs from law that relate.

Second question: now it's out of the small internet claims court and at the 'big' one, am I liable for court fees or have I still the possibility to strike the claim? I'm thinking I give them the info they want but if they still come back with a defence I might have to leave it as there's no way I can risk court fees.

Has anyone else experienced this particular defence?

Thanks very much in advance to anyone who has the time to share their knowledge over this.

Michael

NatWest (merged)

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