Northern Rock Rip Off

glitter1007

I am absolutely livid. I recently got a Northern Rock Loan to consolidate my credit card loans and they charged me £45 for "express transfer" which I did not need or ask for. I kept a look out for this charge as Martin did warn about it on the loans page, however, I saw nothing on the web. I recently rechecked my stuff from them and it is in tiny writing on the back of the agreement, saying they will charge me an unspecified amount for express transfer unless I send them a letter opting out of this service. I think this is outrageous and have written to them to tell them so. That's £45 I couldn't afford down the drain. Has anyone else had this problem. :mad:

Caped_Avenger

I'd imagine you would have liked the first reply to your thread to be more supportive than this, but sorry.

I have learned many things from dealing with and working for banks and other financial institutions, and Rule Number One is:

Read ALL the small print, however small, well-hidden or boring it is.

Rule Number Two is:

If you ignore Rule Number One, don't moan if you miss something and get caught out.

Sorry, i told you you wouldn't like it.

In your defence, £45 for a CHAPS transfer is absolutely outrageous.

Joe_Bloggs

Put trading standards on to them. You were lucky it was only £45 as it could have been any unspecified amount. http://www.consumercomplaints.org.uk/
Worst outcome for them is they lose there consumer credit Licence. Unlikely in my view but sharp practises should be called out and good conduct praised.
J_B.
More bumf here http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/consumer_finance.htm

Robert_Sterling_3

Northern Rock.
Living up to their reputation
i.e. Lean Mean and Keen.
What they have done to the OP is dioabolical.

I have never understood why the FSA allows the use of small print.

glitter1007

Thanks Joe Bloggs I have contacted trading standards. I know I should read the small print BUT I missed and I was looking out for it. There's small and then there's tiny.

rizla01

Great!!

Nice one N.R.

This is like being charged for a letter to tell you that you have gone into the red???

Perhaps the thinking is that you need the loan because you have money to throw away.

Hmmm, I'll think on that one.:)

Threadhead

I applied online for a loan from Northern Rock on Thursday to buy a second car.
Since I am fairly desperate for said car, I clicked the "please hurry up, I really need a car, and I dont mind paying you whatever it takes" button (read: express transfer £45).
I had a loan from them in the past, and they were ok then, plus I am DESPERATE for a car. But, online there appeared to be two options, express or not, so its a bit unfair that the OP didnt have this option.

MarkyMarkD

Glitter

Whatever the others say about it being outrageous, you KNEW this charge existed and you didn't do anything to stop it happening - so you can scarcely claim to be surprised to be charged it!

As for anyone claiming this charge is hidden away, it's 2 clicks from NR's homepage:

If you choose express service your loan will be in your bank account within one working day of us receiving your credit agreement. The charge of £45 for this service will be collected with your first monthly payment. If you choose BACS the loan will be in your bank account within four working days of receipt of your completed credit agreement and there will be no charge.

YorkshireBoy

This topic has been raised a couple of times on here over the last couple of months or so. The issue causing concern was NR's decision to set the "default" option to the express service. You had to choose to wait 4 days for the BACS transfer. See post #4 in this thread...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=87869

It looks like Northern Rock have cleaned up their act though, because I've just gone through a dummy application online and both boxes (express & BACS) are unchecked - leaving the applicant to make their selection.

As MarkyMarkD says though, you're reminded of both options on several 'product features' screens prior to starting the application process.

If the OP applied online (and it seems they did because they stated they "saw nothing on the web") then they must have actually selected express delivery.

Some good news though, I'm sure people on here have reported being successful in having the CHAPS fee refunded on appeal.

glitter1007

I must be really thick then because I was looking out for the express delivery charge and I did not spot it on the application form. Maybe I was having a bad day. Thanks for the advice though, I have complained hopefully they will give me back the charge.

However, even if I was stupid I still think it is outrageous to have a £45 service as a default option. It seems that even Northern Rock have come to this conclusion.

Caped_Avenger

glitter1007 wrote:

However, even if I was stupid I still think it is outrageous to have a £45 service as a default option. It seems that even Northern Rock have come to this conclusion.

That's not the only issue at hand. It is scandalous that their default option is a CHAPS.

This is only made worse when they're charging £45 for simply actioning the transfer. I know first direct charge £21 for a CHAPS, and according to this thread, Nationwide charge £20, and IF charge just £18. So N/Rock are charging 2½ times what IF charge, for exactly the same service, using exactly the same system (CHAPS). :eek: