Natwest's "Account Closure Team" in Edinburgh

justsayyes

I received a letter today from the Account Closure Team for Natwest.

I have a business current account and business savings account with Natwest. The accounts have been dormant for about 2 or 3 months. I just checked today and it shows that in fact the business current account has gone overdrawn by £30 or so as a result of being charged £38 for an unpaid Direct Debit. There is only about £2 in the linked savings account.

This is what the letter says:

"The Bank has carried out a review of your banking arrangements and has decided that it no longer wishes to provide banking facilities to you. The Bank is unwilling to enter into any further discussion with you regarding its decision and is unfortunately not in a position to provide any references on your behalf.

The Bank therefore requires you now to make alternative banking arrangements outside of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group which includes Natwest. In the meantime, your account remains frozen except for the cash withdrawal of cleared credit balances, which may become available in the next 7 days.

Any overdraft facilities marked on your account have now been withdrawn. Please make arrangements to repay your borrowing within 7 days from the date of this letter.

Please also arrange to return to us any cheque book(s) and card(s) which you may hold. These have been cancelled with immediate effect and no further card withdrawals will be permitted. For security reasons please cut the card(s) in two across the signature and magnetic strip before posting.

If the card and cheque book are not returned, recovery agents will be instructed to collect them.

Your account will be closed in 7 days from the date of this letter. If there is a credit balance outstanding at the time of closure, on receipt of your card(s) and cheque book (s) we will write to advise you how you can arrange to collect it.

Then it goes on to say that if there is any outstanding debt in 7 days time the bank will send recovery agents to my door or repossess my property etc.

Anyone else ever received such a letter from Natwest????????

ShelfStacker_3

These letters are usually sent out, as in your case, when an account is abused (i.e. left dormant in an overdrawn position). You can go into the branch to try and sway their minds, but you will get nowhere unless you pay off the overdraft right now.

natweststaffmember

Shelfstacker, where that letter is sent out, the branch will be able to do absolutely nothing and I think it will be closed.

Dylanwing

withdraw the £2 and write challenging the £38 charge, and keep persisting, making it clear that you dispute it and expect no further charges as a result of this dispute. You might not get it back, but it will waste a lot of their time, giving you a moral victory! Or does that not work in these credit crunched times???

justsayyes

ShelfStacker wrote: »

These letters are usually sent out, as in your case, when an account is abused (i.e. left dormant in an overdrawn position). You can go into the branch to try and sway their minds, but you will get nowhere unless you pay off the overdraft right now.

I don't want to keep the account open. I should have closed it long ago - reason I wasn't using it is because I think Natwest are an appalling bank.

Is the letter not just a tad over the top for a £30 unauthorised overdraft??

The way the letter was worded I actually thought I'd been flagged up as a potential terrorist or security threat or something.

justsayyes

Dylanwing wrote: »

withdraw the £2 and write challenging the £38 charge, and keep persisting, making it clear that you dispute it and expect no further charges as a result of this dispute. You might not get it back, but it will waste a lot of their time, giving you a moral victory! Or does that not work in these credit crunched times???

Very good idea.