Claim against Natwest...

Geo123

cheers for the reply. I've deliberately avoided any of the old arguements in the new letter, i've stuck to the new arguements as proposed by martins guide and a few other places i've researched. specifically i put together a human and legal arguement based on previously being stuck in a cycle of charges which i can prove and applying the legal arguments of the reg 5 of the UTCCR and section 104a of the CCA.

Natwests sole response has been to largely ignore the carefully written letter i sent and posted me a hardship proof form.

I didnt go so far as to file a county court claim last year as i awaited the end of the OFT case first before making any decision on that front.

I know if i fill out the hardship form they'll simply say i dont qualify [any more] 2 years ago when i was suffering as a result of the cycle of charges they pretty much ignored me and kept adding the charges on.

i'm in two minds whether to acknowledge the hardship form and say it doesnt apply to me or to simply send it back and say this isnt relevent to my case re-read my letter and you have 14 days to respond properly?

will a threat of court shift them in your opinion? should i use the ombusman? I've heard that they're pretty soft touches in favor of the bank is why i ask the question. i'm a bit at a quandry as to what to do next...

natweststaffmember

A threat of court OR the ombudsman would not shift their opinion whatsoever. However, how did they deal with your financial hardship historically because that MIGHT be an issue the Ombudsman might consider.

Geo123

interesting - many thanks i think i'll send a letter soon outlining that they need to examine the facts and put even more human elements into the case adding a timeline too. and then add that i'm prepared to take it further with or without a response and see what happens.

cheers again. its always nice to get a second opinion on something as intricate as this

the_black_cat

I too have received a letter from NW that totally ignored my claim on the new grounds set out in MSE's latest claims by law template letter whereby NW just sent me the forms to fill out a customer financial statement. I did not ask them for this as fortunately I am no longer in financial difficulty - this is clearly an attempted delay tactic by them, they appear to show such arrogance that they do not even read the claim for new grounds. It's lead me to beleive this is their response to everyone?

I complained again stating if they had even bothered to read my claim on the new grounds they would have had no need to send a customer financial statement.

Today I received another letter as follows :-

Following the judgement of the Supreme Court on 25 September 2009, the test case process is now complete and the judgement of the Supreme Court means that the level of the unarranged overdraft charges you have complained about cannot be assesed for fairness under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracs Regulations 1999 or challenged under the common law penalty doctine. As stated in our previous letter we do not beleive that there is any other legal basis on which the level of these charges can be challenged.

We are satisfied that the charges you seek to reclaim were properly charged and the outcome of the legal proceedings confirms our position. We are therefore not upholding your complaint and will not be refunding the unarranged overdraft charges you have complained about. You may consider this to be the banks final response.

Should you remain dissatisfied you have the right to refer your complaint to the Finacial Ombudsman Service and can do so for six months from the date of this letter. I enclose a copy of their leaflet for your convenience. Before you decide whether or not to take your complaint to the Ombudsman Service, you may find it helpful to consider the information about this subject on the Service's website at:
Ombudsman link here.
Please be assured thet the bank wil co-operate fully with any review they may choose to undertake.

Firstly does this mean that the new template letters are incorrect as set out in the first paragraph by NW and MSE's new template letters are incorrect and a waste of time? If so why? If not is there anything else I can do?

Secondly they have stated "You may consider this to be the Bank's final response" so do I to presume they will have no further dealings direct from me and only via the Ombudsman?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks