Nationwide: Stage 2 Complaint?

Ralphy101

Hi

F. hardship claim with nationwide.

Back on the 16th May 09, I decided to finally contact NW and reclaim bank charges totalling £1204 with interest £1505.

Within a week a recieved a letter with a statement of means form, which i completed, and as per one of their options i called through with the information as opposed to sending it off.

I then got told by a young girl, that i could only claim bank to when my f. hardship started ( when i seperated from my ex partner in Nov 08). I stated that no where in the FOS statement does it say this and they are trying to "pass me off".

So i sent another letter off, stating that they have not satisfied their duty, and have not considered my claim.

I waited a week, and called to see if they have receievd the letter, they said no. I asked do they have the information regarding my statement of means form to which i completed over the telephone, they said no!. They have lost it and asked me to send the original in the post.

I sent the orginal with another form letter highliging their conduct and neglect. including the original statement of means form and again a list of my charges. I included names to whom i have spoken to etc.

that was back on the 8th June, I contacted them yesterday to ask if they recieved my letter. They said they havent, and then after a heated conversation i was cut off!? I waited until today to calm down and contacted them again, suddenly my letter was there, and i was put through to a senior person who read out a repsonse they sent me on the 22nd( although i havent had anything) to say they are not paying my charges, after a review etc etc.

I then asked this chap on the phone to note their file that i will be contacting the FOS. As soon as i said that, he asked me to hold and said i will need to go through the internal complaints process again and raise the complaint as a stage 2 complaint ( senior managment).

I cannot believe that they have looked at my statement of means form and still refused to pay. I am losing £200 per month getting more and more in debt.

Can anybody shed any light on this? or give me some advice? Has anybody had any experince with nationwide?

Thanks

natweststaffmember

Do you have any priority debt arrears(mortgage/rent, council tax, utilities)?

Ralphy101

yes i do.

I owe around £500 Council Tax.

The rest are financial commitments with my ex partner.

natweststaffmember

Ralphy101 wrote: »

yes i do.

I owe around £500 Council Tax.

The rest are financial commitments with my ex partner.

In that case that is what you have to argue, ie that there is a reason why you were unable to meet payments(lifestyle change: loss of employment/hours/ split from partner,etc, etc,) and that this meant that the charges had the effect of reducing your budget causing you to increase your priority debt.
I'd ask for the £500, plus a suspension of charges for a period of 3 months to allow you to get back on your feet with the budgetting aspect.

Ralphy101

But i am losing £200 per month.... Thats without food!

Do you think I could get a better outcome given that the complaint has been upgraded?

Ralphy101

Oh and they know about the Council tax because i included it on the statement of means form.

natweststaffmember

Ralphy101 wrote: »

Oh and they know about the Council tax because i included it on the statement of means form.

Did you include arrears notices?
Are any of the other payments Child maintenance payments?

Furthermore, have you cancelled all non essential Direct Debits?

Ralphy101

I have cancelled direct debits such as gym membership etc.

The rest are essential, like paying back a joint loan with ex partner.

Rent
Council Tax ( new home)
Council Tax (old home)
Mobile phone contract ( still in contract untill oct)
Paying back the overdraft with NW ( outstanding £400 paying £50 per month)
Loan with ex partner

natweststaffmember

Ralphy101 wrote: »

I have cancelled direct debits such as gym membership etc.

The rest are essential, like paying back a joint loan with ex partner.

Rent
Council Tax ( new home)
Council Tax (old home)
Mobile phone contract ( still in contract untill oct)
Paying back the overdraft with NW ( outstanding £400 paying £50 per month)
Loan with ex partner

Have you spoken to the mobile phone provider to see if there is anything that can be done to reduce either tarriff or amount you have to pay(some firms will give you the basic basic in these times of recession and all)?

Did you send any arrears notices to the bank?