Should I take Nationwide to court?

benmusic

Hi,

I have been trying to claim back bank charges from Nationwide for months now with no success.

Over a year ago I agreed to pay back my overdraft monthly, an amount of £20 per month was direct debited from another account and I agreed this with Nationwide, agreeing that the account would be fully paid up and closed by a specific date. However, I found out (too late) that they were taking the £20 but also charging me £20 for an unauthorised overdraft fee. I spoke to the bank but to no avail.

Months ago I sent the letter trying to claim back the charges and received the letter stating that my claim would have to wait due to the court hearings. I then sent a letter claiming that I was in financial hardship and have had no reply (been about 3 months now) I contacted the ombudsman but was informed by them that I would have to wait because they are dealing with too many claims at the moment. I have been contacted by 3 different debt collection agencies for the same amount for some reason (I only owe it to one of them though). I cannot afford to pay this because I am in financial hardship.

I have therefore decided to take it to a small claims court (the total amount is only about £300). My question is, will this be worth it or will it be a waste of £30 or however much it costs to put in a claim? Also, is there any way of getting more money out of them because they gave me dishonest advise from the beggining and basically conned me out of my money. I would assume this is a different case altogether though?

Thank you.

natweststaffmember

benmusic wrote: »

Hi,

I have been trying to claim back bank charges from Nationwide for months now with no success.

Over a year ago I agreed to pay back my overdraft monthly, an amount of £20 per month was direct debited from another account and I agreed this with Nationwide, agreeing that the account would be fully paid up and closed by a specific date. However, I found out (too late) that they were taking the £20 but also charging me £20 for an unauthorised overdraft fee. I spoke to the bank but to no avail.

Months ago I sent the letter trying to claim back the charges and received the letter stating that my claim would have to wait due to the court hearings. I then sent a letter claiming that I was in financial hardship and have had no reply (been about 3 months now) I contacted the ombudsman but was informed by them that I would have to wait because they are dealing with too many claims at the moment. I have been contacted by 3 different debt collection agencies for the same amount for some reason (I only owe it to one of them though). I cannot afford to pay this because I am in financial hardship.

I have therefore decided to take it to a small claims court (the total amount is only about £300). My question is, will this be worth it or will it be a waste of £30 or however much it costs to put in a claim? Also, is there any way of getting more money out of them because they gave me dishonest advise from the beggining and basically conned me out of my money. I would assume this is a different case altogether though?

Thank you.

Complete waste of time since the claim will be stayed until the conclusion of the OFT test case issues. However, I think you need to make the FOS aware that you agreed a repayment plan with Nationwide on x month and as far as you were aware they would stop making charges to the account which would allow you to repay the account in full. Was that your understanding? And have you queried that and what was your response?

If the DCA's ring you keep telling them that under OFT debt collection guidelines that any debt in dispute cannot be chased and you are in dispute with the bank and have documentary evidence. Tell them you will agree to nothing and that continuing to harrass you will result in further action by you against them.

benmusic

Thank you very much for your quick reply.

So, if I understand correctly, whilst my claim is in dispute then do I not legally have to pay the DCA anything? I have searched for the guidelines but cannot find anything to this extent. Do you have a link to any documentation? (I am not doubting your knowledge, I just need to make sure I have all of the correct information before contacting them today). I spoke to the manager at my local branch recently and he basically told me I had to pay the DCA and he pretty much bullied me in to it. He also said that I had no claim now because the debt had been passed on away from Nationwide (I know this is not true because this has nothing to do with the fact that they owe me money)

In regards to informing the FOS about the repayment plan, what will this achieve? I do think that it was very bad and misleading advice from Nationwide and that maybe this breaks certain regulations? Sorry for my ignorance!

Thank you again.

natweststaffmember

Google OFT 664 is the debt collection guidelines and it is in section 2(if memory serves me right)
I wouldn't deal with my word against someone else's word. Paper trail, ie writing is always better. Furthermore, on the repayment plan was your understanding that there would be no further charges? The charges incurred because of this could be refundable because of bank error. That is why I have said about the FOS bit.
For example, I agree to a payment plan of x amount and I understand that includes pending charges so I pay my money each month yet it doesn't go out and the bank make charges, could this be because the bank did not explain it correctly to me and made me believe that the overdraft WOULD be paid off?(hope that makes sense)

benmusic

natweststaffmember wrote: »

For example, I agree to a payment plan of x amount and I understand that includes pending charges so I pay my money each month yet it doesn't go out and the bank make charges, could this be because the bank did not explain it correctly to me and made me believe that the overdraft WOULD be paid off?(hope that makes sense)

That is exactly correct! They also claim that they sent me a letter explaining the fact that I would also have to come in to the bank every month and pay £1.23 (or however much interest it was that month) although I never received that letter (pretty sure they never sent it). So yes, they did make me believe that it would be paid off and even agreed on a definite date that it would be paid off by if I kept up my direct debit (which I did).

Thanks again.

natweststaffmember

benmusic wrote: »

That is exactly correct! They also claim that they sent me a letter explaining the fact that I would also have to come in to the bank every month and pay £1.23 (or however much interest it was that month) although I never received that letter (pretty sure they never sent it). So yes, they did make me believe that it would be paid off and even agreed on a definite date that it would be paid off by if I kept up my direct debit (which I did).

Thanks again.

And that is your argument to the FOS, does that make sense?