RBS downgraded my account and cancelled direct debits without my knowledge

coolguycp1

Hi friends,

I was on a Royalties current account with RBS for over a year until I decided to get my account changed to the normal interet paying current account as I did not want to pay a monthly fees of £6.95 for the Royalties account.

I went to my RBS branch and completed the required formalities and got told by the manager that my acoount will be changed as per my instructions. This happened in October.

On 23rd December, I received a leter from RBS Edinburgh office stating that one of my direct debits to SKY has not been paid due to insufficient funds in my account. I immediately checked my account online and found I had enough money to pay off the direct debit. I then phoned my branch and when they checked, they said that it has been an error from the bank's side as they have downgraded my account where the system was not allowing any direct debit payments to be made. They also said that it will take a couple of weeks to get it corrected. In this period, none of my other direct debits will get paid and they cannot do anything about this.

I have been put into this situation for no fault of mine and it has also caused me time and money to speak to the service providers themselves to arrange alternate modes of payments. When I asked for a letter stating that the bank has made an error, the lady at the branch said that they cannot give me such a letter under FSA guidelines.

Can you people advise me what actions do I take to get things solved and also, can I get any compensation from the bank due to this error on their part on account of putting my time and efforts and money on things which should not have been required in the first place?

coolguycp1

Can anyone answer my queries please?

Thanks

onlypaddy

complain in writing, ask for some sort of compensation, mention financial ombudsman, send by registered post

coolguycp1

Thanks for the reply.I have been phoning the bank all this while, but as you said, I will send a letter by registered post. Do I need to send it to my branch or the RBS Head Office, I mean, which is better to get the right repsonse?

Also, is there any right amount of compensation to ask for or should I not quote any amount at all leaving them to judge and decide?

Your quick reply will be appreciated.

olly300

coolguycp1 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.I have been phoning the bank all this while, but as you said, I will send a letter by registered post. Do I need to send it to my branch or the RBS Head Office, I mean, which is better to get the right repsonse?

http://www.rbs.co.uk/global/h/contact-us/personal-banking/complain.ashx

coolguycp1 wrote: »

Also, is there any right amount of compensation to ask for or should I not quote any amount at all leaving them to judge and decide?

Your quick reply will be appreciated.

List the amount it has cost you in failed direct debits, any costs it has cost you to pay by other methods and if you have any proof of this photocopy it and include it in the letter. Also mention how many times you have telephoned them.

The bank should offer a payment covering your direct loss that plus a small payment to cover your other expenses.

Twister84

If it's genuine bank error, then don't forget to mention any kind of charges you've incurred.


Although something doesn't seem to add up. What happened to October's and November's payments to Sky (and the other d/d's on the account)? It sounds like those went through fine because you don't state whether you received a letter for the same reason (should you have had the same problem in those months)


Apart from a written instruction, usually a conversion form, a downgrade/upgrade only requires a change of account type on our Back Office systems and it'd be reflected overnight.

I can't see how they managed to cancel a d/d, or more, simply because you downgraded

chambta

Direct debits are automatically cancelled if they are returned unpaid for lack of funds twice.

The account being downgraded has nothing to do with it.

What I don't understand is how 'the system would not allow any direct debits to be made'. From what you've explained nothing the bank would do could have that effect.

coolguycp1

Twister84 wrote: »

If it's genuine bank error, then don't forget to mention any kind of charges you've incurred.


Although something doesn't seem to add up. What happened to October's and November's payments to Sky (and the other d/d's on the account)? It sounds like those went through fine because you don't state whether you received a letter for the same reason (should you have had the same problem in those months)


Apart from a written instruction, usually a conversion form, a downgrade/upgrade only requires a change of account type on our Back Office systems and it'd be reflected overnight.

I can't see how they managed to cancel a d/d, or more, simply because you downgraded

I was told that some guy at the bank ticked the wrong box when scanning the conversion form into the system, so instead of the current account, it changed into a cash account. I was also told today that the cash account is normally for the people who cannot manage their money (????) and when the branch applied for re-conversion to the current account, the system would not accept the change due to the type of account it has now become.

I was told that I need to apply for a new current account now and all the debit cards and the cheque books will have to change, another piece of hassle for me.

Any advice will be appreciated.