Please help im concerned

dpbayly

Hi all i hope i've put this post in the correct place anyway what it is my wife used to have a nationwide account which we decided to stop using we did'nt close it but just left it with zero balance and left it at that we since moved home around 6 months ago we didn't give the new address to nationwide as we didn't even think about it. Today my wife got a call at work from nationwide saying she owes just over £300 for originally 3 bank charges and i presume the remainder is charges for not paying the charges they told her to clear it within 2 months what i want to know is can i get out of this as i feel its out of order and unfair im not trying to reclaim past charges which i must be honest there were alot but just trying to avoid paying anymore i feel i have the upperhand as i hold the money and not trying to get it back, can they take me to court or even would they if i just tell them to go jump which i would really like to do haven't yet as i don't know where i stand legally any advise i would be very greatfull for
Thanks Darren

onlypaddy

there would have been prior notification of the charges by letter on your statement. they sent this to the address they have on file for the account. it is your responsbility to notify the bank of a change in your address if the account is still open.

it sounds as though you haven't been wrongly charged, so the debt will remain. in theory they could take you to court, but they are more likely to sell the debt on to a debt recovery agency, who are a lot worse to deal with.

bear in mind, while nothing is done with this then it will continue to attract charges and interest, so the longer it sits there the worse its going to get

suelizab

It's your wifes account , so that means she has to dedcide whether she owes this amount or not. If it is your wifes account then what do you mean by can YOU get out of it', 'can they take YOU to court' and that YOU hold the upperhand . You talk as if you control your wife and her dealings .

jambosans

suelizab wrote: »

It's your wifes account , so that means she has to dedcide whether she owes this amount or not. If it is your wifes account then what do you mean by can YOU get out of it', 'can they take YOU to court' and that YOU hold the upperhand . You talk as if you control your wife and her dealings .

There's no need to be so pedantic, it's clear what the OP means (aside from poor punctuation). Some married couples deal jointly with their finances, it may be his wife's account, but that doesn't mean he can't ask for help.

Anyways, OP, there's little that can be done, your wife's negligence has allowed this issue to arise. Firstly, the account was left with a zero balance, but not closed. If your wife had no intention of ever using the account again, it should have been closed. At this point any outstanding charges would have been notified. Secondly, you moved, and your wife didn't bother to tell Nationwide. So all the notifications about the charges etc., would not have been received.

The amount will be with Nationwide's collections department, so you can either arrange repay it (either in full or through a repayment plan) or ignore it and allow the debt to be sold on to a debt collection agency. Somewhere along the line this will effect your wife's credit history, so ignoring it isn't going to resolve anything. Your wife can be taken to the court, but you will often find they are blowing smoke in an attempt to get the money repaid. The debt collection agency may accept a lower settlement (as Nationwide will have written off part of the debt and sold it on for a lesser amount).

Nationwide collections will be bullish, but as soon as it goes to an external debt collector, they will really put on the pressure. If it's a debt your wife owes, then pay it.