Im I Entitled To Reclaim

jont80

Now i know this isnt exactly bank charges but i would like to know if i am entitled to reclaim.Im a Natwest customer and i did used to pay £6.95 a month and get there product called Advantage Blue (cheap rail travel,Cinema 2 for 1s and the like).I had it for a while but didnt use any off the offers.So on time i was in the bank i filled in cancellation forms and signed them at the desk and handed them over.At a guess i would say it was around about 2 year ago.
Today i was on the phoning talking to an advisor and she mentioned i had charges as my Advantage Blue had taken me into an unauthorised overdraft.When i mentioned it was cancelled years ago she said i had still been paying every month.I asked her to look at the cancellation paperwork as i had signed it she said she doesnt have the paperwork there.So i get my local branch number where my account is held and i actually signed the forms for cancellation to be told since it is over a year old they dont have the forms.He basically said since i hadnt noticed i was being charged these £6.95s that it was more or less my own fault,Which really wound me up as i never looked for them since they had been cancelled.Now of course im not happy.I would say at least 2 years of £6.95s must have left my account and i basically want them back.But there are saying they have no recollection of the cancellation !! So where is the paperwork i signed in branch to say i didnt want the product ???
Do i have a leg to stand on in reclaiming all them payments if they have indeed lost the cancellation form ? Where do i stand ?

natweststaffmember

Oh no they don't. Do you know the month and year that your signed the cancellation form?
Furthermore, if your signed something then they would have accessed your account to do the cancellation so they can audit trail your account specifically for someone from the branch accessing your account details.
I would do this in writing.
With advantage blue you can cancel after the first 14 days otherwise the minimum period is 6 months.

hicskis

You're going to have trouble proving this one - without a copy. This may well be a 166.80 (based on 2 years) learning experience.

This is the lesson and will save you lots more in the future:

1. Always always always - get a copy and keep it somewhere safe;
2. Check your statements regularly to spot mistakes;
3. Never trust a bank employee to do what you ask - always always always - put it in writing.

jont80

I actually had it for quiet awhile.Just paying it as i never went into the bank to cancel it.Then one day i was in depositing money so i cancelled it when i was there.I had and paid for the product for quiet a while.I dont have a clue of the date as it was that long ago.He even had the cheek over the phone to tell me that they werent even selling Advatage Blue two years ago,Which really got my back up.As i know i paid for it for a long time and its been ages since i cancelled it.To say the product hasnt been on sale for more than two years he may has well just says im lying.At that point i was sick of him saying i should have noticed it earlier (yeah maybe i should,but didnt.But i shouldnt have been getting charged it fullstop.If i noticed or not is not the point(I have never used any of the offers thy can check) Is it !! So i just asked for head offices address and said i will be pursuing it.
I do have a resonable argument to make a complaint tho dont I ? They must have the paper trail to the cancellation somewhere ?

jont80

I was in branch went i signed the cancellation.I signed at there desk and handed it over to the advisor.What they then did with it i do not know ? Maybe put there coffee mug on it or something along them lines but surely they cannot make money off you when they arent entitled to take it ?

jont80

He seemed to know where to find credit agreements and of the like when i mentioned them.When i said so you would lose loan papers and people wouldnt have to pay them.Then i was informed they are a different type of an agreement to the products.But they must have the paperwork somewhere ? I refuse to believe they just cannot find it ?

natweststaffmember

jont80 wrote: »

He seemed to know where to find credit agreements and of the like when i mentioned them.When i said so you would lose loan papers and people wouldnt have to pay them.Then i was informed they are a different type of an agreement to the products.But they must have the paperwork somewhere ? I refuse to believe they just cannot find it ?

Do you know approximately WHEN you went into the branch to cancel it?
Can you remember WHO you spoke to?
You need to state to the bank that you were at fault for not checking your statements but you trusted the bank to treat you fairly in their dealings and to carry out your instructions. The fact they didn't means that they owe you a refund of fees or to provide proof that you have used the services of Advantage Blue. I defy them to find out that you did.

Rail travel is the railcard--are you too old?
Travel insurance is Europe wide for 2 weeks--Did you pay for travel insurance after you cancelled the Advantage Blue and/or are you medically fit to fly?
Cinema 2 for 1--is there a qualifying cinema in your area?
you see where I am kinda going on this one?

jont80

Right i cannot really put a date on as it was literally years ago.The person who served me was just the woman on the welcome/reception desk i do not know her name.
I have now noticed the Advanage Blue charge on my account BUT it isnt called Advantage Blue it is just called charges of £6.95.Which i have just taken to have been a standard charge of some sorts.
As for the Rail Travel i am 29 now so would have been around 26/27 ish when i cancelled.
I never used the travel insurance and the times i have been abroad in those years i always used the Post Office for insurance in 2006,2007 and 2009.
The Cinema the offer was for was The Vue cinema.The nearest one to me is Hartlepool which is 22.5 miles away.The next nearest being Carlisle which is 60 miles away. Why would i travel that far when i have a Cineworld 2 mile away ???
Do you think that i have good grounds to complain or not ? Its not just the £6.95s which is a nice little sum.But i have been hit with charges for unauthrorised overdraft useage on a least on of theses transactions.So it could possible be more ?

natweststaffmember

jont80 wrote: »

Right i cannot really put a date on as it was literally years ago.The person who served me was just the woman on the welcome/reception desk i do not know her name.
I have now noticed the Advanage Blue charge on my account BUT it isnt called Advantage Blue it is just called charges of £6.95.Which i have just taken to have been a standard charge of some sorts.
As for the Rail Travel i am 29 now so would have been around 26/27 ish when i cancelled.
I never used the travel insurance and the times i have been abroad in those years i always used the Post Office for insurance in 2006,2007 and 2009.
The Cinema the offer was for was The Vue cinema.The nearest one to me is Hartlepool which is 22.5 miles away.The next nearest being Carlisle which is 60 miles away. Why would i travel that far when i have a Cineworld 2 mile away ???
Do you think that i have good grounds to complain or not ? Its not just the £6.95s which is a nice little sum.But i have been hit with charges for unauthrorised overdraft useage on a least on of theses transactions.So it could possible be more ?

Have you used any of the services whatsoever on the Advantage Blue ever?
You are going to have to complain in writing btw and ask for the T Bar which specifically meant that the branch went through the benefits of the account prior to giving it to you.
You need to try and be more specific when you went into the branch to cancel it and ask the bank to audit trail your account with regards to who accessed your details in that timeframe.
Furthermore, explain to them about the insurance and give them proof you used a separate supplier and to argue that they should refund based on bank error ie not cancelling the instruction when you requested them to do so.

jont80

Never used one item off the thing.Also offers car recovery breakdown but i dont own a car.I have actually found my policy and number from my last trip abroad from the post office which was in July 09.Which is when i was covered by Advantage Blue but didnt use there travel insurance i got an independant as i didnt know i had it.
Thanks for all your help.I think i have good grounds to complain and im going to.The only thing im worried about is that i really cannot even pinpoint a rough date as to when i cancelled. I would say the best i could do would be 2007/08.

natweststaffmember

Then ask for charges back to at least the point in which you bought travel insurance(was it a trip to europe of no more than 14 days duration?)