RBS & A long story!

peanut_butter

I dont really know where to start, i guess from the beginning would be good, be prepared! (And sorry if i bore you to death!)

August 2008, had an account with the RBS - i thought they were pretty decent - but i had a £900 overdraft, this was being paid every month, it was all good - Then in December 2008, i was planning on buying a few things online, with x mas being near etc ! - So checked my online banking to which i had over £200 available, thought brill, will use up £200 of it to be on the safe side -

A week later i login to my online banking account to find that i have £420 in charges! - £210 one day and the day after a further £210

I phoned up to ask what are the charges for, and how i got them - to which i was told i have no idea, ive never seen this before (?!?!?!) - the man goes to his manager, and comes back and tells me these are charges because you have went over your overdraft limit! - I said how is that possible when i had an available balance - Anyways to cut a long story short, we went back and forward with each other

I ended up hanging up -

Late december, i thought right, if my wages go in to this account, its all going to be swallowed up in these bank charges, so i moved my wages to be paid in to a differnt bank account - I got back on the phone to the bank to work o ut a way to pay them - I WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT !!! But there was no way i was having my credit file damaged over this - So i took a gulp, phoned them, spoke to someone in collections who told me i need to speak to my local branch to sort this out - So i phoned my local branch who then told me i need to speak to collections (!!!!!!!!!) -

Ended up phoning collections back, and spoke to them, they offerd me to take out a loan for a year and pay back x amount each month , again, i wasnt happy about this, as they were not budging on giving me even a discount! but i agreed, he ssaid some forms will be sent out, all i need to do is fill them out, sign them, and send them back and start paying monthly payments.


A couple of weeks in to January i got the forms, i signed the forms, i was ready to post the forms, then i get a phone call from someone in collecitons, telling me i must make an arrangement to pay - I explained, i phoned up and made an arrangement, i am taking a loan out to pay this - She told me , no , you cant do this anymore, its too late - I cant remember the full convo with her, but it went along the lines of, what do you mean its too late, how can it be too late blah blah blah - So ended up saying right, i will pay what i was going to pay with the loan amount each month - (this was near the end of january) and this was to start on the 1st of march -

again, 2-3 weeks later, i get another phone call - To ask me to set up an agreement to pay!!!!! - I was furious , i already thought the previous 2 times were agreements to pay which they never held up too ! - I told the woman that i spoke too that I AM TRYING to pay and my first day to pay is on the 1st of march which what was agreed too - She said that there is no records of this! - I said im going in to the branch then to sort this out ( i was furious!)

I popped down to the bracnh, they told me they can not help me as its with collections, however, they will let me use their phone to sort it out with them - i took them up on that offer, since i was at the bank anyway! -

I Phoned up, explained to them everything thats happend and all i want to do is pay and get this over with and that you are making it very difficult - SO ONCE AGAIN we set up another agreement, this time, to start on the 1st of april - So i thanked the branch manager for letting me use her office, use her phone etc its all sorted, im happy blah blah

and not even 1 week later (this is still in march) i get another call, once again to say i need to set up an agreement to pay!!! - I said i have done this a few times now, she said but you have never kept to the agreeement, i said i never get a chance too because i get a call to say that there is no agreement thats been set up !!!!!!! - I said i thought you keep call records? , she said yes, i said ok well i have the TIME AND DATE OF THE CALL I MADE FROM THE BRANCH LAST WEEK! where i set up the agreement - she asked for those details, i gave her them, and she put me on hold, came back to say there is still no record of this, and there was no call - i couldnt belive it !

I saiid im paying on the 1st of april the agreed amount, she said no you cant, you need to set up an agreement first, i said ive already done this several times - after a few more words, i prob made the worst mistake and hung up-

I was so angry, i couldnt even speak to them - i didnt make the payment on the first of april due to their not being an agreement according to them!

April passes by, may passes by, then june comes - I get a phone call from "Triton" - They asked me why i have not paid, i explained to them everything that had happend and all i ever wanted was to pay, and had the RBS stuck to the original agreement, the debt would have been 50% paid by this time! -

They told me, forget everything the RBS has said or anythingt hats ever happend with them, we shall start afresh, so i agreed to pay £30 per month - This was due to the fact i was REALLY not happy with them, and, i had at this point £800 in charges & interest ! -

Ive been paying them £30 per month every month since then - I wont even go in to the troubles with triton and my credit file! -

However, when i made my last payment, i have found out that, the £30 isnt even going towards my debt, only £9 of this is ! - im being charged £21 interest EVERY MONTH! - so for the past 6 months, only 2 of those months have went towards my debt , the other 4 months went purely towards my interest -

I DIDNT EVEN KNOW I WAS STILL BEING CHARGED INTEREST?!?! -

Can triton do this? -

What can i do ?

Can they get away with adding on an extra £1,100 in interest and charges even though this all started from them not sticking to their agreement of a loan, or even , can they get away with the £1,100 interest and charges when i wouldnt have got in to that mess if they hadnt stuck on £420 in charges within a 48 hour period?!?!!

Any help is apprcicated, if there is no help, it did feel a little better to vent this!!

peanut_butter

Doh!!! And that was trying to keep it short :-( Sorry guys

esmerellda

A week later i login to my online banking account to find that i have £420 in charges! - £210 one day and the day after a further £210

I phoned up to ask what are the charges for, and how i got them - to which i was told i have no idea, ive never seen this before (?!?!?!) - the man goes to his manager, and comes back and tells me these are charges because you have went over your overdraft limit! - I said how is that possible when i had an available balance - Anyways to cut a long story short, we went back and forward with each other

Did you find out why you were charged in the end ? This is the starting point so that needs clarifying first - did it show on your statements what the charges were for and where the !!!! up with your balance occured.

Then write to the complaints dept and complain - explain the circumstances and give a concise chronological list of events and cc your letter to Stephen Hester, the FSA and the OFT. Ask for the charges since you first tried to enter a repayment plan back, send a photocopy of the loan agreement you completed and didnt return due to being told not to by the collections centre. List dates and times of calls as far as you can recall.

I'd also, seperately, send a full Subject Access Request (Data Protection Act) to get hold of all the info they hold, including screen notes and recordings of calls.

peanut_butter

esmerellda wrote: »

Did you find out why you were charged in the end ? This is the starting point so that needs clarifying first - did it show on your statements what the charges were for and where the !!!! up with your balance occured.

Then write to the complaints dept and complain - explain the circumstances and give a concise chronological list of events and cc your letter to Stephen Hester, the FSA and the OFT. Ask for the charges since you first tried to enter a repayment plan back, send a photocopy of the loan agreement you completed and didnt return due to being told not to by the collections centre. List dates and times of calls as far as you can recall.

I'd also, seperately, send a full Subject Access Request (Data Protection Act) to get hold of all the info they hold, including screen notes and recordings of calls.

Hi esmerellda,

Thank you for your response -

I have been told that, i got charged something like £30 for EVERY transaction that went over my overdraft limit - (which i dont understand how it could have went over my overdraft limit, when i had an available balance) i have been told since then, that there could have been a delay in the system updating on the online banking, but i should have been keeping an eye on my balance anyway and should have known what my balance was.

This morning i tried to access my online banking to get to my statements, this has been blocked, ive had to go to the local branch to request my statements - which will be sent through over the next couple of weeks - i did have a hunch that i really should go back to when all this started to find out exactly whats happend - but i fear this will lead me no where.

I have since the "Phone calls" Were going "missing" - recorded every conversation on a notepad with dates and which department ive called

I shall have a look for the complaints departments address and do that later as you have suggested and see where it gets me -

Thanks again

esmerellda

Its a first step, I hope they havent charged you for the statements ?

You are entitled to everything they hold on you over the past 6 years or so under the DataProtection Act - this will include all transaction lists if not copy statements, as well as screen notes, copies of letters etc and the maximum they can charge for that is £10. Does take 40 days to come tho.

peanut_butter

At first they told me i will have to pay for the statements, i said there is no chance of this as i could print them off the net if i had access to my online banking! - The woman spoke to her manager (this was in the branch) and then said they will send them out without a charge

esmerellda

Good stuff well done. Depending how the complaint goes in the first stage you might want to get the SAR in anyway for the screen notes etc.

orc_2

esmerellda wrote: »

Good stuff well done. Depending how the complaint goes in the first stage you might want to get the SAR in anyway for the screen notes etc.

Esmerellda is correct to stress the SAR and getting all information inc screen notes.:)

Effectively the bank wanted you to arrange a loan to consolidate the OD caused mainly by charges. That is handy information to have as proof if and when you require to start the reclaim process. (remembering that you need to outline personal financial circumstances and unfair balance).:)