Banks mistake - can I claim ?

lostboy2010

18 months ago I was made redundant. I had a nat west advantage account with an agreed overdraft and was paying £12.95 a month for the account. I went into my bank and cleared my overdraft with my redundancy cheque and requested my account be downgraded to a free account with no overdraft facility (I have the signed form the bank clerk and I signed and dated) after this I only withdrew cash from the machine when I needed some believing when my remaining redundancy money was all gone it wouldnt let me go overdrawn again. For whatever reason my request was never actioned by the bank and I found that not only was I still be charged a monthly fee for an account I didnt want or need but I slipped into overdraft again and began incurring interest and charges. Im afraid I didnt act straight away and when I found a new job I was a months pay in arrears every month. I am about to go into my bank again to clear my overdraft and start again with a free account and a clean slate. Do I have a case for asking them to repay my monthly fee and perhaps some or all of the charges I incurred by going overdrawn from the date 18 months ago when they failed to action my first request ? Any help would be appreciated.

p00hsticks

Just my personal opinion but I suspect that they would refund the £12.95 monthly fees if you show them the signed form (although I do wonder why YOU still have the form - surely that is what should have gone through the system to trigger the change ?), but I'd expect some questions from the bank on why you didn't bring it to their attention much sooner.

I wouldn't expect any joy on their overdraft charges - your assumption that a downgraded account wouldn't let you go overdrawn is almost certainly wrong - do you have anything in writing to indicate that this was what was promised ?

lostboy2010

The form I have is the 'customer copy' of the original. I did specify at the time that I wanted no overdraft facility and I believe the basic account does exclude overdraft facilities but that isnt 'in writing' on the form

jonesMUFCforever

lostboy2010 wrote: »

The form I have is the 'customer copy' of the original. I did specify at the time that I wanted no overdraft facility and I believe the basic account does exclude overdraft facilities but that isnt 'in writing' on the form

Then yes they should refund all of the £12.95 fees but only refund the interest and other charges if you can show they have been caused entirely by the taking of this fee.

You have to think though of a reasonable reason why for 18 months you did not mention this to the bank.
I feel there is more to your post than you have written - wanting your cake and eating it springs to mind!

McKneff

it wouldnt let me go overdrawn again

'It' isnt responsible, you have to be responsible for your own spending.

Your naivety astounds me. Re the above, it wouldnt have automatically stopped you going into overdraft, you would still have gone into overdraft but it would have been unauthorised. And you would have been hit with charges anyway.
Why on earth someone doestn check their bank balances on a regular basis even if its just once a month is beyond me.

stephane_2

McKneff wrote: »

it wouldnt let me go overdrawn again

'It' isnt responsible, you have to be responsible for your own spending.

Your naivety astounds me. Re the above, it wouldnt have automatically stopped you going into overdraft, you would still have gone into overdraft but it would have been unauthorised. And you would have been hit with charges anyway.
Why on earth someone doestn check their bank balances on a regular basis even if its just once a month is beyond me.

I absolutely agree, you have been so foolish and incompetent managing your own finances. I agree that the bank should refund the £12.95 fee but in no way should they refund the charges....

lostboy2010

Thanks for all the feedback re this. I agree I should have acted sooner but to clarify re the overdraft It was agreed that there would be no overdraft facility with the basic account I was switching to and as I only withdraw cash via the 'hole in the wall' and have no direct debits set up it wouldnt allow me to draw more than was available in the account. Obviously initially I thought I still had money left in the account when it let me keep making withdrawls and it wasnt until I got a paper statement that I realised I was overdrawn again.I was only getting £50 pw jobseekers and was embarrassed to ask my parents for help.

AnonymousForObviousReason

stephane wrote: »

I absolutely agree, you have been so foolish and incompetent managing your own finances. I agree that the bank should refund the £12.95 fee but in no way should they refund the charges....

There is a question of the bank saying they will provide a service and then by not doing so creating a situation where the person can put themselves into a position they didn't think could happen.

However, after a few months there must be a question of the reasonableness for OPs actions. Fortunately it's an easy way to discover why this happened, the bank will quickly check how often the OP checked their balance (online or at cashpoint) and if never then this will show it's someone who needs basic lessons on how to track their money better, or alternatively requires having their account closed for not being truthful in a way to remove known charges.

Good luck OP, glad you're getting back on your feet and just remember to check your finances more often.