NatWest (merged)

jayneg_2

brightonman wrote: »

Since this thread is aimed specifically at NatWest customers, I thought I'd add my experience so far, in case anyone finds it useful.

I'm claiming unfair charges back on two bank accounts. The first claim is for £1,757.98 on an account that I closed back in March 2002. The second is on an account that is still open, and amounts to a whopping £4,874.51. Both these amounts include the interest allowed by the courts which I was able to calculate using the incredibly useful calculator on this site (thank you Martin).

I tried the 'softly softly' approach at first. I began by contacting my business manager locally by telephone, but he advised me to put everything in writing, which I did on 14th March 2007, and sent to him by Recorded Delivery. He then advised me that he had forwarded my letter to Customer Services in Borehamwood.

I should point out, by the way, that as I run a business, I had kept all the relevant bank statements in the normal course of doing my business accounts, so I didn't need to request copies. This certainly saved time.

Two weeks went by without a murmur from NatWest, so I sent another letter, which I titled "Letter before action" direct to Customer Services on 2nd April, again by Recorded Delivery. This letter is one of those you can find online on the Consumer Action Group site. I liked it because, whilst remaining legalistic, it has a nice tone of "look, I'm really disappointed that you would treat a long-term customer like this", which I hoped might do the trick. (I've banked with NatWest since 1991.) With this, I also sent highlighted copies of all the relevant bank statements and a list of all the disputed charges on both accounts.

Their response?

Silence.

So, about a month had passed, and I was starting to get really p*ssed off. In fact, the act of investigating the charges I had paid NatWest over the years had made me really angry. I'm self-employed, and as anyone running a small business knows, it can be hard enough coping with cashflow problems and late-paying customers, without the high street banks bullying you with punitive bank charges.

In fact, I uncovered several instances of being charged a great deal more than the original 'offending' direct debit or standing order had been: and some one-off charges had been as high as £120!! (No, I'm not kidding.) In October 2001, on one account alone I was charged no less than £350! It appears that certain bank managers over the years had the power to impose entirely arbitrary, punitive fees on their customers, something which I view as financial piracy of the worst kind.

And NatWest always advertise that they offer "...another way." Yeah, right. I only wish that I'd realised I had the right to stand up against them years ago.

So, having heard nothing -- not even an acknowledgement of my existence, let alone the courtesy of a proper reply -- from NatWest, and having read about the experiences of others both here and elsewhere, I decided to try the MoneyClaimOnline site.

Well, that was simplicity itself. Having carefully drafted the wording of my claims offline, I simply copied and pasted into the appropriate forms on their site, and within a day or two I could see that my claim had been accepted, and the clock was running.

Please note that I divided the amount owed to me into two, separate claims, because added together, they exceed the £5,000 threshold of the Small Claims procedure. I'm not sure if anyone else here has done this, but it seemed the right thing to do as the amounts refer to two, separate bank accounts.

I made the claims online on the afternoon of 18th April 2007. The claims were accepted on 19th. I had to get my head around the fact that you must then allow an interval of 5 days for the claim to be 'served' before the clock starts ticking for the defendants (NatWest).

So, with a bit of calculation, I reckoned that it would be about, well, today that I could go back to the MoneyClaim site and ask for a default judgement to be issued in my favour.

Ah, but guess what NatWest have done, bless 'em?

That's right: at the 11th hour, they've sent in an Acknowledgement to the court. This means that the time they are allowed has been extended by a further 14 days, meaning that it will now be 22nd May before I can ask the court to get my money back for me. And of course, in the meantime, they could still enter a defence and try to prolong this even further. On the evidence so far, that wouldn't surprise me one little bit.

However, I am utterly determined to get my money back off these scoundrels. If they hadn't levied such preposterous charges from my accounts, it's clear that my personal financial position, and that of one of my businesses, would have been far less shaky. The money they took from me could have been used to pay off other credit cards and loans, or even invested. And I might even have been able to take the occasional modest holiday!

If there's anyone else out there who has been at this stage, I'd love to hear what happened to you. All I can say to anyone who hasn't reached this stage yet is that I'm trying to stay calm and focused on the fact that it's MY money and I want it back, however long it takes. I'm a military history enthusiast, and a voice in my head keeps saying, "steady, the Buffs." If it goes on much longer, I'll be singing "Men of Harlech" like the redcoats in "Zulu".

You can feel very small and insignificant and alone in this situation, facing up to the might of a multi-billion pound organisation. But thanks to sites like this, you know that actually, you're not alone at all.

I hope this has helped someone, and I'll keep you posted with what happens next...

I think Im just ahead of you. NatWest defended in full and my claim now been transferred to my local county court with a hearing date of 4 July. Since my MCOL I am still incurring charges - up to 200 more - and have questioned whether I can add this to my claim and how I go about it. If anyone else in same situation about adding further charges - please advise!! Will keep you posted.

thequickbrownfox

brightonman wrote: »

Since this thread is aimed specifically at NatWest customers, I thought I'd add my experience so far, in case anyone finds it useful.

I'm claiming unfair charges back on two bank accounts. The first claim is for £1,757.98 on an account that I closed back in March 2002. The second is on an account that is still open, and amounts to a whopping £4,874.51. Both these amounts include the interest allowed by the courts which I was able to calculate using the incredibly useful calculator on this site (thank you Martin).

I tried the 'softly softly' approach at first. I began by contacting my business manager locally by telephone, but he advised me to put everything in writing, which I did on 14th March 2007, and sent to him by Recorded Delivery. He then advised me that he had forwarded my letter to Customer Services in Borehamwood.

I should point out, by the way, that as I run a business, I had kept all the relevant bank statements in the normal course of doing my business accounts, so I didn't need to request copies. This certainly saved time.

Two weeks went by without a murmur from NatWest, so I sent another letter, which I titled "Letter before action" direct to Customer Services on 2nd April, again by Recorded Delivery. This letter is one of those you can find online on the Consumer Action Group site. I liked it because, whilst remaining legalistic, it has a nice tone of "look, I'm really disappointed that you would treat a long-term customer like this", which I hoped might do the trick. (I've banked with NatWest since 1991.) With this, I also sent highlighted copies of all the relevant bank statements and a list of all the disputed charges on both accounts.

Their response?

Silence.

So, about a month had passed, and I was starting to get really p*ssed off. In fact, the act of investigating the charges I had paid NatWest over the years had made me really angry. I'm self-employed, and as anyone running a small business knows, it can be hard enough coping with cashflow problems and late-paying customers, without the high street banks bullying you with punitive bank charges.

In fact, I uncovered several instances of being charged a great deal more than the original 'offending' direct debit or standing order had been: and some one-off charges had been as high as £120!! (No, I'm not kidding.) In October 2001, on one account alone I was charged no less than £350! It appears that certain bank managers over the years had the power to impose entirely arbitrary, punitive fees on their customers, something which I view as financial piracy of the worst kind.

And NatWest always advertise that they offer "...another way." Yeah, right. I only wish that I'd realised I had the right to stand up against them years ago.

So, having heard nothing -- not even an acknowledgement of my existence, let alone the courtesy of a proper reply -- from NatWest, and having read about the experiences of others both here and elsewhere, I decided to try the MoneyClaimOnline site.

Well, that was simplicity itself. Having carefully drafted the wording of my claims offline, I simply copied and pasted into the appropriate forms on their site, and within a day or two I could see that my claim had been accepted, and the clock was running.

Please note that I divided the amount owed to me into two, separate claims, because added together, they exceed the £5,000 threshold of the Small Claims procedure. I'm not sure if anyone else here has done this, but it seemed the right thing to do as the amounts refer to two, separate bank accounts.

I made the claims online on the afternoon of 18th April 2007. The claims were accepted on 19th. I had to get my head around the fact that you must then allow an interval of 5 days for the claim to be 'served' before the clock starts ticking for the defendants (NatWest).

So, with a bit of calculation, I reckoned that it would be about, well, today that I could go back to the MoneyClaim site and ask for a default judgement to be issued in my favour.

Ah, but guess what NatWest have done, bless 'em?

That's right: at the 11th hour, they've sent in an Acknowledgement to the court. This means that the time they are allowed has been extended by a further 14 days, meaning that it will now be 22nd May before I can ask the court to get my money back for me. And of course, in the meantime, they could still enter a defence and try to prolong this even further. On the evidence so far, that wouldn't surprise me one little bit.

However, I am utterly determined to get my money back off these scoundrels. If they hadn't levied such preposterous charges from my accounts, it's clear that my personal financial position, and that of one of my businesses, would have been far less shaky. The money they took from me could have been used to pay off other credit cards and loans, or even invested. And I might even have been able to take the occasional modest holiday!

If there's anyone else out there who has been at this stage, I'd love to hear what happened to you. All I can say to anyone who hasn't reached this stage yet is that I'm trying to stay calm and focused on the fact that it's MY money and I want it back, however long it takes. I'm a military history enthusiast, and a voice in my head keeps saying, "steady, the Buffs." If it goes on much longer, I'll be singing "Men of Harlech" like the redcoats in "Zulu".

You can feel very small and insignificant and alone in this situation, facing up to the might of a multi-billion pound organisation. But thanks to sites like this, you know that actually, you're not alone at all.

I hope this has helped someone, and I'll keep you posted with what happens next...

Hi,
not sure what I am doing here..... am totally new to this forum. Interesting though!!!!! I am in a very similar situation to u...... and hey guess what......one of the original charges which has snow balled beyond belief was a bounced dd to A CHILDRENS CHARITY FOR £2. tHEY CHARGED ME £28.00 FOR THE PLEASURE..... MAKES ME SICK!
here goes...

Sent original letter to branch.......... no response

Sent 2nd letter to cust serv & branch claiming £1940 plus interest, giving deadline of 14 days to pay otherwise small claims........ no response

Started claim with MCOL 19th April........ week later, received letter offering goodwill gesture of £1843 which is only £100 short of my original claim before interest. :beer: They acknowledged with court on 3rd May.

I would have been willing to accept this settlement, BUT... in the meantime, due to their dithering I have been charged another £300!!!!! :eek: I returned the offer acceptance but crossed out their amount and added the further charges to be incorporated into the settlement. I also attached a letter explaining my actions and detailing the charges. This was also sent via email to customer services. I said that if the money was received within 14 days of my letter, I would cancel the court proceedings.

I am now waiting their response, but not sure whether this needs to be settled within the 28 days of original claim date? or do they get longer as they have written to me? Hope this brightens your day... knowing that I have had an offer! If you or anyone else out there can answer my question about deadlines..... would be very grateful.

msc1977

This may have already been posted but just thought i would let you know i called the 0845 number today to confirm the info i was given last week had stayed the same.
Anyway i was advised that an acknowledgement letter had been sent to me on 30th March (never received) and that they were currently sending out offers for acknowledgements sent on 13th March so they were slightly behind their 7 week timescale.
She also confirmed they couldnt discuss figures over the phone but she did give me a reference number for my claim for future calls and said i should def have received an offer by the end of the month.
They also agreed to send out statements for our joint account which i requested 8 weeks ago and am still waiting for.

jonun

HI,
can somebody please tell what letter 3 is?
i sent 1st letter requesting charges then 14 days later 2nd letter threatening further action..so what is letter 3?
just been reading through and a few people have mentioned letter 3??
dont want to leave anything out??

many thanks

frugalpam

jonun wrote: »

HI,
can somebody please tell what letter 3 is?
i sent 1st letter requesting charges then 14 days later 2nd letter threatening further action..so what is letter 3?
just been reading through and a few people have mentioned letter 3??
dont want to leave anything out??

many thanks

I think letter 1 is the one requesting statements (some people request them over the phone), letter 2 requests a refund of charges, and letter 3 is the LBA one ( threatening court action)

Pam

Leaf

thequickbrownfox wrote: »

Hi,
not sure what I am doing here..... am totally new to this forum. Interesting though!!!!! I am in a very similar situation to u...... and hey guess what......one of the original charges which has snow balled beyond belief was a bounced dd to A CHILDRENS CHARITY FOR £2. tHEY CHARGED ME £28.00 FOR THE PLEASURE..... MAKES ME SICK!

I am boiling!!

But keeping a cool head.

Your story shows just how callous these banks are.
No negotiation, no commitment and little regard for the ordinary people.

Whille I understand why the vast majority of us are merely scraping back some of the life the banks have sapped from us and got little recourse (victory indeed!!) we still have not a ruling on what it actually costs to send out a financially crippling letter. Like many others I have tried to communicate negotiation and address debt, but the greedy ones seem to still try and put us down. Those who would be potential investors but who are thwarted because high investment is short term lucrative woulld cherish a few pennies to put forward to pension schemes but are robbed by bank charges.

What the banks are now faced with is challenge. Challenge from angry people. From people who do worthwhile jobs, contributing jobs and families who have asked the right questions at the right time. Where do our charges go? What impact does this have on our faith of financial institutions. How can they rise to ever demanding expectations of the consumer group? We demand more responsible accountability.
The !!!!!!!s need to be taken to task.

Sorry for sounding like a politicion.

Cheers
Leaf

Hotdog_2

I have just printed out my third letter ready to post by recorded delivery tomorrow. They had until 3rd May to respond but I was totally ignored. I deliberately didn't phone them because I knew I would just get the 56 day thing and I didn't want them to feel as though they had "responded" in some way by telling me this! I have kept all communication strictly in writing. I gave them a few days grace just in case they thought I meant 14 working days, and then it was the bank holiday etc, but I don't think I'm going to be hearing from them without a little shove.
It appears that Natwest are defending quite a lot. Is this happening across the board now or just for a few unlucky ones?

ElaineE_2

Hi I'm also quite new to this forum. I sent a letter requesting information to my Natwest bank on 2nd April .The post office was across the road from the branch but I sent it recorded as they are so bad at 'not receiving' letters.As the £10 chq wasn't cashed and no response recieved I telphoned the bank to be told that they dont accept post!!! I then rang the sorting office as I had proof the item was signed for. It seems all their post goes to another branch and then it is 'dropped over' by someone on their way home - vwery professional!
Since then I have been told there will be a delay as my account is a closed one and it is being dealt with at a secret address!
Still the cheque has not been cashed.

Elaine

jonun

DOH!

course it is..was getting in a flap there thinking id missed something out..

many many thanks

frugalpam

ElaineE wrote: »

......Since then I have been told there will be a delay as my account is a closed one and it is being dealt with at a secret address!
Still the cheque has not been cashed.

Elaine

A secret address? They've got to be kidding I'd be tempted to let the Financial Ombudsman deal with your claim - wonder if they'd say the same to the FO? :rotfl:

Pam