I went to court today!

southernscouser

SunshineGirl wrote:

Well done Showmethemoney (I particularly find it amusing you seem to have slipped away from work and then back in again having won a court case!)

That is quite a funny thought!

Most people sneak out to do a bit of shopping or have a long lunch! :rotfl:

Leaf

I am so encouraged reading the posts on here.

I was finally pushed over the brink to take action when I was bullied by Natwest during the last 7 days. It started before Christmas when I was unable to find work and money got very very tight. I wrote regarding an outstanding loan with Natwest stating I was unable to make the repayment but could we come to some arrangement. Getting a response was tortuous and, during the period waiting and asking for a reply, they applied for the payment which bounced. We all know the snowball effect that has. Without going into too much detail, over the next month Natwest bounced every direct debit because of the unexpected withdrawal, charged £38 for each deferred DD, which in turn put me over my overdraft limit again, 'negotiated' an extended overdraft limit (I had to eat!) and so, in effect, placed £342 in charges (in a 24 hour period!) against my account for which I am now paying additional interest on them as an overdraft!
At every stage of trying to sort this mess out with the bank, every single employee I spoke with or met expressed horror at the predicament I'm in with, of course, a certain degree of corporate self preservation. I was initially told that my complaint would be channelled through 'Concerns'. That doesn't exist it seems. The final contact was with the person who 'arranged' my extended overdraft facility stating that the bank would not consider revoking the charges unless I went through Customer Services. She said 'You will be aware of the recent media coverage concerning the reclamation of bank charges. There is a template letter available on-line.'
So, yes! If their own employees are encouraging this course of action, I'm in and have sent the initial letters off to Natwest and the Credit Card robbers too! I just hope I'm not too late. The lil boogers always find a loophole somewhere!
The hardest part is the waiting game. The period of time unemployed has left us living on a shoestring (I'm employed now, so whew), the charges impacted in such a way as we will be playing catch up for months and the interest on the overdraft is 16% and crippling.

Just one last rambling. We have only missed one payment with the loan in 4 years, we are not great at managing money and this will now be addressed, we have always, eventually, met our bills and we acknowledge our responsibilities always. When will the banks?

Keep up the good work, Martin and those who have been wise enough to trust your guidance!!!

Leaf

Twinkly

showmethemoney! wrote:

a womans work is never done, after finishing work at 5pm I collected the shopping from the supermarket and came home and cooked my family their dinner, took the dog to the vets for 7pm as he was being sick and now Im enjoying my evening with a well deserved glass of red wine :beer:

Its so encouraging to see what actually happens in court and I thank you for taking the time out of what has been a very busy day for you to post it here giving such great detail.

Totally agree that womans work is never done and wow what a day you've had ! Fantastic result, big congratulations :T and I think you should have another glass of red wine, if not whole the bottle haha :rotfl:

Leaf

P.S. Showmethemoney.....

Hope the dog is OK ;-)

Leaf

stacey21_2

Well done on your victory!

Quick question for myself, Is it worth claiming for charges such as £120 - through the court channels?

Won't the court fee just cancel out the amount being claimed anyway?

SunshineGirl_4

ukmonkey wrote:

Not in any way at all in a nutshell. Legal precedents cannot be set in the small claims track.

Thanks ukmoney. It was the precedent setting that I was thinking of. In terms of bank reclaims, how disappointing

Leaf

ukmonkey wrote:

Not in any way at all in a nutshell. Legal precedents cannot be set in the small claims track.

But I bet the legal eagles are over this like a rash at the mo. You think some bank will actually take this to a high court to make such a precedent? Let me think... which one has the highest profits.....

Leaf

Leaf

stacey21 wrote:

Well done on your victory!

Quick question for myself, Is it worth claiming for charges such as £120 - through the court channels?

Won't the court fee just cancel out the amount being claimed anyway?

No. You are bringing the case so you are charged for it. If you ask for costs as part of your claim and you win, the bank foots the bill for having to take them to court. Always ask for costs if you are confident enough to win the case. Why should you pay for taking them to task?

Leaf

SunshineGirl_4

Leaf wrote:

...The final contact was with the person who 'arranged' my extended overdraft facility stating that the bank would not consider revoking the charges unless I went through Customer Services. She said 'You will be aware of the recent media coverage concerning the reclamation of bank charges. There is a template letter available on-line.'

Good luck with your reclaim Leaf.

I am mentally picturing the bank receiving my letter (that I posted today) saying "Oh no, not another template letter from the MSE website"!

Twinkly

Leaf wrote:

You think some bank will actually take this to a high court to make such a precedent?

I would think that would depend entirely on whether the banks would be willing to settle for charging £2.50 instead of what they charge now. Remember they havent disclosed their costs in court yet. I highly doubt they would settle for this amount and set precedent on it.

I must be spending too much time on this site its interfering with me and my sleep ! I've just come downstairs out of my warm bed to edit this post as I will probably forget by morning. I wondered if when asked by a judge what you think is an appropriate charge it would be an ok to say that without the banks disclosure of the true cost and not having personal experience of running a business you wouldnt like to guess and leave it at that ? If pressed I would say the £2.50 though I just dont want to be giving the judge any oppertunity to reduce my claim

Back off to bed, nite folks ... and once again congrats to OP, they will wake up smiling tomorrow and so many others will wake with fresh determination