Denied Packaged Account Reclaim (Natwest) is it worth FOS???

Treehuggermum

Hi.

I had an Advantage Gold account for almost 8 years. I was very young when this was pushed upon me and was given all the promises of better credit, better mortgage rates, a better rate for a loan (the reason I had gone in to the bank in the first place was for loan advice) and I was told as I had very little credit history I really needed this account. This was in 2001. After all the hikes I cancelled the account at the end of 2008 in store and asked to complain there and then about the hard sell of the account etc.
I was told it was needed to be in writing and fully intended to do so.
I was pregnant at the time and shortly after this was rushed to hospital and gave birth to a very poorly premature baby.
The whole bank thing slipped my mind until recently and I lodged an official complaint with Natwest. They have responded with a letter saying that I am outside of any timeframes and therefore there is no case.
Would the FOS agree? Is it worth getting them involved or shall I just shelve it as youthful bad judgment?
Thanks for reading.

dunstonh

Would the FOS agree?

Probably as you are out of time if you apply the usual timebar rules set by the regulator.

cing0

The time rules for complaining essentially are 3 years from the event if you were aware of the issue, 6 years if not.
Is it worth getting them involved? No, unless you want a six month merry-go-round of lies and incompetence.
Just close your Natwest account.

For those who are reading this forum and want to learn from this experience, perversely it is always best to make all your finance complaints initially via the FOS. That way, you wont be affected by the time bar.

Nearlyold

cing0 wrote: »

The time rules for complaining essentially are 3 years from the event if you were aware of the issue, 6 years if not.
Is it worth getting them involved? No, unless you want a six month merry-go-round of lies and incompetence.
Just close your Natwest account.

For those who are reading this forum and want to learn from this experience, perversely it is always best to make all your finance complaints initially via the FOS. That way, you wont be affected by the time bar.

The above is not correct


The time bar rule is 6 years from the event being complained about, or if later, 3 years from when you first realised there was a problem or should have reasonably known there was a problem.


Complaining to FOS first when you are already outside these limits does not mean you won't be affected by the time bar rules. I think cing0 is perhaps confusing the time limit for referring a complaint to FOS which is 6 months from receiving the "Final Response" from the Company being complained about.

Nasqueron

You shouldn't complain to the FOS in the first instance anyway, they will simply go to the firm and ask them to investigate it as the firm has to be allowed 8 weeks to look into the complaint before it can go to the FOS as an escalation point.

cing0 point is a bit odd as the 3 year time-bar rule is applied from the point you are aware of the issue which would be at the end of 2011 - 3 years after the account was closed by the OP, proving they knew about it and had 3 years to complain it was not right for them. End of 2014 the 6 year rule is in place so the firm is allowed to bar the complaint and there is no access to the FOS

Susalouisa

Hi , I am bit confused about this time limit thing..... I had package account with natwest 2007-2013 and made complaint couple months back and received letter yesterday saying I was out of time limit?? They said I should have raised issue 2012 latest??? This was because they send me a letter back in 2009 reminding me about my package account explaining terms and conditions. so they calculated 3 years from there and not when I closed account march 2013. can anyone share a bit light into this? should I go to FOS or leave it. My account was very much live 2013 and it was only then when I started looking into my comings and goings when wanting to save more money. thanks

dunstonh

Hi , I am bit confused about this time limit thing.....

You have 3 years from being reasonably aware of an issue or 6 years from the purchase date (whichever is longer) to make a complaint.

They said I should have raised issue 2012 latest??? This was because they send me a letter back in 2009 reminding me about my package account explaining terms and conditions. so they calculated 3 years from there and not when I closed account march 2013.

That does not sound unreasonable.

should I go to FOS or leave it.

I would expect the FOS to ask why you it took you 4 years and decide from there.

My account was very much live 2013 and it was only then when I started looking into my comings and goings when wanting to save more money.

None of that matters.

cing0

Nasqueron wrote: »

You shouldn't complain to the FOS in the first instance anyway, they will simply go to the firm and ask them to investigate it as the firm has to be allowed 8 weeks to look into the complaint before it can go to the FOS as an escalation point.

To explain the reasons for complaining via the FOS:

1. The 6 month FCA (DISP) rule 2.8.2(1) no longer exists (because the FOS already got your gripe when you asked them to make the complaint for you).

2. In my experience, the respondent (bank) tends to cough rather than have conversion (adjudication or final decision).

Just to prolong this thread with more confusion and arguments - http://fshandbook.info/FS/print/FCA/DISP/2/8

Nasqueron

cing0 wrote: »

To explain the reasons for complaining via the FOS:

1. The 6 month FCA (DISP) rule 2.8.2(1) no longer exists (because the FOS already got your gripe when you asked them to make the complaint for you).

2. In my experience, the respondent (bank) tends to cough rather than have conversion (adjudication or final decision).

Just to prolong this thread with more confusion and arguments - http://fshandbook.info/FS/print/FCA/DISP/2/8

But that's a fairly limited reason to go via the FOS first - at best you get a case of Chinese whispers being sent to the bank from the FOS call centre staff which might harm your case or miss out vital information that you could avoid by simply ringing the bank direct in the first place.

You simply complain and then after 8 weeks if unhappy with the response, or if the bank reject it before that, you escalate to the FOS. The 6 month window is more than enough to act on a letter that rejects your complaint.

dukesofkent

Susalouisa wrote: »

Hi , I am bit confused about this time limit thing..... I had package account with natwest 2007-2013 and made complaint couple months back and received letter yesterday saying I was out of time limit?? They said I should have raised issue 2012 latest??? This was because they send me a letter back in 2009 reminding me about my package account explaining terms and conditions. so they calculated 3 years from there and not when I closed account march 2013. can anyone share a bit light into this? should I go to FOS or leave it. My account was very much live 2013 and it was only then when I started looking into my comings and goings when wanting to save more money. thanks

I complained about a packaged account that i still hold (due to a large overdraft, which i have no way of paying off) and was given the same time limit reason, 2009 account review T&C's, you should have realised then etc. My reason for complaint was that i was "upgraded" to an Advantage Gold account as there were moving away from fee free accounts and this was the cheapest "fee" account they produced. How was i to realise earlier that i had been mis-sold through previous paperwork they've sent that just lists the so called "benefits" and didn't actually inform me that they had fee free accounts available. I also feel tied in due to the overdraft which by todays comparison has £150 extra 0% interest than there other accounts.
I'm going to take my complaint to the FOS

Nearlyold

dukesofkent wrote: »

I complained about a packaged account that i still hold (due to a large overdraft, which i have no way of paying off) and was given the same time limit reason, 2009 account review T&C's, you should have realised then etc. My reason for complaint was that i was "upgraded" to an Advantage Gold account as there were moving away from fee free accounts and this was the cheapest "fee" account they produced. How was i to realise earlier that i had been mis-sold through previous paperwork they've sent that just lists the so called "benefits" and didn't actually inform me that they had fee free accounts available. I also feel tied in due to the overdraft which by todays comparison has £150 extra 0% interest than there other accounts.
I'm going to take my complaint to the FOS

Your complaint seems a bit confused to my mind, if you are not going to downgrade your account because " I also feel tied in due to the overdraft which by todays comparison has £150 extra 0% interest than there (sic) other account" then why are you complaining about the Advantage account if you don't want to downgrade it?