Reclaiming Natwest Advantage Gold bank charges

J123456

When I went to Natwest to ask for a car loan back in 2003, I was told I had to move to the Advantage Gold to qualify for a better interest rate.

I have raised a mis-sell complaint with Natwest and they have written back telling me that I am "out of time" as the FOS rules state that firms don't have to deal with the complaint if it is 6 years after the event. They've cancelled the account and moved me to a free one etc, but have written to me to tell me my overdraft is now going to cost more (that's besides the by at the moment).

Is that the end of it?

DISP 2.8.2 states 6 years form the date of event so I'm thinking maybe yes but it also says:

"(b) three years from the date on which the complainant became aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) that he had cause for complaint;"

The response from Natwest has focussed heavily on them telling me about the cost of benefits and price rises BUT has not addressed the mis-sell at all.

Is there anything that I can use around this three years from the date I might become aware of a need to complain, was there a test case or something that appeared in the news?

Cheers

John

Nearlyold

In order to use the 3 year rule you would need to demonstrate why you only realised you had cause for complaint in the last three years. No one on the internet can invent a reason for you as we don't know what your complaint reason was and any suggestions made could very well contradict what you have already told the bank.

nidO

What actually is the reason for your complaint here?

Nothing you've said is incorrect, back in 2003 one of the major benefits of Natwest's Advantage Gold account was the fact that account holders got discounts on loan rates from Natwest - So sounds like their suggestion that you might like to consider upgrading your account to benefit from the lower interest rate will have helped you.

Presumably you did work out the two different costs of taking the higher rate loan vs taking the lower rate loan and the account fee to decide which was better, and then took that option?

MrSlippers

I have exactly the same situation from an upgrade to AG in 2001 where I was given the impression that I would be approved a loan by upgrading. The benefits of AG were of absolutely no relevance or use to me so there is no way I would have changed to a packaged account if I had been given the option to stay with a fee-free account. My claim has been rejected by Natwest on the basis that I have missed the timescale - but how could I possibly have queried this when the mis-selling of these accounts has only been in the public domain for a relatively short period of time.
Bottom line is that my complaint is currently with the FOS.