PPI refunds on defaulted cards - NatWest

pikachu

Hi all

Apologies if this is in the wrong place.  I wasn't sure whether to post under PPI discussion or credit card discussion

The incident I'm about to describe however relates entirely to a successful PPI complaint for a NatWest credit card

I had several PPI complaints, only 1 of which was unsuccessful as it was so long ago and I could not provide any evidence that I had PPI
I did all through Resolver which was very good and all fairly easy

When I made the complaints, I fully expected any refund amount to be reduced for any outstanding balance on the cards if the complaint was successful
2 of the cards potentially fell into this category - Sainsbury's Bank and Capital One
The others I had either not defaulted on or settled the debt 

Capital One were the first to come through with a PPI refund
In the letter with the cheque, it clearly explained that a percentage had been deducted from the total refund to settle the outstanding debt
The debt was possibly statute barred as last payment could have easily have been more than 6 years ago, however I accepted it

At this point back in Dec 2019, I learnt I was potentially at risk of redundancy
I have anxiety and depression and it really hit me hard and I ended up being off work for over 5 months with depression
The pandemic hitting in March really didn't help

Requests for further information came through from the some of the other complaints.  I sent back copies of statements etc and rang back and spoke to complaints handlers as advised when they wrote to me

Sainsbury's Bank (BOS) tried to mess me around, however I had a copy of the policy as well as statement they could not argue with

The NatWest one came through
I'd defaulted on this card, however had settled years ago

My Grandad had died and I had inherited £5000 which my parents were holding
This was 2009 and I had been made redundant and was really struggling to find another job, so asked for the money to be transferred to my NatWest savings account
Without my knowledge, NatWest then took £3000 from the savings account
They did write to me, however I received the letter after NatWest had taken the money
NatWest wrote to me and said the debt had now been settled and they were closing the account
I'd cut up the card several years before this and any new one they sent me
I'd made no payments for the account for a few years
I made a complaint to NatWest and despite explaining I was in serious financial hardship, my complaint wasn't upheld by NatWest and I didn't have the will to take it any further
Fortunately, it wasn't too long after that I got another job

Tonight I logged onto NatWest online banking and noticed a debit transaction of over £1000 from my NatWest saving account
I ay into this account and can only make transfers from my savings account to my Natwest current account and vice versa and pay money into the savings account at a NatWest branch, however not much else
I've never given account details out to anyone - all done via online banking and with my full knowledge
I started to have a panic attack as I thought I'd been security compromised in some way
I work in IT and train and advise people on IT security being something I'm extremely cautious of myself
I started an independent virus scan of my laptop and scan and security checked my mobile whilst waiting to get through to NatWest
Nothing found
Started then considering identity fraud and was getting very worried and extremely anxious
When I got through to someone at NatWest, they said it was related to a credit card linked to my account
I explained I had not had a single credit card for at least 10 years and that included a NatWest Credit Card and that account had been closed many years ago
Said this could all be confirmed with credit reference agencies
She could see the NatWest CC account had been closed quite a few years ago
Confirmed it looked like a fraudulent transaction and she would speak to the NatWest Fraud team and they would likely need to speak to me
She then mentioned she needed to check something with the credit card team and would come back to me after speaking to them
Next thing I know, I'm transferred to the CC team and cannot get through the ACD as I do not have a credit card number to enter
Eventually managed to get through to someone who after all my repeated explanation put me through to the NatWest recovery team
It appears NatWest have again taken money from my savings account without my knowledge
They claim to have written to me, however I am 99.9% certain I never received anything.  If I see any letter from any financial type company, it gets opened and read very carefully fairly swiftly. I will check of course

There was no mention of any amount being deducted in the letter with the cheque for the PPI refund - there bumph said there would be if there was any outstanding debt
Also, as I said NatWest wrote to me to confirm the account had been settled after stealing £3000 off me years ago
I'd offered several settlements up to then before being made redundant which were not far off this amount all of which were refused

I had understood I think that even if a debt is statute barred, they can still deduct an amount from the PPI refund ( think that answer came from here), however should they not tell me in writing and no just go raiding my bank accounts without my knowledge
It scared the living daylights out of me and I'm still shaking
I have had a complaint logged again with NatWest and I will be contact the FCA for advice and also getting legal advice

I was made redundant last week.  I was lucky to get a temp job for 3 months however a considerable step down and salary reduced quite substantially - better than new JSA though
It may be a while however before I get another job after this contract and I've considered the possibility it might be years or not at all
My depression is also making it extremely hard.  The new job has been a challenge in itself dealing with agencies and umbrella companies that have no clue about mental health
I've been very close to just giving up several times in the last few weeks - just to say that I would never think of harming myself
I simply want to just withdraw from life completely
I am scared to got out and until I had to go to my old office and collect my belongings last week, I had not been outside of my local area since march and had not been anywhere local on foot since 11th Sept
The reorganisation and redundancy were extremely difficult.  I worked for the NHS and was also a senior union rep ( Unite ) and Staff Side Chair so as well as going through al this myself, I was supporting others going through the same

I wanted to post this here for the knowledge and warning of others, however any advice appreciated

Thanks in advance

Nicola

dunstonh

The debt was possibly statute barred as last payment could have easily have been more than 6 years ago, however I accepted it

It doesn't matter if it is statute barred or not. That only applies to the ability to come after you via the courts.  It doesn't apply to PPI redress.

Without my knowledge, NatWest then took £3000 from the savings account

This is called the right of set off.   Banks are allowed to transfer money between accounts to clear/reduce debt.

I had understood I think that even if a debt is statute barred, they can still deduct an amount from the PPI refund ( think that answer came from here), however should they not tell me in writing and no just go raiding my bank accounts without my knowledge

What often happens is the redress goes to the account and then back out again immediately to the unpaid debt.

nd I will be contact the FCA for advice and also getting legal advice

The FCA will be of no use to you as they do not deal with consumer complaints.   If you go for the legal route , you will not be able to use the regulated complaints process and the FOS cannot get invovled.

Have natwest confirmed anything yet as to what they have done?   

pikachu

Thanks
I was aware that statute barred or not has no relevance and after it happened the first time, of the right to set off
I was very clear in that complaint that I wanted an assurance no further money would be taken
They assured me the account was settled and it would not happen again
I have that letter in a mountain of paperwork hopefully
That complaint was dealt with over the phone and I didn't get anything in relation to that complaint in writing as far as I remember

I meant FOS not FCA with legal advice only for if needed - it's a bit of a wait going through trade union legal helplines currently
Only for when all other processes have been exhausted
NatWest have not confirmed anything yet as to what they have done merely suggested and that they wrote to me which they didn't.  I wouldn't be calling to report suspected fraud if they had and I'd received it
They could have even sent me a message via online banking to contact hem
I'm still very confused and has all scared the living daylights out of me as I really thought my account had been compromised

Will be writing up everything for my complaint and attempting to find the paperwork as quickly as I can - not too hopeful there

Yahoo_Mail

If the debt was still outstanding the letter counts for very little.  You might get a £50 bung to shut you up, maybe the FOS will up that to £75 but that'll be it.