Ridiculous Bank Charges - Natwest

Salsa_2-2

Just been speaking to my friend on the phone, so don't have all the details, but it goes a little bit like this.

My friend and his partner have a joint Step Account, with no agreed OD with Natwest

It is the day before payday, and £2500 is on its way to the account, as cleared funds. 3 Direct Debits are applied for, totalling somewhere around £60.

As there are not enough cleared funds in the account, Natwest have charged a fee (I think £30) x 3 as they will not pay the DD's.

They also write 2 letters to him, letting him know that they haven't paid DD's, and charge him (I think £35) x 2 for writing him the letter. They also write the same letter to his partner, and charge her x2.

I am not quite sure why or how it is 2 letters EACH. 1 would make sense for 3 DD's on same day, or 3 letters - 1 for each DD. It also doesn't seem right that they can write individually to both parties on a joint account and charge both times for the privilege.

Overall he has now been charged 4x Letter writing fee, and 3x Bounced DD fee. In total something like £240 for not paying £60 worth of DD's.

He went into the branch, but the manager told him that it was standard charges and there was nothing that could be done. They were also rude when he said he would change his account to another bank, and told him that there was no point applying for another Current Account as his credit record wasnt good enough.

I am going to help him write a letter to the bank, and have a few ideas already, but can anyone give advice on how he can get some/ all of this money back, as it is quite clear that Natwest are taking the **** with the charges. Also, the Manager's comments about his Credit Rating seem a little close to the mark. Is there anything he can do about that?

amandathepanda

You will only pay a fee of £35 for each DD that is returned,the letter is included in the £35 fee. Because your friend has a basic bank account overdrafts are not permitted ,and the customer should know this when the account is opened.
The Bank are not mind readers, they do not know that £2500 is due in to the account the next day.I would get more details from your friend as the facts do not seem to quite add up here.

Salsa_2-2

That's what i would have expected. i.e £35 per DD. This is definitely not the case.

It 4x charges for letters - 2 to each person on the joint account + 3 DD charges.

In regards to the £2500, yes I agree, this is fairly irrelevant. I was just trying to get the whole story across!

So what would be your thoughts about this?

Rafter

Most banks have a maximum charge for any offense which would be a lot lower than £240! Charging twice for the same offense can't be right and your friend should check with the bank what is going on then make a formal complaint to both the bank and the banking ombudsman.

He could also try to see whether the companies that took the direct debit can change his billing date so it always falls just after the salary is paid in.

Good luck.

R.

Salsa_2-2

Thanks Rafter.

He's never been a good one with money, and so some charges are definitely due, but I don't like to see the banks taking advantage of a situation like this.

I've been out of the banking cirlce for a long time (I used to work in one), and I tend to run my accounts quite a lot better these days, so I wasn't quite sure if the rules have changed.

I think definitely the Ombudsman would be a worthy mention in our letter. I am sure it would get them thinking anyway

jezza1O1

let that be a lesson to keep a closer eye on his financial affairs, hope he learns from his mistake!

The fees have to be high to act as a deterrent, if they werent then more and more people would abuse the system and not bother to ensure they can meet DD instructions - as it is most of us want to avoid the charges and so we are intelligent enough to organise ourselves properly.

I have little sympathy for disorganised people, or people who dont research the back account they've signed up to. Just lazy tbh, why should the bank put up with people who cant get their act together... !

That said, doubling up of fees does sound dodge. Burn the bank manager. Well maybe not but consider changing to a friendlier bank... !

dchurch24

Start legal proceedings against them for recovery of the charges plus interest.

https://www.bankchargeshell.co.uk.

I have just got a national bank to cough up nearly 1500 quid in charges taken from my account over the past 2 years, plus my court costs.
The charges are illegal and the OFT will be looking into these charges once they have finished their case against the similar charges invoked by credit card companies.

The fees have to be high to act as a deterrent, if they werent then more and more people would abuse the system and not bother to ensure they can meet DD instructions - as it is most of us want to avoid the charges and so we are intelligent enough to organise ourselves properly.

I have little sympathy for disorganised people, or people who dont research the back account they've signed up to. Just lazy tbh, why should the bank put up with people who cant get their act together... !

If the fees are a deterrent, then by their very nature they are punitive and thus unenforcable at law. This has been discussed in these forums extensively.

As for lazy, I think that is a sweeping generalisation and somewhat ironic when you yourself cannot be bothered to type full words and use abbreviations, and clearly do not proof read your posts. The word 'bank' is spelt 'bank' not 'back'.

Salsa_2-2

Thanks everyone for the information. I like Bankchargeshell.com, gives me a little bit more ammo when writing the letter.

I'll let you know how I get on. I'm hoping for the majority to be refunded without challenge, but finger's x'd

frepol

jezza1O1 wrote:

I have little sympathy for disorganised people, or people who dont research the back account they've signed up to. Just lazy tbh, why should the bank put up with people who cant get their act together... !

Like I shouldn't have any sympathy for people who can't spell?

HelenR_3

frepol wrote:

Like I shouldn't have any sympathy for people who can't spell?

well in

M_Thomson

HelenR wrote:

well in

What on earth does that mean? Sounds like something my grandad would say in the 70's.