I resent the SAR letter and the extra data they have sent me, confirms that they don't have copies of any letters. What should my next step be? I presume I should send a letter before action, but I need to make sure that I cover everything in it. Are there any useful templates?

Well, I calculate it as 41 days today. Typical as it's one of the only letters that I've sent unrecorded and no doubt they've 'lost it'. Looks like I'll have to resend it tomorrow and wait even longer.

I just found that link randomly from a google search when I was trying to find Nationwides cheque clearing timescales. It's a moot point anyway because after checking the dates on a calender, the period in question covers a weekend. It's still unfair though because my account at that point was only £16 short of covering the DD and yet it caused £90 of charges.

Firstly I've written the SAR follow up letter and just got back from the post box, so it's on its way. It was quite a long letter questioning them on specific points and also directly asking them if they have letters or any proof of letters regarding the 'debt'. I also referenced the sections of the SAR which suggest that they do have more data. Secondly regarding the above post, I'm on exactly the same page as you, the thing that needs work is disputing the charges in the right way. I know it's unfair, you know it's unfair and I'm certain that presented the right way and District Judge will agree that it's unfair. My main concern is making some schoolboy error and giving them some kind of technicality to get it thrown out. Also I've just noticed something else on my statements which might be useful, but will also make it a bit more complicated. A couple of months before I stopped using my account I paid a cheque into my account to cover a DD. I paid the cheque in 4 days before the DD was due to leave my account. The DD bounced as the cheque hadn't cleared, but according to this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=606491 it should have been okay after 4 days. That bounced DD, created it's own little snowball of charges which cost me £90. Without that little snowball, my account would have been £90.44 in credit rather than £0.44p and therefore the latter snowball wouldn't have occurred because the DD's would have been covered. (actually I would have withdrawn it as I'd stopped using the account, but hopefully you get my point!). I hadn't noticed this earlier because the statements show a cheque as being cleared straight away.

Okay I will write a further letter regarding the SAR. What I meant by 'what can I do' is that if they have already not given it, then maybe they don't have it or maybe they will continue to not send it. The SAR documents are actually quite well organised compared to some I have received from other companies in the past. It does include screenshots and other basic account data, but no call logs. Also to correct an earlier post where I said that they didn't inform me of charges, on the statements the charges are listed, but I was not sent specific letters informing me of bounced DD's etc. EDIT: When I say call logs, I mean historic call logs. They have sent the data from a system they seem to use in the complaints dept, and this does include call logs but nothing from before last year. I've just had a re-read through this data and it says the following (I think that 'collect' and 'portrait' are names of their internal systems): This shows that she can see call logs and records of letters - something that I have not been given via the SAR request. Also they have admitted in writing that I wasn't informed about the default, so it will be interesting to see if they send any historic letters.

Aghhh I wrote a big long post and then accidentally clicked a link and lost it! Anyway, I'm happy to go all the way with this and I'm confident dealing with legal matters and going to court, though I'm under no illusions about the amount of research and time and it will take. I'm not convinced the SAR includes everything, as it's just statements and then the details about my recent complaints. There's no info from their call centre logs etc, but what can I do - the SAR request was worded correctly to obtain all data. Regarding the job offer that fell through, I can't remember the details and I have no records, but I note that in the recent Oliver Foster-Burnell case, he also had no evidence. The main part of my claim for loss/damage is the effect on my business. The business was closed due to cashflow problems being insurmountable despite the underlying profit in the business. Loss of future profits is hard to quantify and they could certainly argue over the figures, but I do have accounts showing the underlying profit and the cashflow problems. I also have proof of the bank refusing credit and also proof of small loans I was forced to take off people, but after a while I needed more than they could offer. I have proof of being refused credit on a £1500 TV which was on offer at £730. My current situation of being refused a student overdraft might not be considered a loss, but in a way I was relying on it as a form of income as many students do. This is having a serious and ongoing effect on me - I literally have no money to live on due to this. As the majority of my claim is related to my business closing and therefore loss of future profits, how should I do this. Also I feel I should expect a fair bit of compensation for distress and inconvenience. One 'benefit' of being completely skint is that I shouldn't have to pay any court fees. Should I make the claim for £6k, so that I can then up it without the court fee being increased? How can I justify increasing the claim amount once the claim has been made? To be honest, I would much rather leave the whole assessment of level damage to be made by the judge, unless you can show me how a damage claim such as mine would be calculated. Is there some kind of guidance anywhere?

Thanks nelly, I happened to find your thread last night and it does seem like a similar situation. I'm really not sure how to make the claim, as it looks like they're in breach of all kinds of things such as CCA, DPA, BCOBS and UTCCR. I want to make the claim as concise as possible, but I also want to make sure that I cover everything to improve my chances of success.

I've received the SAR documents today. As I suspected, Nationwide made no contact with me regarding the returned DD's and default, which seriously strengthens my case. So to summarise: They applied excessive charges for returning very low value DD's and these charges then made me overdrawn. They did not inform me of this or make any contact. They snowballed additional charges for being overdrawn (due to their original charges) They closed my account and did not inform me of this or make any contact. They applied a default to my credit record and did not inform me of this or make any contact. The default was on my credit file for 5 years and had a significant effect on my ability to obtain credit and employment. I have proof of the damage caused by my inability to obtain credit. It took 12 months and numerous letters to remove the default once I became aware of it. After recently removing the default, they then made a further mistake on my credit file which has made it even worse. After promising to rectify the recent mistake, they have failed to do so and it has further affected my ability to obtain credit which is causing me significant hardship. I'm thinking of claiming under the BCOBS regulations. Would I break down each of the points above explaining the unfairness and breach of each point, or would I just submit it all and claim the unfairness of the whole situation (if that makes sense)? Also I'm sure they have broken other regulations other that the BCOBS, so should I also use these other regulations as part of the same claim? Also if I was to use the Durkin case as guidance for compensation, I presume I would have to claim on the same legal points as the Durkin case? Durkin was claiming under the CCA regulations.

The BCOBS looks useful, but I can't find many examples of other cases actually using it. I read the Durkin case and there's some useful stuff in there. It seems that he was awarded £8000 for damages for the inconvenience, but where he made specific claims for damage, it seems they were thrown out for not being quantified enough? Also I think I may of read somewhere that because the Durkin case was in a Scottish Court, there's other cases in the English courts that carry more weight? I think I will increase the claim to £10000, because's less than two months earnings from the business I closed. I think I have a pretty strong case, because they've wrecked my credit file for the past 5 years and for at least the last 12 months I've tried numerous times to correct it without success. Now they're ignoring my letters, I feel that court is the only option. The recent mistake that they've made has made my credit file worse than ever and yet without those marks my file would be clean. The £2000 student overdraft which I was intending to live on, is offered to all students provided they have a clean credit record so Nationwide are directly causing me substantial hardship.

They haven't written them off and that's the issue. They've only agreed to stop chasing the charges and therefore they are saying that the data on my credit file is correct. If they removed the charges, then my account would never had gone overdrawn, and my credit file would be clean. They closed the account without me asking them to. Is that not classed as breach of contract and unlawful termination of contract? I don't have proof of losing the job offer due to adverse credit as it was all done via letter and I didn't keep the letters I have proof of my bank refusing credit facilities for my business account due to adverse marks on my credit file. Then I have financial records which can demonstrate the cashflow issues that the business suffered and the lengths I had to go to in obtaining short terms from family and friends. The business had an underlying profit of around £1500pw, but every few weeks I would be in a situation where I had a large staff bill but was awaiting payment from customers. I had to lay off staff twice, due to calculating that I wouldn't be able to pay them the following week. I took most of them on again when the payments came through, but after the second time it basically ended the business despite the underlying profit. I have proof of being refused credit for a TV which was on sale with £750 off the RRP at the time. I have proof of recently being refused student overdraft and loan facilities - money which I was relying on to live on while I study. I also have a load of costs from signing up to the CRA websites. I'm not intending to claim more than £5000. Does that seem reasonable considering the above? The fee for starting a claim for £5k seems to be around £200 Well the data was due to drop off at the end of next year but since their recent error which they still haven't corrected, it changed the account to being closed on Dec 2014, so unless that's corrected, then it's on there for another 6 years. Also just to be clear they have removed the default, but left the delinquent account markers caused by the charges which they wont remove. Now their recent mistake has made my account have a code 6 delinquent marker for every month up to Dec 2014.

The whole "debt" is made up from their charges - without their charges the account would still be £0.44p in credit, my original complaint was to remove the charges, which would then result in the default being removed anyway. Nationwide later admitted that they had no record of a default being issued and I have this in writing. And they never have offered to refund the charges - which is really what has created the issue. They have only agreed to write off the charges, which means they won't try and collect them from me, but they stay on my account. This means that they stay on my credit file as an unpaid debt, even so the default has now been removed (after 4.5 years and numerous complaints). I can also show that the default caused me financial loss and distress but not that clearly. The recent incorrect data they've added almost seems to be out of spite and they still haven't made any request to the CRA's to correct it, despite telling me via letter that they would. I've been through all their complaints procedure and sent a letter to the CEO, so I can now either wait another year for the FOS to slap their wrist, or I can take it to court and hopefully get it resolved much quicker.

Hi, I've been in dispute with the Nationwide for the last 12 months, regarding unfair charges and incorrect data on my credit files. We have not been able to come to an agreement so I am considering starting court action in the next few weeks. First I will list a history of the account: Sorry it's so long, but it does cover everything. I've only got around to making a SAR request in the last few days, so I can't submit a claim until I receive the paperwork as I want to double check exactly what letters they sent me. But even before I receive the SAR paperwork, I want to prepare my claim and make sure that I submit everything 100% correct. The laws which I think they've breached include: Unlawful termination Unlawful default Breach of contract Unfair treatment Unfair terms Data protection act (passing on letter to MKDP) Data protection act (Incorrect data on credit file) As a starting point, exactly which laws should I read into more and are there similar cases that it's worth looking into? Also I would really like to claim defamation because that's what they're doing, but I've read elsewhere that defamation cases are highly risky and expensive, so I guess I'll leave that. One problem is claiming damages. I've read elsewhere that you have to show a breach of contract and law and the hardest part is that you have to show quantifiable damage. How do I quantify the damage to my business and credit rating? When I submit a claim, do I have to state a maximum that I am claiming, because if this is a high value, then isn't the court fee really expensive? Can I claim damages for the stress and hassle that this has caused?