Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
I saw that chap from MoneySavingExpert on GMTV the other day and have been reading the forums and FAQ's ever since (in hope of not being shouted at by mod type people for asking dumb questions in the future!!)
Firstly I would like to say I am in awe of you guys! I have felt for some time that the charges I get from the bank are unfair and then to find all these people actually doing something about it is so great.
So I have started my claim against NW and sent my DPA off yesterday. I do have one quick question though
Im quite sure that the amount of charges are going to be more than £5000 as my partner had the account on his own for 3 years and incurred high charges most months, £320 alone just last month (one of them for £38 for a £2.72 card misuse ). I don't think we want to risk going to proper court instead of small claims (cant remember the name of proper court sorry lol). So what do I do, just claim up to exactly £5000? or can I split the claim?
I suppose i'll just wait until I get the statements back and try to work out how much it is before I start worrying about that.
I will keep you all updated, hope everyones enjoying the weather, I'm off to the beach to sunbathe and think how I'm going to spend my money!
work out how much your total comes to and if it is over £5k, my advice would be to split the claim. You don't want to miss out on your money, but equally, taking the claim out of small claims leaves you open to costs in the (unlikely) event that you lose the case.
So if the total is over £5k, then try making one claim for (for example) 200-2003 and then a separate claim for 2004-2006, or something similar. You may need to deal with one first and then start the next one, because otherwise the bank could ask for the two claims to be lumped together.
Well I was hoping to be posting soon with how much my charges came to, but think I have stumbled at the first hurdle!
I stupidly asked my partner to post off the info request and he's only just told me he just put it in the post box not recorded delivery. I've checked with my online banking and they haven't cashed the cheque so do you think they are just going to pretend they haven't got it?
I think I'm just going to have to wait out the forty days and see if they come through with it.
I cannot believe what has happened this morning, I am beyond upset I am just so bloody angry at the bank how can they do this to people?
I checked my online banking this morning to see if my partners wages had been paid in and sitting there was bank charges for £117 relating to three seperate card misuses (sp?)
Tesco £54
Snapfish £2.09
Petrol £5.64
They have charged me £39 for each one and heres the real problem when I used the card (they were all on the same day) I had £300 in my account. I checked before I used it as I have been really trying to keep in front of my overdraft. I phoned the bank this morning because I couldn't understand why they had charged when I had funds in the account and they told me that the shops hadn't presented the transactions until the next afternoon after my direct debits had come out at which point they wasn't enough money to pay them.
How can they do this? When I used that card there was money in the account. How can they expect me to know when the shops will present the transactions? I got so upset on the phone and the smug cow just kept repeating "you signed a contract, we're allowed to do this, you need to keep track of your account" I went to the bank and got some kid barely out of school telling me that they can't do anything, they don't give refunds and he would lodge a complaint but it wasn't likely I would get my money back.
Please someone tell me theres something I can do. They cant be allowed to do this! I HAD THE MONEY WHEN I USED THE CARD, how can they do this?
When the shops present transactions isn't anything to do with me. To top it all off even when they did present them if they hadn't taken a previous £40 charge out with the dds I would have had enough to pay all of it.
I just can't believe they can do this. My partner has just gone on stat sick pay this month so £100 is a THIRD of all the wages coming in and we have a year old baby. I really feel just walked all over and like theres nothing I can do.
And finally I STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED MY Data Protection Act INFO.
I really am so so so so so angry and upset and I feel like marching back up the bank and sitting on the bloody floor till they do something, they really dont care about people like us they are (edit) ......................... ................
Yes you can get these charges back as they are penalty charges .Add them when you send your prelim letter .
When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. Advice & opinions of Janet-M are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any
doubts.
[quote=mandytomlucy]I am definatly going to add them, I'm still so angry about it.
I got sick of waiting for my Data Protection Act info (think they are just going to ignore it as my partner didn't send it recorded and they haven't cashed the cheque ) so I phoned the bank last night and paid the £5 for my statements.
This is going to be my mission now until they give me every bloody penny back that they have (edit) off me.
I love the way they act like they are doing you a favour when they talk about getting your money back for you. IT WAS MY MONEY IN THE FIRST PLACE IDIOTS.
Can you tell I'm angry
NATWESTSTAFFMEMBER: It is £38 they told me yesterday they had charged the wrong amount. Oh please can I have my £3 back, thank you sir (bows and scrapes)
Moderated:whilst we fully understand your anger we must moderate any posts that may be seen as libelous to protect the site.
It's ok , I can see how upset and angry you are we just have to be careful .You will get this money back .If you do not think they have your SAR - (Subject access request) letter then send another one this time including the £10 and you can either send it by recorded delievery or even get a free certificate of posting.Also if you kept a signed and dated copy then this is all the proof you need as it is then classed as recieved 2 days after posting.I would personally go for the first option though.
When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. Advice & opinions of Janet-M are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any
doubts.
Me to and the 40 days for them to respond is fast approaching! I'm making a claim with HSBC for my husband and they are being good s far and responding quickly, waived the £10 fee, sent staments with 7 days etc... but I have a feeling Natwest are going to be a nightmare. We have opened a new joint account now with another bank. Natwest are diabolical for charging people. I had a £35 charge on my first reserve savings account for returning an unpaid DD for £1.98 because my husband accidently used the wrong payment option whilst paying for an ice cube maker through paypal! He chose my bank account instead of his credit card and we didn't notice so the payment went through and the charge went on!
Lisa x
007coot
I was expecting a telephone call today regarding the complaint I made the other day re charges, instead I get a telephone call inviting me to a meeting to discuss my overdraft. They want to see if any of their products ie a loan would be of use to me in lowering my overdraft as I wouldn't be getting these charges if my overdraft was lowered? He then said that they would definatly be cutting my overdraft in half and I had to come in and see what I could do about it. Then he started asking if we had any credit cards or separate loans other that our current account (we don't have any credit other than our overdraft, we've spent years getting rid off all our debts)
Do we have to go in do you think? I'd really rather not as my partner has just been put on sick pay and our wages have gone right down and I'd rather not tell them just yet. Plus as we're about to send off the first letter to them when our statements FINALLY get here I don't want to go into the bank and get trapped in an office with one of their sales people.
I'm really not sure what to do and WHEN THE HELL ARE MY STATEMENTS GOING TO GET HERE AAARRRRGGGGHHHH.
No!! don't let them get you further in debt. My advice to anyone who is thinking of taking on more credit from banks because they want to "help" you from getting charges then please read on!
If you have any loans/credit cards or overdrafts that you cannot afford then contact the consumer credit counselling service and they will work through a plan with you to see what you can afford to pay back. If you have too much debt and not enough income to pay it off they will get your interest and further charges stopped (in most cases anyway) and arrange for you to make lower payments that you can realistically afford. They helped me a lot and they keep in contact to make sure I am ok. Please please don't let the banks pretend they are helping you by offering you more credit. That's the mistake I made and I ended up owing a fortune with a ridiculously high interest rate. You can contact CCCS on-line at CCCS - or by phone 0800 138 1111 if this is the right option for you.
MandyTomLucy, I'm not assuming you have debt problems and the above info is intended as a bit of friendly advice to anyone who reads this. I find it really annoying that the bank are asking you to take on more debt to stop getting charges which is just stupid of them.
If they ring you again asking you to a meeting about a way to stop getting charges simply tell them that you know the charges are unlawful and you shouldn't be getting them anyway, end the conversation there and ask them to send all further correspondence referring to your claim for repayment of charges in writing. This way you won't have to worry about them trying to back you into a corner and put you off. I get really nervous talking on the phone but I am really confident when writing letters so I found this was better for me. Now they don't know I am sh*t scared!
Obviously I am not an expert and this is only my personal opinion. Please seek advice from a qualified professional if in doubt. Thanks
Getting Natwest statements SHOULD be easy if they are ordered correctly. My feeling is that a lot of times they're not. Here is a blow by blow account to ordering copy statements from the other side of the desk so to speak. Statements from Oct 2002 to present day are done on one system,pre that date there is another system for orderind statements.
part 2 does seem to be missed a lot from what i am reading. A note has to be placed on the account as to where to send the statements,i.e your address on file. If it is not done it is kept in a "homeless" file for one week before being destroyed. Providing step 1 and 2 are completed correctly then the statements should arrive, maximum,within 7 days of the date of ordering. I would always check after 4 days where they were if not received. Many on this site have suggested it could be a delaying tactic but my feeling is that the ordering of copy statements and the process outlined is not being followed correctly.
Thanks for the replies, well the situation just gets worse and worse.
No DPA info received, no statements ordered seperatly from the bank received. I phoned them today and was told they take 10-15 working days after they have taken the £5 payment.
I also asked what was happening with the 3 charges I complained about last week cause they were supposed to phone me on Monday and surprise surprise was told a refund had been declined. The woman on the phone then told me that it was the mand I spoke to in the bank who had declined the refund and there was no such thing as a department he could send it off to to decide on a refund. So basically he lied to my face. I know I can get those charges back with my claim but I really needed them to refund those ones now.
So he'll be seeing my smiling face first thing on Monday morning, along with my dictaphone so he can't lie to me again. I just really want to get this claim going and can't do anything till those flipping statements get here.
Make sure you get him to clarify his name on the recording. say something like What is your name and position here again? That'll stop the weasel trying to wriggle his smarmy little backside out of it.
Mandy, the person you spoke to today was talking nonsense in relation to both copy statements and a department in relation to refund. Where the amount of the refund exceeds £50 the regional refunds team can look at it, however, if the account has accrued charges and the reason for the charge was not a bank error then they will decline it. The second point on copy statements is that they should take a short period of time IF they are ordered correctly. I have posted a thread in the bank workers section that I have asked to be moved into the Natwest forum as it relates to NW specifically.
I would say that branch staff are at the bottom of the stack in terms of what we can and cannot do. We have a criteria in terms of whether we can or cannot refund charges. Sometimes it is absolutely ridiculous that we cannot do more but we have our hands tied to a large extent
Thanks NatwestStaffMember I thought it sounded a bit weird that he would of just lied to us, but she seemed sure that the refund decline had come from the branch the reason being that it wasn't the banks error like you said. We ordered the statements on Friday and the charge was taken on Monday so I would of expected them by now really.
OO7coot I will certainly be giving someone what for when I find out whos actually lying!
I just need to remember that I will be getting all my charges back soon anyway but I have been waiting for these statements forever !!!!
This just gets funnier and funnier, ten working days passes tomorrow so I phoned to check that my statements would be arriving as I was told they would DEFINATLY be here in ten working days .
"Oh we didn't know where to send them so they haven't been sent out yet"
why would I possible want them sent anywhere but where my normal post is sent, what is wrong with these people? He said he would track them down for me and send them off. Ten minutes later he phones to say that the department that keeps them destroys them if they are not sent out within a week,
so I have to order them again.
I think they are taking the p**s and if they haven't sent you your statements within the 40 days then report them for failing to comply. The cheeky buggers!
Good luck
Lisa x
NatWest: MCOL 16/08/2006 AQ's - copy received from Cobbets 07/10/06 offer received: 14/10/06 FULL AMOUNT RECEIVED TODAY (1st Nov)
Citicards: LBA sent 05/10/06
Baclaycard: MCOL 07/09/06 Defence filed on deadline
Claims settled in full are:
Sainsburys Bank
Mint (RBOS)
Style store card (RBOS)
Natwest Mastercard
Marbles (HFC)
HSBC
MBNA
SherborneVNatwest***WON** *
). I don't think we want to risk going to proper court instead of small claims (cant remember the name of proper court sorry lol). So what do I do, just claim up to exactly £5000? or can I split the claim?
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