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.
Hi all! I just had a good result on the action against Halifax.
While that was all happening, I opened a Natwest step account. Had a letter from NatWest yesterday informing me that a charge of £39 has been applied due to a failed DD!!!!! Well, well, well - I am amazed!
First of all, I deposited £1200 cash into the account that day. Secondly, when I checked the online statement the dd was shown as paid! Below is an abstract of the letter I posted and faxed to them today ...
Thank you for your letter of 15th June 2006. We note your comments therein.
We are writing to ask you to refund to us this charge incurred due to the fail direct debit which you have levied from our account on 15th June 2006.
As you know, this is a new account and we are in the process of setting up our various direct debits. You will note from your records that a CASH deposit of £1,200.00 was made on 15th June 2006. We did check our balance, and at approximately 14:00, 15th June 2006, when the direct debit to Powergen showed as being paid together with the account being in credit by £1,200.00! We can only assume that your system is automated. A reasonable bank employee would have noticed this and acted accordingly. Furthermore, we were informed by Powergen that the direct debit would be effected from July 2006, and were therefore unaware of the direct debit for June 2006.
We feel your behaviour harsh and your actions are not justified in so far as your charge being disproportioned to the action you preformed. Additionally it has now been confirmed that particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the Office of Fair Trading who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.
Furthermore, the regime of fees which you apply to accounts in relation to direct debit refusals are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations. If you say that they are not then will you please demonstrate this by letting us have a full Breakdown of your costs incurred as a result of this breach in order to reassure us that your penalties really do reflect your costs? ....
This is a complete let down by NatWest who I thought would be a step up from those Halifax *&%$!!!
Nyah...Natwest don't show it as bounced until the day after it's supposed to go through. It's really stupid. You can go to check and see if it's come out, see it marked as having gone out and your balance changing accordingly, and then find the next day that it's suddenly switched to having "failed," and your balance having dropped by £38 accordingly...
I think it was marked on Moneysavingexpert that NatWest are actually the worst for charges.
DPA Letter received by NatWest 11/04/2006
DPA Request expires 21/05/2006
Statements received 15/05/2006
LBA sent 15/05/2006
If you find me vaguely coherent, click the scales.
It makes me so angry! The worst is that I paid in CASH together with a banker's draft. The Manager (!) who was helping out on the desk that day, took it as one transaction. When he finished, I asked him when the banker's draft would be cleared - (wait for it ...) 5 working days (and ....) the deposit will not show for 2 working days! (that is for the cash AND the banker's draft!!!) He then asked if I want the cash to show today ..... HELLLOOOO!!!! YES!!!!
Wonder who has the benefit of the interest for the time it takes them to show that cash has been paid in ....
Yeah. A friend of mine had something similar happen. He paid in some cash and a cheque.They classed it as one transaction, so the cash (which needed to be in the account for the next day) also took 3+ days to clear, leaving him getting charged for something.
As this is the first charge, just call them up and ask for it back, politely, namedropping the website when you do. Hopefully, they'll just cough up and that'll be the end of things.
DPA Letter received by NatWest 11/04/2006
DPA Request expires 21/05/2006
Statements received 15/05/2006
LBA sent 15/05/2006
If you find me vaguely coherent, click the scales.
Thanks! However, have already faxed and posted letter just before lunch ... I am so p'ed off with banks that I do not want to beg and grovel - I'v done that for far too long. Will let you know what the outcome is ... Thanks again for the info and insight ...
Update - received letter from Natwest - usual blah blah blah - however they agreed to refund the charge of £38, if I sign away any rights I might have in the future regarding charges. How lovely of them to want me to sign away THAT right! I know it is only a small amout, but it is the principle!
I will write back saying thank you, but no thanks. I am not signing anything and will follow the proper procudure ...
That's unusual that the wording states that. normally a first charge can be waived as a gesture of goodwill. As for the cash and bankers draft. It is the case that cash on it own is straight in the account, however cash and cheques do show the following day because the cheque has to be sent to a processing centre because cheques are not processed on site. The computer screens that the cashiers used is really a big calculator to work out how much cash the teller has taken for balancing purposes. Fraud in relation to Banker's draft is a lot more common than you think which is why the cheque takes 5 working days to clear. From reading other threads, this is farily standard across banks
Hi All - just an update - As I was not prepared to sign anything as "Full and final settlement of ALL claims we have relting to charges" - lba was sent today.
Had a call from Birmingham Collections centre last week and spoke to a very confused lady. She could not understand why on earth I did not want to accept their offer. After I explained to her that I did not want to sign away any right I might have in future to dipute charges she went away to confirm with her manager. I then received a very irritating letter from Natwest on Saturday explaining the usual blah blah blah charges are correct and fair, we do not agree with the OFT's findings, sorry that we could not resolve this matter blah blah blah .. anyways- it would seem that proceedings via MCOL are pencilled in for Wednesday ... All this for a measly £39 - it is the principle more that anything else ...
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! Over the past 14 years I have banked with just about every high street bank (both business and personal), Natwest have by far been the worst ones!! My girlfriend is currently persuing £3900 from them, most of which is £39 charges for less than £10 over her limit and, like you, bringing the account back into her limit on the same day as it went over.
Furthermore, she has been paying £10 a month for the 'privaledge' of having this wonderful account that pays less than 1% interest for credit and charges over 19% for debit!
I have just convinced her to open an Alliance and Leicester account which offers 0% overdraft, 10% on savings, 4% on credit, NO account fee AND they pay you £25 if you are recommended by a friend. You can also earn yourself £25 for every person you recommend and there's no limit to it.
A&L are apparently quite bad at issuing charges too but we all know what to do about that now, don't we!!
Oh, believe me - I will fight every charge they put on my accout hands and nails - but obviously, doing everything now to avoid it in the first place. It goes without saying that having had our monies back from Halifax and not being in the red for most of the month does actually help!!!!
Good luck - I will follow your progress with interest.
I am due to issue court proceedings through Moneyclaim online (instead of making an application at the court itself). If you are unfamiliar with the step, I would suggest that you read the Frequently Asked Questions and Step-by-Step guide.
Mariana-am quite gobsmacked that NW would defend what amounts to £38. To be perfectly honest you would have got it back quicker by going into the bank on Day 2 speaking to the manager and stating that he didn't tell you it was being returned on the same day you were paying in. As a new account he couldd have refunded the whole amount as a GOGW. Hindsight by me re-reading the thread. I'm sure this will be settled very quickly
Well, well, well. Was not too worried about it last night. Got a knock on the door this morning from my friendly post lady to sign for a special delivery. Turned out to be a letter from RBOS with a letter stating it is not commercially in their interest to defend this claim. They enclosed their cheque with a note that they are not accepting liability. Excellent!
Thank you natweststaffmember for the information. I did just as you suggested and got no-where with them. Anyways, it just goes to show that the system and procedures that Bankfodder and Dave have put in place works a treat everytime!
Thanks everyone.
Note for MODs - survey completed and will donate again when Halifax claim is settled.
Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.
"Some people say The Stig chews on spark plugs and drifts while walking. Some say he is terrified of ducks, and that there is an airport in Russia named after him. All we know is that he is really barracad from The Consumer Action Group" - Jeremy Clarkson (allegedly)
Mariana v NatWest - **WON**
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Originally Posted by Mariana
