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 have just prepared my Prelim letter to send off to Natwest with a schedule of charges (actually it is for my hubby... but he's kind of left me to sort it all out being as I have already made a claim for my own charges with Barclays... plus he hasn't spent hours reading up on it like I have).
I am unsure where to send it to. Anyone know for sure??
There are so many different NatWest addresses it's a bit confusing.
Would appreciate a post from anyone to let me know.
That is the one. I send everything recored delivery as a matter of course, others do not bother, but probably not necessary with the prelim and lba. But hey, it is only a £1.00 a letter.
My advice has hardly any legal foundation whatsoever, however you never know it it might just work!
NatWest Prelim 07.10.206
LBA 21.10.2006
MCOL 30.10.2006
Acknowledgment of Service 06.11.2006
Offer of approx 50% £2200.00 22.11.2006
Full settlement £4500 received 03.01.2007
Smile settled in full
Barclaycard settled in full
RBS Worldwide settled in full
Lloyds TSB settled in full £750.00
Lloyds TSB settled in Full £275.00 11.04.2007
Lloyds TSB business account £1376.00 AQ filed
Lloyds TSB Business account settled in full 21.05.07
Sort of related to this link as it is around the address. I'm just at the stage where I'm reading up on everything and getting the first letter together (1. Data Protection Act, Subject access request letter - List of charges ) and my question is around this letter. Do I send this to my branch or somewhere else? I have not come across any advice as yet where this has to go.
Well 14 days has passed siced th Prelim letter and I haven't heard a peep from Natwest, so I have just printed off the lba. My claim is on two NatWest accounts with excess charges totalling £4172.99 (with no interest added).
I have a few points I could do with a little help with please, if there's anyone out there able to....
1. I wasn't sure what to put about the contractual interest of 16.9%. I have been reading up a lot on it and it seems as though some people add it on at the beginning, some add the 8% instead and some add nothing until the final court action stage. I know we are advised not to claim the 8% until it gets the court stage, but why is this??? It seems many others have claimed 8% in in the prelim letter and still beed given a final settlement with the 8% at stage 2/3. I read some people have threatened to add the 16.9% in the LBA if it proceeds to court. It's all a little confusing. Have things changed since May when interest advice was originally posted?
2. Also.. another query. On my statements there were a few charges that were for the same amount as a returned DD, but had just the words 'charges' next to them. I have listed them as returned DD's on the schedule. What happens if my fingures are a little bit wrong. I don't think they are, but I am just wondering what the banks do when figures have small inaccuracies in them... does the claim get thrown out of court if it gets to that point???/
Please help some one... I have so many doubts going round in my head. It seems that as the number of people claiming back their charges increases... methods are changing...
I think it would be worth double checking your figures before you go legal, but do not delay with your lba. On reflection I would have gone for contractual interest but did not. I would also emphasise that you intend to pursue this interest element in your LBA. Because you have a significant claim amount I think they will make this a protracted process for you, but hang in there.
My advice has hardly any legal foundation whatsoever, however you never know it it might just work!
NatWest Prelim 07.10.206
LBA 21.10.2006
MCOL 30.10.2006
Acknowledgment of Service 06.11.2006
Offer of approx 50% £2200.00 22.11.2006
Full settlement £4500 received 03.01.2007
Smile settled in full
Barclaycard settled in full
RBS Worldwide settled in full
Lloyds TSB settled in full £750.00
Lloyds TSB settled in Full £275.00 11.04.2007
Lloyds TSB business account £1376.00 AQ filed
Lloyds TSB Business account settled in full 21.05.07
Still no sign of any correspondence from Natwest since I send the lba on the 11th... it's strange, but when you don't hear anything, you start to worry that you have done something wrong... I am sure I haven't it just puts a bit of doubt in your mind.
I have a few questions if there's anyone out there who can help...
Is it too late for me to add contracual interest on at this stage (I've already sent the LBA)?
How do I know what the contractual % amount is?
How do I change my title in this thread so to get more responses..?
ANyone???? Please help...
Merry Christmas and thank you for the help I have received so far.
Maxine
Maxine,
Have a look at Vampiress spreadsheets, all the information you need is there on contractual interest. You will soon be going legal on this when you submit your claim. So now is the time detail your claim, have a look at the Particulars of Claim, and decide if you are going to submit your claim on line. Taking a multi national to court is quite a big deal, so you have to be prepared, however you will get all the support you need on this site.
My advice has hardly any legal foundation whatsoever, however you never know it it might just work!
NatWest Prelim 07.10.206
LBA 21.10.2006
MCOL 30.10.2006
Acknowledgment of Service 06.11.2006
Offer of approx 50% £2200.00 22.11.2006
Full settlement £4500 received 03.01.2007
Smile settled in full
Barclaycard settled in full
RBS Worldwide settled in full
Lloyds TSB settled in full £750.00
Lloyds TSB settled in Full £275.00 11.04.2007
Lloyds TSB business account £1376.00 AQ filed
Lloyds TSB Business account settled in full 21.05.07
I had a look at Vamps sheets and am able to sus out the 8% spreadsheet, but can't figure out how to fill in the complex one, and how to add the contractual interest???
I have already sent lba, but might add the contractual interest instead of the 8% when I complete the N1, but am not having luck using the sreadsheets. It would be useful to see one already filled in.
Thanks to Bill Knight and his super duper spreadies I was able to get my updated schedule of charges sorted, showing the 8% and the 16.9% compounded contractual interest.... Great stuff!
So last night I finished getting all the bits and bobs ready to take a walk down the court today and hand over the N1 etc...
Before I went to the court I had to pop into the Natwest branch in Walsall to pay some money in to cover a loan going out today. Again there were some charges that had gone (two lots of £38.00) out which meant that if I payed in the money for the loan, it would be sucked up to pay the charges which had been debited making the account overdrawn... ARGGGHHH!!!!
We (my partner and I) went to the services desk and asked if there was a way to pay the load manually (we explained that if we payed the money in, there would still not be enough to ay the loan)... she explained that we should have come in before the charges went out... (DDDRRR!!! we didn't know we were due for another hammering with charges).
We spent a good 20 mins discussing things with this NatWest lady... not once did she offer to refund the charges, so that I could pay the loan money in (so that the loan DD would be paid today instead of it getting returned... and we get charged again...) I explained to her that we were on our way to the court to hand in the N1, blar blar... even then, she couldn't offer a solution! I said to her that the reason the account is not running properly is because of snowballing charges... all she could offer me was a consilodation loan..... ?? I could have lamped her one, but obviously I didn't, as I am a repectable school teacher and mother of three.. but I felt like doing it!!
So I didn't end up paying the loan money in. Which means it will have been returned, then I'll get another returned DD fee of £38 and then a £20 referal fee at the end of the month. How frustrating!!!! So because they took £76 worth of charges out, it has cost me another £58!!
With me I had the N1, all filled in online and printed off (3 copies), the Scedule of charges showing both interest rates of 16.9 and the 8%... (again 3 copies) & lastly the particulars of claim x 3 (details below).
************************* ************************* ************** Particulars of Claim
1.The Claimant has an account: SORT CODE: XX-XX-XX
ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXX with the Defendant, opened 1998.
2.Since 02/01/01 the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract.
3. A list of the charges applied is attached to these particulars of claim.
4. The Claimant contends that:
a) The charges debited to the Account are punitive in nature; are not a genuine pre-estimate of cost incurred by the Defendant; exceed any alleged actual loss to the Defendant in respect of any breaches of contract on the part of the Claimant; and are not intended to represent or related to any alleged actual loss, but instead unduly enrich the Defendant which exercises the contractual term in respect of such charges with a view to profit.
b) The contractual provision that permits the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable by virtue of the Unfair Contract Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999), the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the common law.
5.Accordingly the Claimant claims:
a) the return of the amounts debited in respect of charges in the sum of £2,890.99
b) Court costs;
c) interest at the contractual rate of 16.9% AER, from the date of each transaction to 29/12/06, which is £1,340.08, as set out in the attached list of charges. The Claimant further claims interest, on the resulting total of £4321.07, at the same rate up to the date of judgement or earlier payment, at a daily rate of <see schedule of charges>.
The Claimant believes this rate to be justified under the implied principle of mutuality and reciprocity, and is based on the Defendants interest rate that would be applied under the terms of the above-mentioned account.
Should the court find that this interest rate is not applicable, then in the alternative the Claimant claims interest pursuant to Section 69 of the county court Act 1984 at the rate of 8% per annum calculated from the date of each transaction to 29/12/06, which is £480.86 and also interest at the same rate until date of judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of £<see schedule of charges>.
6. Alternatively, if the charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
I believe that the contents of these particulars of claim are true.
Being as I couldn't pay the loan today, I used the loan money to pay the court fee of £120.00 at my local county court office in Walsall. The lady behind the counter quickly checked through everything and handed me a receipt.... It felt good to have that part all done and dusted... will have to sit back and wait now to see what they do.
God Banks are a nightmare!!! It didn't used to be like this years ago. They realise they can make mega bucks from all the charges and so make life really difficult for you.
For instance... I cecked out our account online when I got home today to see why I had been charged those two lots of £38 (that made it impossible for me to pay my loan today)...
... and the reason I was charged is because... last month I had two DD's due to go out on a Monday. So on the SATURDAY (before the monday) I paid the money in to cover them... BUT, because they are automatically on Monday time scale by the close of business on the Friday... the money I paid in on the Saturday didn't count!!! So.. I (in effect) paid the money in too late!!! How do they work that one out... What's the point of being open on a saturday then?????
Excuse me while I SCREEAAAAMMMMM... AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!
Feel quite scared to respond on this one but I think you may find that it has cost you more, ie £38 and Unarranged Borrowing £28 so £66. Please don;t hit me!!!
Oh... don't worry... I have calmed down now and am feeling OK.
(I think the two glasses of wine might have helpedhic).
Well there's nothing I can do about it now only to remember that Friday/Saturday are the same as Monday! Oh no... does that mean my weekends have disappeared?
Yes... Will contact the moderator about changing the title...
You work for Natwest? If yay, would my prelim letter and lba have been read by the relevant department after I set them to the Borehamwood address? I didn't even receive the complaints leaflet letter in response to my letters... probably just a tactic.
No that is FSA guidelines. I am surprised as I would have thought Customer Relations Unit should have responded with either a No fob off or a No but partial offer. However, your timescale is what matters. I try not to think of tactics as our cricket and rugby ones have not helped us out much The complaints leaflet is "Makings things better" ?
I just hope that it isn't going to affect the claim (the fact that I have not received a response at all). The timescales were all bang on, and the N1 has been filed so there's nothing to do but wait now.
Do you think Natwest will bring their charges down to £12, like many of the other banks have done? They seem to have some of the highest charges around.
maxine989 v NatWest ***WON***
with a schedule of charges (actually it is for my hubby... but he's kind of left me to sort it all out being as I have already made a claim for my own charges with Barclays
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NAT WEST - WON - £4282.36
