Currently owed £356.94 for 2 DD (1 for £4!) that were not paid, and as a result this charge has been generated.

They threatened to take legal action against me and i received a solicitors letter today telling me i had 7 days. However, i requested all my statements last week (told 5-7 days at first, and now it's 10 days, what a shock), and plan to send an LBA immediately.

I called the Credit Management services and was told if paid £100 towards the debt, then it would be cancelled off (in essence, a £256.94 settlement). I refused this, letting the person know that offering £100 off the money they claimed to be owed is farcical, but i'm wondering if i should have accepted the offer and then proceeded with an action to recover the £100 afterwards. This wouldn't be looked upon as greedy, would it? Although i doubt it'll get anywhere near court, i hope this doesn't go badly against me.

I'm no legal expert but what you're proposing sounds reasonable enough to me.

Pay them the £100 to avoid the hassle of dealing with any court action they may take against you. Then get all your facts together and go after them for the full amount of unlawful penalties they have charged you.

I'm a poor student and i actually could do with £100 in my wallet instead, so i'm just gonna sue for the full amount methinks. Awaiting the statements in the next couple of days, so i'll fill you all in when that time comes.

I didn't realise you finacial situation was like that. Just try and stall them then (tell them you can't afford £100 right now, are going to CAB to get advice on how best to deal with it, ask for more time etc etc)

You ideally want them to delay any action against you until after you've won your money back (and then they won't have a case against you anyways)

Got through the bank statements today and i was charged £35 3 times for 3 returned DD's. Add an unauthorised overdraft limit of £10 p/m and interest, and that made the £356.94.

What a racket, eh? Writing the LBA now.

thegoodsamaritan - i didn't accept the £100 settlement, so going for the full amount.

Wish me luck!

Righto, it's been 8 days since i sent the letter (by recorded delivery), and i've had no reply. Do you think it would be a bit fast to raise an action right now? I did state that i required them to reply within 7 days and this hasn't been done.

Yeah it might be scary but its what you need to do (apply for the court order). Look at Candices thread, there's lots of helpful tips there. She has just had all her money and court fees refunded in the last day from RBS as they said it wasn't "financially viable" to contest the ruling. Your claim is for much less so you'll win as well. Go for it!

Still no reply. Going to raise an action now for sure, even gave the grace of being a few days late.

Sorry, haven't been on for a while but letters have been sent back and forth. First, i was told my letter had been lost, and when i informed them that i had sent it by recorded delivery, they suddenly discovered it had been moved to another department. ANYWAY, their response to the LBA was as follows

"I write with reference to your recent correspondence, the contents of which have been noted.

 

Please find statements enclosed as per your request (?!, I got them a month before that!).

 

They show that your account became overdrawn due to an unpaid direct debit. Charges have been applied to your account in line with the Bank's published tariff. Therefore you are fully liable for the outstanding balance.

 

However, as a gesture of goodwill (haha) I am willing to accept a nominal full and final settlement.

 

Please forward your offer to us within the next seven days.

 

Yours sincerely

 

'Customer Services Manager'"

There is so much wrong with that i don't know where to start. Yours sincerely from 'Customer Services Manager'?!?

Anyway, my reply was as follows-

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

I have read the contents of your letter dated 22/06/06 (in response to my original letter dated 10/05/06, so thank you for your prompt response), and I am of the impression that your Customer Services Manager (whoever that is) has either not read my letter, or does not have the requisite intelligence to understand the contents of it. Therefore I have attached my previous letter in the hope that someone may actually read it on this occasion.

 

I am fully aware that you have charged me due to an unpaid Direct Debit. Furthermore, the charges applied may have been applied in line with the Bank’s published tariff, but neither of these points are relevant. Please take the time and care to read through the contents of my letter fully, and I recommend that the Customer Services Manager should perhaps allow someone else in the department to deal with this matter, since he/she has proved him/herself unable to do so as a matter of urgency.

 

In your letter, I have noted that you’re willing to accept a nominal full and final settlement in this case. As a gesture of goodwill, I am willing to accept full settlement of this claim (£356.94) and removal of any adverse entry into the credit register by RBS against my name, rather than having to raise legal action against your company, which would be a lot more costly and time-consuming to yourselves. I hope that my generous offer will be accepted.

 

You have 7 days to unconditionally accept my offer. I expect a letter from an employee from your department confirming that my offer has been accepted within this time-scale.

 

Yours Faithfully

 

'Rosco'

I then received this reply

Dear Mr Rosco

 

I write further to your letter of 9 May 2006 regarding the charges on your account.

 

As your concern relates to the Bank's charging policy, it has been necessary to refer your letter to the Bank's Customer Relations Unit who will investigate your case and respond to you directly in the next 10 working days.

 

Naturally this department has placed matters on hold pending the outcome of those investigations.

 

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Mr S Morrey

 

Customer Care Team

I assume no-one else has tried to get their charges off RBS yet because apparently i'm the one that has brought it 'to their attention'

I'm quite enjoying the letters stage of this, so i might keep it going for a while longer. I'm causing letters to be sent and inter-depatmental communication, so that will cost money to them. 4 days to the reply! (allegedly)

I got another letter from Credit Management Services, despite the fact they said that the issue was being handled by their Customer Care Team. Anyway, the letter shows utter confusion methinks.

This letter was dated 13/07/06, so at least the replies are getting quicker.

"Thank you for your letter dated 10/7/06.

 

I have considered your offer of payment and as an exceptional matter we are prepared to accept £356.94 in full and final settlement of the above, providing payment is made by 13 August 2006.

 

Upon receipt and clearance of the payment, the Bank will no longer pursue you in respect of the residual balance. This is no way limits, restricts or prejudices our rights in respect of any other parties to the account, neither does the settlement extend to any other liabilities you may have now or at any time in the future.

 

In the absence of payment in full by the date specified, this full and final settlement will lapse and you will remain liable for the full amount due.

 

*RANDOM WAYS TO PAY THEM*

 

I look forward to hearing from you shortly and thank you for your co-operation in this matter.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

'Customer Services Manager'"

That letter was so wrong for a few reasons. Did they not realise that i meant i wanted them to pay it to me?! Did they just totally ignore my credit register request? Are they just ****ing thick? Probably the last one. Anyway, my reply was as follows-

Thank you for your letter dated 13th July 2006. However, I feel that the Customer Services Manager (still not sure who that is) has perhaps misunderstood the content of my letter. Therefore, I shall attempt to make my stance clear for the final time. I recommend that two (or more) people deal with my account as a matter of priority, since the Customer Services Manager has again proved his/herself to be incapable of dealing with this issue correctly and to my satisfaction. Furthermore, having realised that RBS do not really do communication internally, I have been kind enough to enclose my previous 2 letters to you. I assume you have copies of the letters that you have sent to me.

 

The Customer Services manager seems to believe that my letter dated 10th July 2006 indicated that I am willing to pay the £356.94 balance outstanding in my account. Considering I have been offered the opportunity to write off the entire debt for £100, this would clearly not be the case. For the reasons outlined in my 2 previous letters, I am willing to pay you £0.00 towards this debt, which has been illegally attributed to my account by yourselves. However, what I will accept is the repayment of this £356.94 BY YOURSELVES into my account within the next 7 days, as well as the removal of any adverse entry into the credit register by you against my name. If there is anything unclear about this, do not hesitate to contact me and I will clarify any point of uncertainty.

 

If the following does not happen within the next 10 days; my account is reimbursed, any adverse entry into the credit register is removed, a letter is sent confirming this has been done; I shall start legal proceedings against you to recover my debt. I feel I have been extremely generous in allowing your company to right their wrongs outside of court, and I have grown tired of your constant inability to do so. Additionally, I may also report RBS to the Financial Ombudsman

 

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

Rosco

Has anyone ever encountered such absolute incompetence? Exceptional to want £356.94 as full and final payment? That's the actual balance they think i owe them!

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