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I found this site through a link on a news article a week or so ago and read some of the threads here with great interest! Well I've decided to start my own after finally reaching the last straw with my bank and their charge-happy policy!
It was brought about today after I was reviewing my statements online, and thanks to referral charges noticed I was pushed over my limit and subsequent direct debits at the end of last week were returned and more charges applied.
Due to my work my pay date is fairly irregular, however it is constant (income each month). I have had the same situation in previous months, and not received charges, or I've received charges and the direct debits have been honoured. The inconsistancy is quite amazing!
I have spoken to the bank this afternoon though and despite complaint, they were unwilling to do anything about it. I would have let it go had they offered to refund any charges outstanding, however I have decided now to persue the refund of these charges and all charges since 1st January 2001. I expect the amount to be fairly high, since checking my online banking for the last 6 months for all Charge transactions resulted in a total figure of £444.00.
I have drawn up the letter requesting an outline of all charges and manual interventions on my account and will be sending it today by recorded delivery to provide proof of sending and receipt.
I will update on here when I hear back and may also call on some help from a few of you here if that's ok, although there seems to be quite a bit of information available already!
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Sorry, but I cannot deal with your case by PM - please ask questions in your own thread. If you do not get a reply within 48 hours send a PM, with a link to the relevant thread, to any Site Team Member.
DO NOT SEND QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TO ADMIN, or our WEBMASTER - YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPLY.
Advice given is purely my opinion, and is not based on any legal training.
Generally the letters find their way to the department that has been designated to deal with them. You can send the letters to your branch, but unless the amount claimed is less than about £50 it will be passed on to the relevant centralised department.
Alan, Derby, UK.
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_________________________ _______
Sorry, but I cannot deal with your case by PM - please ask questions in your own thread. If you do not get a reply within 48 hours send a PM, with a link to the relevant thread, to any Site Team Member.
DO NOT SEND QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TO ADMIN, or our WEBMASTER - YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPLY.
Advice given is purely my opinion, and is not based on any legal training.
Is it worth me sending it to the "central unit" in the first place then? (does anyone know the address?) Or is it easier for me to just deal with my branch and let them handle that side of things...
Click on the above link to place your order - payment by Paypal.
_________________________ _______
Sorry, but I cannot deal with your case by PM - please ask questions in your own thread. If you do not get a reply within 48 hours send a PM, with a link to the relevant thread, to any Site Team Member.
DO NOT SEND QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CLAIM TO ADMIN, or our WEBMASTER - YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REPLY.
Advice given is purely my opinion, and is not based on any legal training.
Right. Just thought I'd post on here to keep my "diary" up to date. After reading through and realising that once the ball was rolling I'd need to remain committed, I held back from sending my initial request as I had a few things going on (new job, holidays etc) as I knew I'd probably fail to keep on top of it.
However, I've posted the letter yesterday, Recorded, and it's been received today. So now the first clock is ticking. 40 days until I get my statement copies. Woohoo! lol
I guess i'll update around the 4th September, as I doubt I'll hear from them quickly going by typical response times mentioned on here (though you never know!)
I noticed checking my statement today, the following entry:
21 Aug 2006 CHG HISTORIC STMNT FEE - 5.00 £xxx.xx
Do I take it this is Natwest charging me for my statement copies? I haven't checked my other bank account from which I wrote the £10 cheque from to see if that has been cashed yet, but I'm guessing they just debited my account with the fee instead? I can't think what else this could relate to...
Yes and that also means that they are on their way. Another point start letters to the branch at first and then you will get a response from someone who is dealing with it.
Sure enough - they arrived today. I've just finished totalling up all the "Charges" on the statements.. and from the first statement they sent me (01 Jul 2000) to present, the total before interest comes to £5,811! I was expecting a high figure, but not THAT high. Quite shocking when you go back through all the statements and add up the charges (especially when you see the compound way they charge - a charge for the initial non-payment, and then another charge for the referral - nice!).
Anyway, what do you guys recommend I do now? Obviously that total is over the small claims court threshold of £5,000. I can ignore the first year or so and that drops it to just under £5,000, but then if I were to add the 8% interest onto this it then goes back over. Do I need to find a way of claiming below the £5,000 threshold including interest? Or maybe I should ignore claiming interest? Or split my claim into charges and then another claim for the interest on those charges?
Just read the FAQ again and saw a note that said it can be advantageous to claim more then £5,000. I would rather put one claim in for the entire amount anyway, but can't find what these advantages and disadvantages of claiming above £5k are?
Obviously I still need to write a lba before I go to court, which I will do tomorrow, but I guess I need to keep the amount I claim from the bank initially in my letter the same as the amount I'll be putting into MCOL?
Bit confused what to do here as you can see - if anyone can help clear up what I should do it'd be very much appreciated!
start with the charges that are the oldest and total them up, when you get to £5k start with these ones, once you win start the ball rolling on the rest
But won't it be hard to claim for more charges once I've accepted a Full and final settlement?
Can someone explain the pitfalls (and advantages) of claiming more than £5,000 since I would rather go for all the money in one go as I don't fancy going through this more than once!
From what I understand, it may mean the cost of the court proceedings is higher (but still reclaimable if i win) and that I won't be protected from having to pay costs if I lose the case (unlikely). But then I've read elsewhere on here that the court costs are still capped (at £750)?
Basically, if I claim my full amount £5,811 (£7,206 if you include interest on those charges at 8%):
Can I still start proceedings through MCOL?
What is the maximum costs I will incurr (to initiate proceedings, and also in the event i lose)? Is it capped/fixed?
Is there any reason not to go this way (apart from increased costs liability). Is it a longer/different process?
Sixspeed. full settlement on that claim only. Remember the bank does not dictate the terms of any settlement, you determine them.
I don't have answers to all your questions but I'm sure others will on the MCOL side of things
In absence of any further replies, I will send a initial letter claiming for charges from Jan 2001 to Dec 2004 (approx £4,700) by Special Delivery tommorrow.
Oh, and one last question - as I've seen conflicting information reading these forums - is the £5,000 limit for the small claims procedure inclusive of interest or not? ie: With the dates above, the charges amount to approx £4,700, which is under £5,000. However should it go to court, then with the 8% interest added this becomes about £6,200, which is over. Does that matter?
Wellcome to the over £5,000 club if there isnt one then we should start one after all we are a bit exclusive. I bet not many people get mugged by their bank for 5 big ones
I am in the same boat as you as my claims against Nasty West are also above the £5,000 ceiling for claims in the Small claims court. So although I have posted a thread of my own today seeking advice before I read yours.
However I will be following your thead very closely
Yes, hopefully not many people do - but I bet it's more than you'd like to think!
I'm going to claim for the first 4 years to bring my first claim under £5,000. I will see how that goes and then make a second claim for the others (or keep it "in the bank" so to speak for a rainy day.. lol).
The camel's back has been broken! ***WON***
! Well I've decided to start my own after finally reaching the last straw with my bank and their charge-happy policy!
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