Hi all,

A friend of mine who has had a RBOS credit card for over 10 years has out of the blue had his card cancelled. His limit is 13K and he has an outstanding balance of 5K. He has had no repayment problems over, at least, the last 6 years. They have stated that they are closing his account due to an issue he had with NatWest some 8 or so years ago in regards to a credit card account.

This is all rather strange of course, considering they have been doing nothing but putting his limit up for the last 6 years or so. He has issued no claims against any bank/financial institution, this really has come completely out of the blue - he found out today when his card was declined.

If anyone has had or is having a similar experience please let us know, or in the alternative if you have any idea where to go to get this sorted out that would be helpful too.

We have the BOS details and are just waiting for a letter to come through from RBOS detailing their position etc.

I think that you have to look at an action for breach of contract. It seems to me that at the very least they have violated the terms of the banking code. Although the bank would say that the Code is not contractual and is merely a guide as to how the bank should conduct its business, I believe that it can easily be argued that the Code is incorporated into the contract. The banks would say that the voluntary nature of the code means that the banks are not obliged to adopt its guidelines. The code is indeed voluntary. However if they do decide to subscribe to it then the contents of the code become contractually binding. I would say that the voluntary aspect of it is the discretion which the banks have to become bound by the Code's terms.

Let me say that you will find considerable resistance from the bank and it is likely to get very sporty of you litigate on this point. The banks would be very unhappy if it became official that they were bound by the code. I am not aware that anyone has litigated on this point before but I think that it is high time that someone did so and we would be very pleased to help as much as possible.

If the account is not yet closed then I would suggest moving very quickly and apply for an interim injunction - I am talking about making an emergency application next Monday.

Does your name begin with P? If I am not mistaken, I believe that this kind of thing would not be altogether new to you.