A big thanks to Martin over at the Money saving expert site for pointing me in the direction of this site

I started my action against the rbs back on 03/05/06. I went into the bank with my £10 and printed out letter from here. The girl behind the counter knew what it was straight away, popular then!

I received my 6 years worth of bank statements not long afterwards, and when my wife and I had time, went through them and picked out all the charges. It came originally to just over £1400.

I put this all down on paper, via the template off here (thanks guys) and sent that to my local branch.

Just last thursday 29/06/06, I recieved this letter:

Dear mr rogerwilko and missus

Thankyou for your patience whilst awaiting my review of your charges refund request.

In connection with the individual charges detailed in your correspondence, I would like to comment on the following:-

Here, the manager of the branch goes through my claim bit by bit, and pulls it apart! Apparently I'd made some errors and put some charges down that I shouldn't have. The upshot of the revised claim is down to £785, which is still nice to claim back, she then goes on:-

We believe that our charges are fair, reasonable and transparent. We consider that the amounts debited to your account have been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us and our published tariff, which we are satisfied , complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are also committed to ensuring the transparency of the information that we give to our customers about the operations of our products.

We have considered and responded to the office of Fair Tradings (OFS)statement of 5th April 2006. We do not accept the OFS's findings in relation to credit card fees. We are concerned that the OFS has publicly called in to question the setting of charges applied to other products, including current accounts. The OFS has restricted its investigation to credit cards and moade no attempt to consult with the RBS or the industry in relation to other, entirely different products.

Consequently, against that background, we must differ with the views expressed in your letter and will not be refunding any of the charges applied to your bank account.

yours sincercerly

yadda yadda

So, my question is: Where do I go now? Is it court action letter time? Before I head down that route, am I right to stay with my local branch on this matter, or should I now go over their heads to head office?

Big thanks so far for all the help I've recieved off this site and Martins

Chris.

Hi there.

This is my first time on the Consumer Action Group Website, I watched the BBC program and thought this is it I could actually get out of debt - (hopefully) .

I was interested to read your comments about RBS as I have just written to them asking them to provide me with charges over the last six years (they dont't give up do they, they promptly asked me for £5.00 per old statement) for me to track this myself . I have not paid it and fortunately kept most of the statements so Sunday afternoon is maths homework time!!.

That was quick!

The £700 in charges I've taken out amount to 2 things I'd accidently put in twice and bank charges I'd mistakenly applied that were part of the accound I have (royalties account) I've been back through the statements, and it seems to be correct.

Like you say, it's nice to see that I've caused the manager to actually spend some time on my account though

On the subject of your statements, read the first part of the advice about the procedure on this site again, and there's a letter to send, along with £10, that will get all your statements sent to you. Rather strangely, mine came headed from the Nat-West?

I'll keep you all posted.

Rogerwilko,

I was confused as to what to do when I received my first letter off the branch, it was worded the same as yours and the seems to be their standard 'Sod off' letter.

I then sent a LBA, together with a breakdown of the charges that I am claiming back, which they have received as I have had a letter off them saying it has now been passed to 'Customer Relations'.

If I was you I would send a LBA, giving them another 14 days.

There is a very good one on this site, posted by 'Imported'.

All the best,

-NEIL

Thanks again, I'm sending this tomorrow:

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

Dear Mrs ************,

ACCOUNT NUMBER: *********

I am glad that you have responded to my letter, but disappointed that we couldn’t resolve this matter. I have amended my claim to take into account the points you raised in my previous letter.

I now understand that the regime of 'fees' which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations.

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

You have calculated that you have taken £785 in charges off me in the last 6 years.

Please refer to the original letter and summary of charges for clarification.

I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus interest plus my costs and without further notice.

Yours faithfully,

***********

It will be interesting to see if I now get bumped upto customer care after this one.

chris.

Thanks again, I'm sending this tomorrow:

 

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

 

Dear Mrs ************,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: *********

 

I am glad that you have responded to my letter, but disappointed that we couldn’t resolve this matter. I have amended my claim to take into account the points you raised in my previous letter.

I now understand that the regime of 'fees' which you have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations.

 

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

 

You have calculated that you have taken £785 in charges off me in the last 6 years.

Please refer to the original letter and summary of charges for clarification.

I require repayment in full of this money. If you do not comply fully within 14 days then I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus interest plus my costs and without further notice.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

***********

 

 

It will be interesting to see if I now get bumped upto customer care after this one.

 

chris.

 

 

 

fingers crossed for you. I have sent My LBA today; hand delivered to the manager of my local branch and I requested a reciept for both letters. It was for £3,490 and the second was for £2,660.19 plus any interest. I am still waiting on statements from the Halifax. No wonder I've been skint for the past few years. I can't wait to see what happens next. I had a brief chat with the manager and even he agreed that the charges were ridiculous. I won't mention the name or branch though!

Rogerwilko,

 

I was confused as to what to do when I received my first letter off the branch, it was worded the same as yours and the seems to be their standard 'Sod off' letter.

 

I then sent a LBA, together with a breakdown of the charges that I am claiming back, which they have received as I have had a letter off them saying it has now been passed to 'Customer Relations'.

 

If I was you I would send a LBA, giving them another 14 days.

 

There is a very good one on this site, posted by 'Imported'.

 

All the best,

 

-NEIL

Have you heard anything back following your LBA?

Have you heard anything back following your LBA?

No, nothing apart from the letter saying that it was being passed to the Customer Relations dept. The 14 days is up on next Tuesday, 11th July.

I found it funny today though as I had a phonecall off them and thought straight away it was regarding this matter. It wasn't, they were asking me if my overdraft was ok and would I like to take out a loan with lower rate of interest to my current one.

I'm not even using my account at the moment, I have my salary and DD sorted elsewhere until this matter is concluded.

All the best,

-NEIL

fingers crossed for you. I have sent My LBA today; hand delivered to the manager of my local branch and I requested a reciept for both letters. It was for £3,490 and the second was for £2,660.19 plus any interest. I am still waiting on statements from the Halifax. No wonder I've been skint for the past few years. I can't wait to see what happens next. I had a brief chat with the manager and even he agreed that the charges were ridiculous. I won't mention the name or branch though!

Cheers angelface, I'll keep you all posted

No, nothing apart from the letter saying that it was being passed to the Customer Relations dept. The 14 days is up on next Tuesday, 11th July.

 

I found it funny today though as I had a phonecall off them and thought straight away it was regarding this matter. It wasn't, they were asking me if my overdraft was ok and would I like to take out a loan with lower rate of interest to my current one.

 

I'm not even using my account at the moment, I have my salary and DD sorted elsewhere until this matter is concluded.

 

All the best,

 

-NEIL

Good luck. please keep us posted. I have read so many threads on here and very few regarding payment from the RBOS.

Well, heard from the bank last Thursday:

Dear Mr. xxxxxx

Your complaint regarding charges has been passed to me and I am sorry we have failed to reach an agreement with you. Please accept my apologies for any unintended inconvenience or upset.

I regret that there is little that I can add constructively to previous comments. But, having reviewed your account, I can find no instance where charges have been applied when they were not properly due. They have all been associated with a lack of covering funds in the account at the time items were presented for payment. Accordingly, the charges that have been applied to your account should stand.

It is disapointing to note that you are contemplating legal action against the bank. whilst I hope you will feel able to reconsider, should you decide to go ahead, please ensure that any Proceedings are served on our Registered Office address, which appears at the foot of this letter.

I suspect that this is unlikely to be the answer you might have hoped to receive but nonetheless thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Ian Anderson

Customer Relations

and the address: RBS PLC, 36, ST. ANDREW SQUARE, EDINBURGH, EH22YB.

So, what now? It does look like they want a fight, what chance do I have in a court against the RBS? My wife, after reading this last letter, is all ready to give up and let it lie, but I've come this far already!

You get all court costs returned when they settle, which they will do!!! RBS have never shown up in court to defend a claim yet, and one bank has publicly admitted they won't defend the claims! Its your money so why let them get away with stealing it!

So which letter do I send to head office now?

Well, heard from the bank last Thursday:

 

Dear Mr. xxxxxx

Your complaint regarding charges has been passed to me and I am sorry we have failed to reach an agreement with you. Please accept my apologies for any unintended inconvenience or upset.

I regret that there is little that I can add constructively to previous comments. But, having reviewed your account, I can find no instance where charges have been applied when they were not properly due. They have all been associated with a lack of covering funds in the account at the time items were presented for payment. Accordingly, the charges that have been applied to your account should stand.

 

It is disapointing to note that you are contemplating legal action against the bank. whilst I hope you will feel able to reconsider, should you decide to go ahead, please ensure that any Proceedings are served on our Registered Office address, which appears at the foot of this letter.

 

I suspect that this is unlikely to be the answer you might have hoped to receive but nonetheless thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Ian Anderson

Customer Relations

 

and the address: RBS PLC, 36, ST. ANDREW SQUARE, EDINBURGH, EH22YB.

 

So, what now? It does look like they want a fight, what chance do I have in a court against the RBS? My wife, after reading this last letter, is all ready to give up and let it lie, but I've come this far already!

I had the exact response word for word following my LBA's. I asked for them to enter into a sincere dialogue with me as oppossed to a standard letter. I guess that was asking a little bit too much. I will filing my court cliam tomorrow. Good luck to you. I must admit I keep thinking that will make an example of me by coming to court lol. Keep us posted

I had the exact response word for word following my LBA's. I asked for them to enter into a sincere dialogue with me as oppossed to a standard letter. I guess that was asking a little bit too much. I will filing my court cliam tomorrow. Good luck to you. I must admit I keep thinking that will make an example of me by coming to court lol. Keep us posted

angelface, how do I now go about progressing this matter. I've had a good think about the outcome, and I'm prepared to go ahead. This site can be confusing once you progress any further than this stage, and I'm unsure as to how to go on

Any help greatly appreciated

Is that letter in response to your prelim or LBA?

If you read through the step-by-step process you will see that you sent the prelim letter, then 14 days later send the LBA, then 14 days after that start legal proceedings.

Hiya Roger,

the next step now is take them to court. You can use money claim online which is pretty straighforward and the particulars of the claim can be found in the library templates. It will cost you £120 but it's money well spent. If you have any probs just ask...I am sooooooooo very grateful for all the help I have recieved from the good people on here. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress