We are currently in a dispute with Nat West bank about some finacnial difficulties we are experiencing

This has led to some direct debits being returned and overdraft exceeded etc

However, what Nat West did was to more or less clear out our savings account into our current account "to avoid us incurring charges"

If their charges are unlawful in the first place, would this not constitute theft ?

They have literally without asking transferred a substantial amount from our savings into our current account. Now our current account is still a bit of a mess and our savings are gone.

Is that legal ? Some of the money which was in our savings was sent from my parents in Germany and was meant for something else. It is gone now. Swallowed.

Can they do all this ?

It is a process called "off-setting" and whilst not very ethical, it appears to be legal.

:oWonderful - so we call it legal theft

Thanks for replying so quickly anyway. I am just surprised they don't have to ask your permission before taking your money, we all have to agree an overdraft if we want to use theirs ? (only joking, I know it's hard to fight the big boys and their small print)

Have a good read through the T&C's of your accounts to see if this "transfer" is specifically mentioned - If not, then surely it's wrong?

Mike

.......And won't you be claiming it back anyway?

.......And won't you be claiming it back anyway?

Well, that's the point. It is not a penalty they have levied, they have taken my savings to prevent me from being charged their unlawful penalty charges if you see what I mean

So that they don't have to (unlawfully) penalize me they have cleared out my savings. And I don't know if I can ask for my savings back. I doubt it though

It's just gone into the black hole that is my current account never to be seen again:oops:

No, it's not :-?

Well, it is at the moment, but when you get your charges back, you put them back in the savings account. Yes, it's annoying, but ultimately, its no big deal, as you'll get it all back and more... The part that came from your savings, you put back in the savings account, the rest will go a long way towards reducing your overdraft. Meanwhile, if it helps incurring less charges and interest, is it really such a bad thing? Low interest paying savings account v high interest charging o/draft. Mhhh....

Hi Bookworm

yes, you are of course correct when it comes down to the bottom line, but it nevertheless feels like robbery. Like someone coming to your house, going through your drawers and helping themselves to your money and then saying it is for your own good.

If you see what I mean. :-|

Not only would I put it back in your savings account! I'd put it in another bank, that way they won't be doing it again in a hurry.

Unfortuneately they were both joint accounts - check here

BBA - British Bankers' Association - Understanding joint accounts

Hi,

we have sent off the prelim letter to Nat West last week and received their reply today

We are claiming unlawful bank charges of GBP 728

In their fob off letter Nat West now claims that our request for a refund only applies to credit card charges, not to bank charges which are apparently lawful

Has anybody had this reply before ?

What should I put in my letter before action with regards to their statement ?

Should I just send the template from the website here anyway and see what happens or do I need to add something as a specific reply to what they have said ?

I am a bit confused now.

Any help would be appreciated

This reply is absolutely standard stuff - they must have send hundreds of these out by now. It's exactly what you should expect from reading other users' posts here.

You now want to send a "letter before action" - basically saying you're not satisfied with this response, restating your reasons for claiming, and giving them 14 days before you begin legal action. Take a look in the templates section for examples of what you should send.

Stuart Higley will write back refusing to refund you, and saying he is sorry you are contemplating court action, please keep him informed etc etc etc.

You then do moneyclaim or file in your local court

Plutos

Hi,

we have sent off the prelim letter to Nat West last week and received their reply today

We are claiming unlawful bank charges of GBP 728

In their fob off letter Nat West now claims that our request for a refund only applies to credit card charges, not to bank charges which are apparently lawful

Has anybody had this reply before ?

What should I put in my letter before action with regards to their statement ?

Should I just send the template from the website here anyway and see what happens or do I need to add something as a specific reply to what they have said ?

I am a bit confused now.

Any help would be appreciated

As stated above we got Mr Higley's letter today after our prelim

After reading it carefully it seems to be pretty much the same as other members have received from him. But I do not know about some things he has written in there.

He says they do not agree with the OFT's statement of 5th of April and do not accept its findings. But apparently the OFT restricted its investigation to credit cards and made no attempt to consult with the RBS Group or the industry in relation to other entirely different products.

Does that mean the OFT's findings do not apply to current accounts ? Could they use that as a valid defence ?

Also the preprinted prelim letter we sent off (from the template library here) has a phrase in it (quote) as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as our fiduciary.(unquote)

Mr Higley picked on that and said they never acted as our fiduciary, as it is not part of the normal banker/customer relationship.

Should I have taken that part out of the prelim letter ? I had no idea and just sent it off

Has anybody any ideas on this

Also should I send off my LBA now or ignore his letter and wait until the first 14 days are up as suggested in the step by step guide on the site here and then send the LBA as if I never received his reply ?

:?

1. Ignore his letter and any points he makes. It's all waffle.

2. 14 days after the prelim, send the LBA with amended 1st sentence 'failed to respond positively'

Hello

have been through the initial Tango with Nat West (prelim letter - bog off our charges are fair reply and we do not agree with the OFT from Mr Higley / LBA with usual bog off I will tell my lawyers reply from Mr Higley)

Money claim for £728.- plus interest and costs filed 29/09 at local County Court, served on Nat West 04.10.06

Received a letter today from my lcoal branch offering £324.- in full and final settlement as a goodwill gesture.

I will not accept this, but is there a template anywhere here with a polite but standard bog off reply ? I can't find it

If I do not accept it, do I have to reply at all ? (It is just a letter no cheque included) I don' want to jeopardize my court claim with a wrong move at this stage

HELP

If you have filed at court then don;t worry because you will get the lot back. Maybe not worth replying to the letter.

Yes, that's what my husband said. He thinks we should just ignore it now and wait for them to react to the official Court Service and just go down the official line

I already told my local branch I couldn't enter into any further communication because their London Head Office had already turned down our request twice which we took as Nat West's official reply and stand in this case and we subsequently filed a court claim against them on 29/09

Instead of not contacting us again they sent us this letter with an offer for half the amount, although they know we have already filed a claim and incurred further costs (court costs ) so are unlikely to accept anything less than the full amount now anyway.

So my husband also thinks not to react and just let it be but I don't want it to backfire on us if it does go to court and they say as part of the defence, oh , but we offered them a settlement figure and they just ignored us !!

I don't want it to backfire on us if it does go to court and they say as part of the defence, oh , but we offered them a settlement figure and they just ignored us !!

A settlement figure maybe, but not your claim figure. You don't have to reply or:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your letter dated xx/xx/xx and settlement offer of £ XXX

I have already filed a claim in the small claims court and therefore I respectfully decline your offer of settlement

I will accept the sum offered only as part settlement and on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder.

I request, once again, that you return to me all charges imposed on this account, together with court costs and s69 8% interest now totalling £xxxx

I will be willing to withdraw my claim upon receipt of full settlement of my claim.

Yours sincerely

Excellent !

Many Thanks

Maybe someone can help me

My husband has been declared bankrupt recently which affects some outstanding debts with Nat West which the Official Receiver is handling. However, some of the debts were in joint names (me and my husband) but I am not bankrupt.

Nat West has passed the entire amount to their Credit Management Services in Telford who have stopped contacting my husband but who are phoning me once or twice a day despite the fact that I have already told them verbally and in writing that all correspondence with me should be in writing only. They just ignore it and keep phoning me at a staggering rate. I have sent them the template letter from the template library ref harassment by telephone (from jonni2bad) but to no avail. They just phone and phone and phone and just say I will get phone calls at this rate until I talk to them over the phone. I have already told them all there is in writing and started to make payments against the debt but it is all no good. They just keep phoning, some of the calls are in a very rude manner.

Some calls are as early as just gone eight o clock in the morning or as late as just before 8 in the evening. Never mind the calls to my place of work during the day.

I tried to download the complaint form for the OFT from Jonni2bad but the link does not seem to be working

Is there anything else I can do apart from putting the phone down every time or changing my number ?

Do what I did ring BT and get the call barring on your phone, if you dial 1471 you will get the numbers withheld, get the service from BT regarding withheld numbers.

Since doing this I have had no problems with whoever it was (I suspect it was Moorcroft).

I am sure NAtWest contacting you work could cause your employer to bring disciplinary action against you. This could be something your Union if you belong to one, could look into for you.

If you sent the letter regarding telephone harrassment by recorded mail to NatWest, you can report this with your evidence to the relevant authorities for them to take action. This is bullying and harrassment.

Maybe you record a couple of the phone calls as evidence. I would turn on the recorder and then say 'oops sorry I have accidently hit my message recorder'. I know someone who did actually put a message on their answering machine with words to the effect, all calls are recorded for evidential purposes. The calls stopped coming in her case.

i would definitely speak to BT if they are your phone provider. it will cost you to do this, but a few pounds now will give you some peace at home.

I would also speak to the HR people at your place of work and tell them what is happening.

Good luck

They are not allowed to do this, it is harrassment and you can report them to your local Trading Standards Office they are in breach of their license doing things like that and can get into trouble for it.

Read this.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html

Oh thats cool! Bit like the really long winded one I had to write some time ago in April here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/post-21673.html That was fun I can tell you, not! We also had lots of people telling us it wouldn't work but it did, if it hadn't i had my local TS on standby.

Read this.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html

Hello, yes I have already sent them that letter recorded delivery, but they still phone at the same rate

They say they can do that it is legal. I have resorted to just putting the phone down now, but they just keep calling

They are starting to really get to me as well. I jump every time the phone rings

It is becoming really bad

Below the letter template there is a link for a complaint form to be sent to the OFT, but that link doesn't seem to work, which is a petty, I would have sent it