I have not used my account for a number of years and assumed it was closed before being passed on to a DCA. Am I still able to claim back my charges eventhough the bank account is 'old'

Hi Cherminate.

Yes, you can claim back penalty charges from the account. Whether it's closed or active, the process is the same.

You can go back up to six years from the present time.

Regards, Rooster.

You can ask your bank to provide you with a list of charges going back six years (SAR request). You can claim further, but unless you have saved your statements you will find it difficult to get the bank to provide you with information further than six years. Can you elaborate on how old the account is, when you stopped using it, how much was owing and which DCA has it been passed onto etc.

I stopped using the account in 2002 when I became ill. It was about £1,000 o/d and Capquest is the DCA who know has 'power of attorney'. I do not know what the present balance is but I was paying them £88 per month until this month when I cancelled and sent off a CCA letter.

Although I would have thought if there was a power of attorney judgement then all my financial dealings would be in the grubby mits of Capquest

That is likely to be total tosh! Have you got a letter from them stating that they claim to have power of attorney? If so, I would send a copy of this to Trading Standards with a letter of complaint. You need to send an SAR to request to the bank, to find out what exactly was owing when the account was passed to Capquest and also any charges that can be reclaimed to offset against the debt. You will also know whether Capquest have added any charges (highly likely). They too cannot impose unlawful charges on the account. The only downside, is you will only get statement going back six years. Have you saved any statements prior to this?

Yes at the head of a letter confirming payment arrangements which were made by telephone it clearly states in bold type Power of Attorney:Royal Bank of Scotland plc

Stansfield would you summise by that that RBS took on Power of Attorney. I thought that POA was something that was done with the individuals full knowledge and required a signature.

Would I complain to RBS or take it outside of the company and to a regulatory body.

I would seek advice on this with a regulatory body. I have never heard of this and suspect it is just one of their bullying tactics to intimidate you.

Thanks. Time for me to turn in..night night!

Just to update. I have advised trading standards and they are looking in to the matter.

In the meantime Capquest were unable to provide an agreement to my CCA request and they have said that they will return all monies that I have paid them.

They have returned the debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland. Evidently they have no agreement either thus unenforceable debt. However as this relates to a bank account and its overdrawn balance and the fact that I am presently pursuing a claim on the account then I assume that they may settle after having taken away the debt.