Nationwide will need lots of new customers soon......

Nationwide paid up £91.14 including all interest and costs at the point of claim form issue.

I have today received a letter from Noel Healy (Senior Operations Manager - Member Account Servicing) advising me that in 30 days time they will close my accounts.

I notice that they dont wish to close the Child Trust Fund Accounts that I hold for my children.....

Is it worth taking action....?

David

Did they say why?

See here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=36

Im looking forward to having my accounts closed too.

3 Flex Accounts

Credit Card

Bonus Saver

ISA

Bye bye Nationwide.

They wouldn't give me an answer, said they didn't have to give a reason.

This seems to be their policy, and whilst i don't really care, one banks as bad as the next, I do feel they shouldn't be allowed to get away with punishing people who are, after all just excercising their legal rights.

Is there anything we can do about this?

I can't believe any court would look kindly on a company that is terminating contracts with people on the basis that those people won't let them act unlawfully.

I can't believe any court would look kindly on a company that is terminating contracts with people on the basis that those people won't let them act unlawfully.

What a fantastic way to put it!

Nationwide made £550m profit last year, It makes me sick.

They didnt give me a reason either.

Anyone got any thoughts on a suitable template for a letter regarding the closures and ideas on to whom we would write???

Not that I want them to change their mind, I just want to become a thorn in their side.

Anyone care to join me??

David

I'm with you, I feel just the same they can poke their account but i'd love to give them a kick in the balls as i leave.

Not sure what we can do, so any suggestions.

There was an announcement at the top of each forum about this, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore. This has been discussed at some length though, so a search should throw up some info for you.

If you're serious about wanting to cause a bit of aggravation for the nationwide then it can be easily done. I think it will be cheap probably risk free to you on the matter of costs because it would be a small claim action.

What you would do is you would begin a small claims simply to seek an order from the court to prevent them from closing your account. Believe me if you even began this action it would stir the nationwide up into a frenzy. I am taking you at your word here but if you wanted to do this then we would help you as much as possible.

The action would be based on the idea that as the charges are unfair under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations -- and this much has been said by the OFT, then closure of your account because you have challenged those of their charges is also unfair under the same regulations.

If you wanted to begin this action, you would have to use and N1 form. It would cost you about £30. You would issue your claim and then immediately you would apply for an interim injunction. The application for the injunction would cost you an additional fee. It might be about £40. The likelihood is that the interim injunction would be granted. It will probably be granted without notice to the nationwide, without hearing: simply by a judge in private.

Nationwide will be served with the interim injunction and they would then be unable to do anything about your account until the hearing. It would then be up to them whether they wanted to go ahead with the hearing or will they simply decided not to close your account or -- conceivably -- even pay you a sum of money in confidence to go away.

If there was a hearing then the main issue would be exactly the same as the charges issue -- are the charges are unlawful. If they are unlawful then the secondary issue would be whether the bank was closing your account because of your challenge or because of some other unconnected reason.

I can assure you that the bank will be petrified of going into court. Normally for them it is very easy. They simply pay the money on the grounds that "it is not economically worthwhile defending the claim" and then the whole case just stops.

In the case of an application for an injunction to prevent the account closure things are much more difficult for them. Of course their best bet would be to allow you to continue with the account and avoid the litigation in this way. However I don't know if they are this sensible.

At the same time, I would write to the OFT and complain about the account closure anyway. Demand will it be investigated under the unfair terms in consumer contracts regulations.

What would you like to do?

This sounds interesting. Let us know what you decide to do if you can.

If you're serious about wanting to cause a bit of aggravation for the nationwide then it can be easily done. I think it will be cheap probably risk free to you on the matter of costs because it would be a small claim action

Thanks very much Bankfodder, for your info and your time in responding.

I AM interested.

I like the Frenzy and aggravation bits best.

Judging from other posts there seems to be a few that feel the same.

Would it be worth starting a new section for account closure action where templates/letters/advice can be offered.

Let me know your thoughts.

I will need some help with this as it seems deeper than my action to date, but I remain committed.

Regards,

David

Okay.

The only thing that can confuse the issue is if you conducted your account so badly before and about the time all your claim that the bank can say that they close your account not because of your claim but because of your continued breaches of contract which made continuing the contract with you and untenable proposition.

So what I need to know is how long have you conducted your account, how badly has it been overdrawn, have you been regularly incurring charges, have you been purchasing goods when you knew that there was not enough money to meet the bills etc. In other words we need to get a picture of whether it is reasonable for them to point your conduct of your contract and in this way be able to deflect the causal link of your account closure from your challenge in the courts to the level and extent of your contractual breaches.

Trying give me a breakdown of the situation for the last 12 months or even the last six months with particular emphasis on the last three months so that we can see whether there was an improving or deteriorating pattern of behaviour on your part. If we can show that there was an improving pattern of behaviour then it is less likely that it would be reasonable for them to close your account on that basis. If there was a deteriorating pattern then this gives aid to the bank. I'm sure you know what I mean. You had to lay it out as briefly and as honestly as you can. The banks principle defence will be your general conduct of your account. I suggest that you come back to me very quickly on this because if your position sounds sufficiently convincing then I would suggest that you send them and letter on Tuesday recorded delivery putting them on notice that you intend to apply for the injunction unless within seven days they give you an assurance that they will not close your account.

No, I do not think it is worth starting a new section at this time. I would like to think that actions to try and prevent retaliatory closure of accounts would be a standard response rather than something exceptional. Therefore at this moment I think that any actions to be taken in this respect should be run in the appropriate forum is just like an ordinary claim. In this way also the fact that people are taking action for account closures will be more visible and in this way more people are likely to consider taking their own action.

Thanks Bankfodder,

My accounts with the Nationwide - A Potted History.

1. Flex-account - Basic - in Joint Names with Mrs k999jde. Opened March 2005. Facilities - Cash card only - No Overdraft Facility. Used For Direct Debits Only. Credited with Approx £1000 monthly. 2 Misdemeanours - 2 x Unpaid DD Fees @ £30 each. One on 19/11/05 and One 20/4/06. This account is the one that we have claimed against.
   
2. Flex-account - basic - in Sole Name. opened March 2005. facilities as Joint. Used For salary credits. Credited with £1500 average per month. Never overdrawn. No unpaid Items ever.
   
3. Other Accounts held - 2 x CTF accounts balances £500 each - 2 x minor savings accounts - internet based

Personally, I feel that although we are only looking at a 15 month period, I have been pretty good, I had opened these accounts in order to get away from other charging accounts. These were parachute accounts before parachutes had been thought of.

I think that should be it, I cannot be more honest.

Regarding the charges applied, I had written or emailed at the time of each charge and requested a refund which was subsequently refused. The next action was resultant from visiting this site.

Any further questions, please come back to me.

David

So I gather from you that you have a number of accounts with nationwide all of which have been conducted impeccably other than two problems with your Flex account and that these two problems are spaced five months apart and relate to an account which really receives £1000 in credit per month.

Is that it? And yet they say now that they are going to close all of the accounts.

What did they say in their letter? What do they give is the reason for the account closure?

Anyway if this is the situation then I think you are in a very strong position indeed and you are ideally placed to have a stab at this little experiment.

I think that you should prepare a letter before action. Send it special delivery. Tell them that if you do not receive a letter from them revoking the decision to close your accounts by close of business next Monday, that you will immediately file a claim with the County Court seeking an injunction to prevent the closure. Tell them that the basis of your claim will be that their closure of your account is unfair under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations in that it is arbitrary and also more particularly because it is retaliatory and in response to your challenge against their unfair penalty charges which have been confirmed as being unfair by the OFT.

Also write to the OFT and complain about the banks unfair term and require that they begin an investigation. The OFT have a statutory duty to begin an investigation when they receive your complaint.

Only write your LBA if you do mean to take your action. I'm quite sure that you will have to begin it. You have to write quickly and give them very little time only because it is an emergency. Read through the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations which are linked in the library. Start reading up on some small claims procedure with particular reference to injunctions. The small claims book by Patricia Pearl has some references to injunctions in the small claims track. It is a very good book and I would recommend that you buy it because I think you need to be very well-prepared. (Also if you buy it through this site, we make a few quid -- however Amazon will sell it to you without the delivery charge so it would be one pound cheaper). You will also need some court forms.

You will have to file your claim and apply for an interim injunction. The interim injunction will be a temporary order from the court pending a full hearing and which will order the bank not to close your account. Even this interim order will have a stunning effect on the nationwide. I fully expect that neither they nor any other bank has ever received one in these circumstances. Interim injunctions can either be with a hearing or without a hearing. It will depend on the judge. However there is 95% chance that you will get your interim injunction. Then at some point there will be hearing to decide whether or not there should be a permanent injunction. It is difficult at this point to know what to do or how to play it. This is a learning curve and also we will have to see how the bank reacts.

I think you will be a good idea for you to go to the court or to telephone them on Tuesday and find out how much it costs to start a claim which merely seeks an injunction and also how much is an application to make an interim injunction. I expect that you will throw the court into a quandary as well because they will be unused to this. I fully expect that they will try to say to you that you cannot make your application on an N1. If they do say this this will be incorrect information and you will have to insist you may need eventually to speak to the court manager. If necessary you may have to put down a nominal five pounds damages claim simply to create a more familiar structure for the court staff. It is likely to be a learning curve for them as well!

How is that for starters?

This is excellent, i'll read it in more depth tomorrow, but i fully intend to carry this out, the more of us who do this the better.

If anyone wants to co-ordiante this action let me know, could be fun to apply for a few injunctions on the same day, i intend to apply to the courts this week, the sooner the better.

EDIT: ok, it was late when i read the post, i'll be sending an LBA today with the intention of completing my N1 on Tuesday morning of next week.

Don't really want to start another thread, so i'll keep you upto date via this thread.

Stage 1 complete, LBA sent yesterday, emailed and posted to charles bacon.

Now i need to do some reading.

You will need to understand how to applying for interim injunctions and full injunctions. Don't be put off if you get the impression that they cannot be applied for on the small claims track: they can.

You will need to search on an interim injunctions, injunctions, interim remedies in order to find the information you need.

You will need to get a form N1 and also an application notice -- form N244 you can get these from the courts or you can find them on the courts' web site or alternatively you will find them included in the small claims kit which we are selling through the site. There may be a shortage of Kits at the moment may be best to look elsewhere.

There are three things that you will have to show in your application:

• You must satisfy the court that there is a serious issue to be tried,
  
• You must show that the balance of convenience is in favour of granting the injunction,
  
• You will have to show that if the balance of convenience is equally divided, that the court should maintain the status quo until the hearing of the full injunction.

You should not attempt in your application to start laying out detailed arguments.

I would say that your interim injunction is a foregone conclusion. However, if the nationwide was to take you on then you have a serious time in court. You need to be satisfied in your own mind that you can deal with this as I will expect that the bank will produce a serious legal team to deal with it. On the other hand as you will be acting in person, the judge will do what he can to look after your interests.

Because the issue is substantially the same as the charges issue, the danger to the bank of you winning will be enormous. This means that there is a very good chance that the bank will bottle out. However, even if they do, you can be very satisfied that you will have drawn first blood.

Please keep us all informed of what you are reading and what you're finding out. There are other people who would like to take the same kind of action as you and the information here will be of enormous use to them. When it gets close to the time, contact me and we will draft the pleadings together.

If you win this then you had better get your hair cut and your teeth fixed because your mum won't be pleased if you don't look nice in the newspaper pictures

Would there not be a case here for discrimination ?

If they are closing an account because they have been taken to task over unfair penalties then surely thats discrimination ??

:idea:

If the account were closed because you are black, or not black, or Jewish, or not Jewish or Muslim, or not Muslim, or because you had only one leg or AIDS then this would be discriminatory

but they won't tell us why they are closing accounts, I was told we don't need to tell you, we can close your account and if we give you 30 days then we are in line with the banking code, which made me sleep easier.

edit: thanks for the advise BF i'll keep you all upto date on whats happening.

Maybe they wont tell us the reason.......but in court surely they will be asked for one ?

:idea:

I've booked the day off tomorrow to go and file my injunction preventing Nationwide from closing my account.

Now i'm ok on the reason for the injuction, but i'm having trouble with the wording of it, so any help would be gratefully recieved.

What a fantastic way to put it!

 

Nationwide made £550m profit last year, It makes me sick.

Hang on I thought that Nationwide were proud of being building society - not a commercial bank?

Surely building Societies are not allowed to make profits!!

Unless anyone knows better

Lee, what has happened with this? Have you had any response? Do we know if anyone else has tried this approach as well?

Can we have an update