thanks again andy, as per your advice i will write to their solicitors and explain circumstances...

ok, thanks for your input again...

Hi again, And thank you also for your input ieuanMr as well as ongoing input from andyorch Please can you give your advice to this scenario if possible. I received a letter dated on the 7th from the solicitors acting on behalf of Natwest pursuing me for the entire amount which is inclusive of bank charges with the threat of court action. In their letter they also state that if i dispute liability for the debt I should state my reasons and supply them with documents. (which is just a repeat of previous cycles with other DCA's but in past instances I have always been laying claim to the OFT test case still being in progress etc... and they usually back off, and someone else comes along and the cycle continues). Then I also received another letter also dated on the 7th, this time from Natwest, saying that due to the outcome of the OFT test case they believe their charges to be fair and reasonable so therefore they would not uphold my claim for refund of charges and if i dont respond in 8 weeks they will assume i have given up. From where i am sitting, these 2 letters look pretty synchronized to set up for court action, one letter saying this is the total outstanging figure (which is made up of overdraft + charges) and one saying the charges are valid. I am happy to pay back the overdraft, because that was genuine money borrowed (2100 from a total of 3100 with charges), but i totally disagree with £30 charges for going 50p over drawn or having a bounced cheque etc...especially as these charges were on my student account and quite a few of them after the accounts were inactive i.e. rolling £30/month charges.. And, i am still a full time student with no regular income so having a ccj for 3k or being expected to pay this all off sometime this year by direct debit is near to impossible. I have absolutely no income, so i am in no rush to pay this off. anyorch advises i should just wait for them to pass the hot cake around, but i am worried that the synchornization of the above mentioned letters means definite action this time ieuanMr suggests proposing to settle, and also that i should still respond to any communication. So are you suggesting i should reply to the solicitors? But this time what would i say? normally i would say "oft test case ongoing...etc" but we as consumers have been let down and they know this... Are you also suggesting i should respond to the Natwest letter dated on the same day which justifies their charges and assumes if i dont respond in 8 weeks that they are all clear? I am hoping you can advise in light of these new circumstances... (On a personal note, thanks for your time, but please also be aware I am worried of the impact that court defense will have on my studies, as i am in the middle of intense ongoing uni stuff and normally i'm the resilient type but am worried how much of time this will take up from my studies...)

ok Andy, thanks again as usual for your input, I will have to just wait from their end...

Hello, I would be grateful for a bit of advice. I have been so far fighting the whole charges issue with lots of help from this forum (many thanks andyorch and others).... Since the commencement of the OFT case or bank charges and the putting on hold of most claims, i didnt pursue putting my claim through the courts (also as it cost money to do so). However my claim circumstances are different in that I actually owe the bank, not in terms of a loan, but wholly from overdraft charges, £30 here, £30 there £30 here and there over the years it accumilated. I did have an overdraft of total £2000 (from 2 accounts - 1 student, 1 current) and the debt Natwest have been pursuing me for totals £3.3, the £1.3 wholly made up of bank charges. They have been harassing me with an array of different debt collectors since 2006, but i've been fighting back with help from this forum and the hope of a favourable OFT case response, which we obviously did not get. I've pretty much lost a lot of energy, but I guess I have to go to court to defend myself if need be regarding the overdraft charges which i still feel are unfair. I have not been summoned yet but it seems that way any minute now. So i ask, can i still pursue them through the court system, or shall i just wait for them to summons me? And if i am summoned, what shall i do? What are my options? I realise the banks have a victory in terms of consumers not being able to get back money from them, but is it fair for them to win both ways, in having a re-enforced ability to press for debt of which a substantial portion is made from those overdraft charges? I don't have a loan agreement with them. Please kindly advise? I thank you in advance...

here here pinky! much agreed, i can also see where i missed some detailed, i can see you are referring to FSO re: 8 weeks, i just had OFT plugged in my head because i was reciting my letter, ok, i will also take that route and write to their complaints, is it the same address, or do you know of another one? thanks

hi pinky, boy oh boy, are you feeling the wrath for these guys?!!?! aaargh! is that the way to go about it then? because in the template letter, the letter makes a threat that if you dont send your complains procedure in 14 days then im going straight to OFT, just wondering because i am not sure i can handle 8 more weeks of their nonsense...

Hello, AIC wrote me regarding an alleged debt made up of the usual overdraft charges. I wrote them back on the 08/6 advising them that the debt was in dispute, pending OFT, etc, the usual template letter. * I SENT THAT LETTER VIA RECORDED DELIVERY AND HAVE ALL THE PROOF. * Then they wrote back but they used language as if they had never seen my other letter, i.e. ( i think their standard phrase) they said "We are suprised to see you are ignoring our letters" I didnt ignore them! i replied! So i replied AGAIN! but this time with a stronger letter from the library, you know the one that says "not ceasing to harass" etc etc, and finished the letter with I sent this second letter VIA RECORDED DELIGVERY AGAIN and have the proof to show it. I also included a photocopy of the recorded delivery receipt (the orange thing with the tracking number) and i also included a printout from the royal mail website that proves someone signed for it, so they saw their own signature and it is proof, as far as i am concerned, that the postman handed it over and someone signed for it!!! Guess what? They wrote me again! with the same opening statement of "we are shocked that you have ignored us.." This time we are going to bust down your door, we're coming soon! Whats incensing me, is that i replied, on each occasion within 24 hrs! via recorded delivery! and with detailed evidence. I sent the letters to the address which was on their letter footer: AIC, Anderson House, 389 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G2 8LR is this address a decoy? because i also noticed on the bottom of the letter head they have an address which says Registered office: Office no 5, the clock tower, chineham, basingstoke, RG24 8BQ I would like to point out that the scotland address is placed deliberately above the registered address, which as far as i am concerned is misleading the consumer to reply to the glasgow address, just in case their argument is "We put our registered address on the letter" so then what is the point of the other address. Anyway. Their 14 days since the 03/07 are up (for them to give me their complaints procedure), so ideally i would like steps that lead to reporting and penalising AIC please to put an end to this. Thanks as always.....

it sure is, thank you as always

hi, yes they returned the p.o. but i have already sent them 2 letters along the lines of "i do not acknowledge" and this one was teh thirds one with a p.o. attached saying "show me proof". So i have 2 questions: 1. what do if if wescot keep trying 2. what to do if snatchwest respond by sending me a copy of a signed agreeent? thanks as always...

hello again! I sent that cca request with "£1.00" payable to Wescot Their response: so why do i have to send it off to natwest?

update: they wrote back 3 days ago saying:

hi, interesting thing i am remembering now (when panicking, you can forget), is that i have already sent them a letter to that tune saying "i do not acknowledge this debt...leave me alone..." but it was without the CCA request part, does this affect your advice?

Hello Andy! yeah ok i will do taht straight away, any templates anywhere? thanks again, as always...

Dear all, I had a mastercard with Natwest which went over the limit due to the ridiculous charges made. I contested these charges early last year and Natwest replied with an offer conditional that i do not take them to cout regarding this matter ever again. So i signed off (foolishly? i dont know) but it only took off about £164.00 off a £774 debt of which my maximum limit was £700.. so i thought that if i signed off on their 164 offer then i would be in the green again as this would be under my limit (i.e. approx £610), and they never contacted me to start repayments of the remaining balance, they just kept quiet and then boom, guess who writes yesterday? WESCOT! So i am a bit bemused as to whether i should start down the whole S.A.R request thing? or what do i say if i am pulled in court when honestly i thought that their refund of charges meant that the card was now under the limit clearly reflected by the fact they are only claiming 580.00 which is under what was my 700 limit. Also i didnt get all the charges i wanted refunded, but thats my fault, i signed off on it, but did it just to get on with my card. any thoughts?

update: i sent them back a harsh letter asking for their complaints procedure etc, and they just responded with that standard "your case is on hold, whilst we look into it no action will be taken", but i have had that one before...

thank you ODC

is there anyway i can also complain to the OFT, i mean these guys are being blatant, considering i wrote them in nov 2007, and they claim there is no genuine reason

Hi all, It is pretty serious now, and i would like advice or some guidance or advice to get rid of Wescot. They are harassing me for an alleged debt to Abbey. I say alleged because the same amount i am claiming as overdraft charges. I have done everything up until after the letter before action, of course Abbey did not reply. I guess with all the hype of the OFT court case i was complacent and haven't yet done my N1. i'm just fed up with them really, and what should i do if they file in court before i do, or if one of these door visitors comes with out a court order Wescot are now threatening to knock on my door etc and court cases with their Nelson Partners solicitors, they claim that "they have no known knowledge of a genuine reason for debt not beig paid even though i wrote them this letter in november 2007 but now they have sent me this:

HI again to all, please advise... I sent a letter to Wescot telling them the account was in dispute pending the OFT case which since 22 may is still pending as the unfairness of it is still in question? Yet late last week i received more letters from wescot and this time also their solicitors now saying they want to go to court over the matter within the next few days, but the amount is still disputable because of these overdraft charges! So what should i do now? they are harrassing me, is what i feel, how do i complain or do something about this, and the important question of all, if they do file in court, what would my defense be? Appreciate any advice.

hi, is anyone using the money claim website?

hi all thanks for your support thus far.. here is the response to the letter you advised me to send (for now anyways) scanned.... what i really noticed from this letter? these guys are so shark they are even open on Sundays! Temp victory anyways

haha! abg! good for you, just sounds like a diplomatic way of saying "yelp"

ok everyone, many thanks for your help, have sent Lula's letter today.

hi thanks every one for your help so far, dear abroadgirl, patiently waiting for your templates... (you're probably on easter holiday)