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Hi All, I just wanted to know how common it was for a bank to close someones account and recall the overdraft as a result of reclaiming bank fee's? I'm only asking because i'm a recent graduate with an £1800 overdraft so i'd be in a bit of trouble if they did. I could open a graduate account and transfer the overdraft but they need proof of income and i'm still job hunting at the moment. Does it depend on the amount being claimed? i'm only claming £260 myself so i'm hopefull they won't do this to me. Thanks Chris

Problem sorted, the person at my branch dealing with my case thought I was the defendant oh dear. I explained to them that the few days it has taken to sort the matter out wont be taken off the 14 days since I filed the claim so there would be no extension so i'll just have to wait and see what happens now.

Hi all, I'm a bit confused with some of the latest developments. I recieved a letter from the bank today after having submitted my court claim. It appears they have just forwarded to me what they will have recieved from the small claims court. I don't have the letter infront of me because i'm not living at that address at the moment but it's a copy of the claim form I sent and a how to respond form. It's definately come from my bank because it has a RBS stamp on the envelope. Is it possible they have recieved this and thought it wasnt intended for them? Very strange, i'm picking up the letter on monday anyway so i'll double check what it says. Thank chris

One quick question i've now filed my claim and i've taken a look at the document sent to my branch and it specifies Northampton county court is that ok being that my bank branch is in the north west?

Hi Ted, I've just read through your thread and can't believe what your bank is doing to you it's quite unbelievable. Anyway I just thought I'd show my support and I hope you can get some of these problems sorted. Chris

Right this is what i've come up with using one of the templates from this website: "The claimant has a contract with the defendant from 08/02 which was conducted on their standard terms and conditions. The claimant claims the return of £230 levied by the defendant in the way of charges. The charges are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further,as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair(Contracts) Terms Act 1977s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regs 1999,Para 8 and sch.2(1)(e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty, they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. The defendant has been asked to justify the charges but they have declined to do so. The claimant claims interest under s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from 28/07/03 to 17/06/06 of £33.92 and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £0.05."

I'm stuck again! I'm filling in the particulars of the claim and struggling a little bit is there anywhere on the website I can find a guide on how to fill this part in? Also the part on the website where it asks you to specify the daily rate of interest on the charges what would that be? Thanks Chris

Quick update, after i'd sent my LBA I recieved a letter from my branch informing me that my claim had been refered to the banks customer services department. About a week later I recieved a letter from them informing me they were still unwilling to refund the charges and suggested I went to the financial ombudsman with my complaint. So i've decided to take it further and make a court claim. My question is i'm currently on the Money Claim website filing the claim now and it's asking for the defendant's details should I put in the address of my branch or the address of the royal bank of scotlands HQ? Thanks in advance Chris

This is the problem I can't imagine being able to get another account with a big enough overdraft limit especially just being a graduate. Is it true they can't just call it in like that they would have to negotiate a repayment plan? That would probably end up being a blessing in disguise if they did.

There's something I havent thought about before. I've sent off my Letter before action to the bank last week. The problem is i'm a recent graduate from university with an £1800 overdraft. How common is it for a bank to close someones account after making a claim like this because i'm going to have trouble paying off that overdraft thats for sure!

Phew I thought it was just credit cards then and i'd made a fool of myself! Don't worry though i'm determined theres no way they'll get away without giving me a full refund now! I'm just modifying the Letter Before Action template now. I've noticed there are more references to the OFT in that letter should I leave those in? Thanks Again Everyone Chris

No it's a Royal Bank of scotland Student Account, is that going to be a problem?

Hi all, Quick update regarding my claim. Today I recieved the expected reply from my preliminary approach letter from the bank explaining they think the charges are fair etc. There was one part of this letter I wasnt expecting though. Can somone advise whether they think it's still ok to press ahead with a claim and also what steps to take next: "The OFT is presently in contact with us and with seven other major credit card companies to discuss the level of charges on credit cards. It is important that I emphasise these discussions are limited to charges on credit cards only." This still sounds like a standard response to me but I thought i'd check with everyone here first. Thanks Chris

All my charges are for either £30 Card Misue or unpaid D/D charges or £10 going over my overdraft limit charges is it ok to claim for those do you think? It's the overdraft charges that really bother me I have no idea how they could possibly justify them why not just charge you an elevated rate of interest while you stay over the limit? makes much more sense to me.