Hi Sarah - I had a similar problem - my thread may help http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/84728-urgent-help.html Steve

OK - an interesting turn of events!! I called Brighton Court and a very helpful lady there said that my claim was in a backlog waiting for the Judge to review. She told me that the majority of claims are being put on hold pending the High Court hearing. This was scheduled for Jan/Feb (she couldn't recall). She said either party may then appeal so if my claim made it to a hearing then that could be as late as March/April next year..... Obviously I was very disheartened by this news!! The today however I received another settlement letter from Natwest - offering me about £5200 (my claim is for about £7500).. Deal or No Deal!!?? Any advise... I'm assuming others are aware of the hold being placed on claims? Cheers Steve

Many thanks Hedgy! Will do.....

Hi Hedgey - thanks. I had received a defence from Natwest and a letter from the court, transferring my case to my local court. It encloses the Defence and the Request for Further Information and Clarifcation. The letter also states: IT IS ORDERED THAT:- 1. The filing of an alocation questionnaite be despensed with in this case unless the District Judge at the court of trandfer orders otherwise.** Note: Any party affected by this Order may under Rule 3.3 (5) apply to have it set aside, varied or stayed. Such aprty must apply under Rule 23.3 within 14 days of this service order. ** Please note that an allocation fee may be payable in this instance. Please contact the court of transfer for further details. Does this help - I can check my paperwork tomorrow morning if you need any more info many thanks Steve

Hi - Sorry to push this to the top of the list again, but I'm hoping that someone maybe able to advise... Many thanks Steve

OK... Here's where I am now.... As instructed by the court, I sent my amended claims (now consolidated into one claim as required by the Judge) back to the court and to Cobbetts (both recorded delivery) on the 5th July. It's now the 1st August and I've not had a peep from Cobbetts or the court. Does anyone know whether the time limit for the defence applies where an amended claim is sent in? I'm hoping that someone might be able to advise on what the next stage might be if there is no defence provided... I'm hoping I'm on the last stretch now as it's now been a year since I started the process (admittedly due to my initial mistakes in my first claims). I've still been getting charges on my accounts so if or when I get my money back, I intend to do the same for my charges since Jan 07! Many thanks Steve

Thanks Parkvale! I've not received a cheque as Natewest are offering to pay direct to my account. I think I'll reject and cobtinue down the court route Cheers Steve

OK - Here's where I've got to so far....... After a mistake on my original claims (an error in my calculations - see this thread where i got some really useful help http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/84728-urgent-help.html), I applied for an amendment of my claim. The court have written to me saying that I need to red-line in ink my original claim (how very 21st centuary!), rather than submit a new claim with an Application Notice, as I did - follwing the advice on the tread above (no blame on the advisors of course, but a lesson learned and shared for anyone else in the same position). I will be sending my red-lined claim (re-attaching the statement of charges) back this week with a letter explaining my errors to avoid further confusion. In the meantime, I have had an offer from Stuart Higley of Natwest on each of my accounts!!!! The first is for £2,808.00 (the claim is for £2752.51) and the second is for £2481.00 (the claim is for £4538.10) It appears that there is no relationship between the offer and the claim amounts?! Anyway..... I have read that some people have rejected the offer but suggested that the bank pay it as a part payment. A few questions: Is it wise to suggest that Natwest make the payment as a part payment now? Has anyone been sucessful in getting part payment and then getting the rest through the court? Does anyone have a nicely worded letter I can use?! Should I just reject at this stage as I am already involved in the court process? Help woudl be greatly appreciated as always! Steve

Michael, Paul Thanks so much for your help. I'll delete as Michael suggests and let you know how I get on! Steve

Thanks Paul.. if there is a mistake in the calculations, does this throw the whole claim out? Steve

Hi All Sorry for being stupid.... I'm filling in the claim form and it requires: Charges £xxx.xx Overdraft Interest £xxx.xx Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx Court Fee £xx.xx TOTAL £ xx.xx I want to make sure I am getting the claim right, so which fields form the advanced calculation speadsheet fill in the correct bit of the above?? Charges = obvious Overdraft intertest = is this H11 (interest on penalties)? Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 = is this E11+I11 (8% on penalties + 8% Interest on interest on penalties)? Thanks Steve

Paul Your a good man - thanks for this. I'll do the form filling tonight and get it off to the court tomorrow. I'll obviously keep you posted on how I get on. Many thanks again for your help mate - really very appreciated! Steve

Thanks Cobbett Slayer - you're a star! That will give me Thursday to do what I need to do and get it in the post Steve

I've also had a letter from the courts, transferring my case to my local court. It encloses the Defence and the Request for Further Information and Clarifcation. The letter also states: IT IS ORDERED THAT:- 1. The filing of an alocation questionnaite be despensed with in this case unless the District Judge at the court of trandfer orders otherwise.** Note: Any party affected by this Order may under Rule 3.3 (5) apply to have it set aside, varied or stayed. Such aprty must apply under Rule 23.3 within 14 days of this service order. ** Please note that an allocation fee may be payable in this instance. Please contact the court of transfer for further details.

Many thanks All Thanks for the advice re the original docs Corbett Slayer... I repost with my name etc removed. Thanks to all for their comments. Here is the text form my claim: Claim 1) 1. The Claimant has an account ??????? with the Defendant 2. Since 02/02/2000 the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract. 3. Defendant is aware of details as a list of charges has been supplied. 4. Claimant contends: (a) The charges exceed the Defendant's losses caused by the breaches; (b) The Term permitting the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and at Common Law. 5. Claimant claims: (a) return of the amounts debited of £3952.91; (b) Interest per S.69 County Courts Act 1984 of 8% - £53.42 continuing at 8% until judgment or settlement at a daily rate of £0.86; 6. Alternatively, if the charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. 7. Costs allowed by the Court. Claim 2) 1. The Claimant has an account ???????? with the Defendant 2. Since 02/01/2003 the Defendant debited charges and interest in respect of purported breaches of contract. 3. Defendant is aware of details as a list of charges has been supplied. 4. Claimant contends: (a) The charges exceed the Defendant's losses caused by the breaches; (b) The Term permitting the Defendant to levy such charges is unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and at Common Law. 5. Claimant claims: (a) return of the amounts debited of £2272.44; (b) Interest per S.69 County Courts Act 1984 of 8% - £31.60 continuing at 8% until judgment or settlement at a daily rate of £0.49; 6. Alternatively, if the charges are a fee for a service, then they must be reasonable under S.15 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. 7. Costs allowed by the Court. I'll keep an eye on this post this evening... cheers S Request.pdf Defence.pdf

Hi all, I wonder if someone in the know might be able to help? I posted some time ago - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/12224-its-national-waste-mister.html And since then have put two claims (one for each account) in against Nawest. I made two small mistakes in my claim: a) One account I have claimed for longer than 6 years and b) On both accounts, my statement of charges differs from the claim amount I placed (this was due an error in the spreadsheet that I spotted after I made the claim and was printing of the spreadsheet to send to the court and to Natwest - I corrected the spreadsheet and sent the statement off with a differing figure). I attach a scanned version of what I have had back from Natwest: a) a request for information and b) their defence. Would anyone be kind enough to advise as to whether: a) I should continue to claim for over 6 years (I've been reading some theads which suggest I could)? b) My claim will be put at risk if the amounts on the statements and the claim differ? c) I should send the amended statements in response and write to explain the differences Could I also ask for some advice on how to respond to the questions in the Request for further Information and also on how to respond to the defence? I have until the end of the week to reply Many thanks in advance Steve

Many thanks guys, will crack on now with completing a claim form.(Sincere apologies regarding the image - we tried to scan in a letter as received from the bank - sorry! didn't realise it had caused any problems)

Thanks for that thunderpuss Can I clarify then, that the threshhold of 5000 applies to the charges alone that we are claiming for, excluding the interest relating to the charges ...... (I understand that the extra 8% interest doesn't come into play untill actual court stage). Would someone mind confirming then that we can file ONE claim for the total of 4395 charges with 461.32 interest (NOT allowing for the 8% interest) across both accounts held in the same name? MAny many thanks

Hi there, we are about to file our claim with the county court but have one question and would be most grateful if someone could advise. I have 2 bank accounts (in the same name) one for which I am claiming 1,648 charges and 195.61 interest (totalling 1,843.62) and the other 2,747 charges and 265.71 interest (totalling 3012.71) can we file one claim for both accounts (Does the 5,000 small claims limit refer to the claim on the charges alone or is the interest included) or is it recommended that we file two separate claims? Thanks!!!

Received the above letter on the 27th June in response to our Preliminary letter (of the 24th June)....... LBA time me-thinks. Received our second lot of statements for account no.2 yesterday and preparing the prelim. letter and charges spreadsheet to send for that account - recorded delivery tomorrow. We're also sending a slightly ammended version of the DPA, as we odered statements originally by 'phone, but want to ensure that we are covered (for the manual intervention clauses etc.), in case things get to court. Double-checking figures on spreadsheets for one last time before sending the Letter Before Action. Time to take the plunge...... anyone out there who's gone all the way - does this sound right? Wish us luck!!!

xxxxxx

Hi there, firstly, thanks for all of the useful advice on this forum and for the hours of time that many of you have given freely. My partner and I (under her log-in) have been perusing this site with interest for a couple of weeks. I have now decided to take the plunge and am about to embark on attempting to recover excessive bank charges from Natwest. I have 2 current accounts with Natwest. Phoned on the 14th of June requesting historic bank statements from both accounts (while requesting statements I mentioned that " I understood that I could request them under the Data Protection Act - they offered the last 6 years, which I took ). £5 debited from my account on the 14th June, tatty, brown, ripped envelope arrived on Friday 14th June containing 6 yrs statements for one of my accounts. They managed to 'forget' to process my request for statements from the second account, so will call and chase-up tomorrow. Have gone through statements from account no.1 and have calculated £2,747.00 worth of charges and £265.71 interest over the last 6 years!!!! (using the excel spreadsheet as provided in the template library ). Planning to send a 'preliminary approach for payment' letter based around the templates so kindly provided, tomorrow, via recorded delivery. Hoping to open back-up account next week....... Here goes, fingers crossed...... will keep you posted!