Is it possible to judge how quickly an overdraft no longer being serviced will end up in court? Does it depend on what proportion of the total outstanding is effectively charges and fees? Eg if 51% is charges and fees, they won't go to court - and will just subject you to a string of DCAs but if 49% is charges and fees they may fairly quickly take out a CCJ?

Mike, I don't know what you mean by "negating the unauthorised" - do you mean I could email Gary Stewart and ask him to freeze the account with no interest and charges and let me gradually make payments while remaining with my authorised OD? Thanks.

As thjis account with NatWest is an account I am hardly ever putting money in, although I haven't exceeded the limit so far, every now and then putting in just enough to stop unauthorised overdraft - if I let it go into unauthorised borrowing, would it be better legally if I set up a standing order to pay £1 a month into it? Should I make regular token payments, and would that stop CCJs?

If you put NatWest EH12 1HQ into Google, you will find the top Google reply ( I can't link as I don't have 10 posts) - says that an address in Edinburgh is the right one for people who have telephone banking set up. I have printed the SAR out to send to that address tomorrow. I think the Bishopsgate one is correct too - as that is regsitered with the DAta Commissioiner, but you will see that NatWest ont heir site specifically say the Edinburgh address is correct.

While I wait for the SAR reply, in the meantime, I have been sent an income and expenditure form by the bank to fill in - I don't want to fill it in at all - although my income would show I cannot afford to pay anything - in case there are legal implications - how can I hold them off while waiting for the SAR reply?

My letter says: if the level of regular payment you offer is acceptable to us we will let you know. If this is not the case our Debt Recovery Department will make contact wiht you soon to discuss your repayment plan. We will continue to charge you any interest and or charges which apply to your account, so it is important that you complete this form etc.

The letter is from the Birmingham Collections Centre.

Basically I woudl like to rip the debit card up, send it to them, explain that the account is dormant and I deny the terms and conditions and will reply further once I get the SAR reply.

yes, they should've updated their records re any new address notified. name stays the same, which they should use primarily and cross reference.

ps, can cite a/c numbers as reference if wish to do so. it would be of no real difference to them showing that you have had money from the bank! any dispute would relate to enforceability, and/or amount owed.

Ford, as you say, NatWest could easily show I have had money from the bank under that a/c no, and so the a/c number would not be the point in dispute. I would dispute: that I asked for an overdraft, that I asked for an overdraft of the size I was given (I think they gave me that limit - it's an odd limit), that I never agreed to terms and conditions saying they could vary interest rates unilaterally, that I never agreed to terms and conditions saying I couldn't close the account without a nil balance and they could carry on adding charges to an effectively dormant account, and finally the enforceability of a contract where the agreements and facility letters are not kept.

It is funny how direct debits bounce - if you don't have money in the account, they will not pay direct debits (although they will charge you £6 for a letter telling you the DD has bounced) - AND YET interest charges and fees charged by NatWest never bounce! Even if you have no money left in your account and no more agreed overdraft, they will still process their own fees as a debit - but surely, logically, their own debits should also bounce? I doubt anyone in the country was ever speciifically told on opening the account that it could never be closed, even if dormant, unless the balance was at least nil.

Also, I've moved since the alleged account was set up - do I have to give all previous addresses too? Or would the bank have had to unify all records relating to me? So they would use my current address to identify my a/c no (the terms and conditions of which are unfair and I don't remember agreeing to), and then that would lead them into all records relating to all my previous addresses too?

Hi, I am wondering if I put an account number on the DSAR request, whether that will be seen as admitting a legal account exists? Clearly I don't recall every agreeing to the OD terms and conditions, or that the account could not be closed without a nil balance, or that interest rates could be hiked regularly without my say so - so I am disputing the terms and conditions, but I don't want to land in hot water, where they say "you've given an account number, so that means you recognize the account"???

Is DSAR the same as SAR?

Thanks for a great reply. I'll try that!

I have read some good threads here by Abby and others on OD facility letters. Do people know if banks would be likely to still have the original facility letter from an account opened in the 1980s? Presumably if they had it would be hard copy only - or could they just send you a copy of what they used for all their facility letters at the time, without any indication that it was the actual version you were sent back then?

Over such a space of time, how could I know if ALL the facility letters had been sent to me and they hadn't missed one out?