My statements have arrived and I am getting ready to send my Prelim letter to claim £524. It's wonderful to see that Vamp's spreadsheets are back . They are amazing! DDD.

I'm from Bristol but now live in Newcastle upon Tyne. I would love to move back to the SW one day.

I took my N1 into the court on Feb 13th but have not yet received a notice of issue, but others seem to be getting them sooner. What is the usual time, please? DDD.

Cheers Gazza I took my N1 into the court on Feb 13th but haven't heard anything from them yet. DDD.

It looks like a bandwaggon effect is happening now. Today it's the front page, page2, page 33, page 36 and page 39. Then there were mentions on TV and radio news as well as Watchdog and so on. Last night a further 20,000 people downloaded the template letters, so they won't know what's hit them. I imagine it will slow the process - or maybe they'll throw in the towel and meekly give us our money back?!! DDD.

Well done for taking part. Why did Watchdog not mention CAG? It seems that the Ombudsman can get money back but not any interest. I have emailed Watchdog to ask them why no mention of CAG. DDD.

The advice seemed to be to use the Ombudsman service which claimed to have 100% success. However, there was no mention of any interest which would follow a court case. DDD.

I'm retired now, so I just took the paper back to bed with a cuppa and enjoyed the news. When I filed my papers at the court last week I managed to tell the girl who dealt with them about CAG. She was gobsmacked that it was possible to get money back from the banks. They obviously don't have time to read through what they are processing - perhaps because we are keeping them so busy!!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked up The Independent from the mat this morning. A front page spread, an article on pages 2 and 3, the main leader and an article in the financial section, all on the subject of unfair bank charges and supporting the right of customers to challenge the banks over this. The financial article mocks the idea of ending free banking in view of the record profits Barclays are expected to announce today. It also says that the OFT has 'already judges such charges to be ILLEGAL' - not just unlawful. Is that as significant as I think it could be? It certainly seems very encouraging to us all to keep going for the return of OUR money!! DDD.

Westy What sensible advice! I shan't peep again. DDD.

I am totally confused and bewildered. Having read this thread and also Redsue's, and Mindzai and Lucid's, I have claimed Contractual Interest, with alternatives as Redsue did with hers, 9 my claim went in to the court on Feb 13th). Now the whole thread has changed and I don't know what to think. I am just a 'bear of very little brain' and I simply do not understand a lot of the arguments. I do wish someone would clear up the confusion because this is thoroughly unhelpful. I also find some of the personal comments unworthy. Bill-k does not deserve to be treated like this and it upsets me. DDD.

I believe the regulators (sorry, not sure which) agree and are looking into making the banks get their collective fingers out over the time it takes for money to be cleared. It is a ridiculous state of affairs, as they can make money from the interest while they have it and we can't touch it. DDD.

Thanks Redsue I can't believe how your claim is being drawn out so long, but I am sure it will be worth the wait. I am trying not to count my chickens and mentally spend the money before I get it, but I would like a nice holiday! DDD.

There is a report on the financial pages of The independent today that NW have been fined £1m over this. They are claiming that they were advised by the police 'to limit the level of detail it shared about the computer'. They were criticized by the regulator for not taking action sooner and for not having adequate procedures in place to ensure customer data was properly protected. In other words, you were right to be concerned. DDD.

Thanks, Delboy. In the end I read over numerous posts to check, and finally plucked up enough courage to take the papers into court on Tuesday. The girl who dealt with it was very helpful and admitted that they were very busy with bank claims. She did not realize that it was possible to claim back bank charges so I told her to go home and google for CAG!

Today I took my completed claim and paid my fee. The girl behind the counter was very helpful - and amazed to learn that it was possible to claim against banks for all those charges. I just asked her if there had been many claims and she said there were lots although she had no idea why. So I told her! And told her to look up Consumer Action Group on her computer for help in doing her own claim. This place is SO empowering!! :D DDD.

Can anyone confirm that I have the right daily interest rates for my claim, please. I would like to take it to the court tomorrow, but I would prefer to know that I have got it right first. Thanks DDD.

There is a thread here started by Redsue - 'Authorised Interest and Unauthorised Interest' which has her N1 draft. I have just used it for my own claim which is going in tomorrow. Good luck! Dolly Day Dream.

Right, I have just been printing out my Particulars of Claim to go with my N1 ready to take to the court on Monday morning. I have followed Redsue's posts on this thread to claim compounded contractual interest at 24.9%, with a fallback of 7.75% also compounded or as a last resort 8% simple as in section 69. I copied her POC as amended following changes suggested by Bill-K. I would be very grateful to have the daily rates of these interest rates confirmed, please. I have put £0.95 for the 24.9%, £0.59 for the 7.75% and £0.52 for the 8%. I used Vamp's wonderful spreadsheets but for the 8% simple it gives a daily rate in pence of 106.13 - is that right? The compounded interest spreadsheets don't give a daily rate for some reason, so I am a bit confused. Many thanks, Jude.

There was a piece about this on the BBC programme 'Moneybox' today. Nationwide say they have only closed about 500 accounts and when pressed on this said that they only did so when customers 'abused' their accounts -and of course their behaviour was not retaliatory!! It is possible to listen to the programme again via the BBC website, if anyone is interested. DDD.

Thanks for your inspiring example. I have followed your thread with interest and admiration. You have certainly blazed a trail! DDD.

But aren't we glad they did?!! Dolly Day Dream.

Redsue I am not competent to comment on your reply, but you have loads of support here. Thank you for blazing the trail!! DDD.

As my claim against Nationwide is going through I am now turning my attention to credit cards. Today I have done my SAR letter to Capital One, and then will go for MBNA. This site is SO empowering!! DDD.

I am updating my spreadsheets ready to file my court papers on Feb 12th. (I have a big car service bill to pay this month, so I am waiting until I get some more money in my account). It is very comforting to see how the delay increases the amount I can claim in interest - especially the 24.9% compounded. I couldn't quite believe my eyes at first! I will have to pay £250 as it's over £5000, but it should be worth the wait. I am looking forward to news from redsue when she gets back to see how her compounded claim goes. Thanks to everyone for all the support and encouragement. Jude.