Great news, well done! Was there any confidentiality clause?

Indeed there was, and the cheque was only payable into my natwest current account too, which makes me wonder if they're going to be sneaky and reduce my overdraft facility by a similar amount which would effectively negate any payment to me.

Although there was no contract to sign regarding confidentiality I've been through this thread removing any identifiable information in order to avoid any future issues.

Cheque for full settlement recieved today.

Okay had to put this on hold for a while as life got busy, between my last post and now I've recieved a 50% refund offer from Mr Higley which I politely declined as I want the full amount.

I have now filed an MCOL claim and will await a response.

Hi folks,

I just had a phone conversation with someone from Honour Student Loans who told me that unless I tell them a phone number they can contact me on they will be charging me £15 for every payment reminder letter they send me.

Isn't this as illegal as bank administration charges?

B.

Okay, this isn't quite according to recognised form but I have sent the following in reply:

Thank you for your letter dated *date* in response to my letter informing you of my intent to file a claim in small claims court to recoup the illegal charges you have levied on my account.

 

In this letter you stated that:

 

“We believe that our charges are fair, reasonable, and transparent” and that they “comply with all applicable laws and regulations.”

 

I contend that under current law, the charges levied on my account are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. I also contend that your agreement and tariffs are invalid under the Unfair Contracts Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.Para.8 and sch.2.1.e. In the event that the charges may not be considered a penalty they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15.

 

I am disappointed that you still maintain you are acting in a clear and lawful manner when it is clear that the charges levied are a disproportionate penalty and thus unlawful. I am also disappointed that the terms and conditions of your contracts are in contradiction of consumer law. I have written to both my M.P. and the Office of Fair Trading to such effect.

 

I calculate that you have taken *amount* in penalty charges plus *amount* which you have charged me in interest for the sums which you have taken. The total sum is *amount*. I have attached a schedule of charges outlining the details.

 

I require payment in full of this money. If you do not comply within 14 days of the date of this letter I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount plus interest and my costs without further notice.

So they have 14 days before I file an mcol claim.

I have also fired off letters to my MP and the OFT.

So they obviously got hold of my statements and I got this response in the mail this morning:

Thank you for your letter of the *date* and I apologise for any dissatisfaction caused by the application of charges to your account.

 

We believe that our charges are fair, reasonable and transparent. We consider that the amounts debited hve been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us and our published tarrif, which we are satisfied complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are also comitted to ensuring the trapsparency of the information that we give to our customers about the operation of our products.

 

Against that background, we must differ to the views expressed in your letter. Accordingly the charges that have been applied to your account must stand.

 

However thank you for taking the trouble to write.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

*name*

 

Nothing less than expected really although this seems to be being handled by my local branch so far.

My question is; given that I have sent them only 1 letter so far giving them 14 days to respond, do I send a response to this letter giving them a further 14 days or go straight to mcol?

As always thanks for any advice!

Okay this is curious,

I just had a phonecall from my local branch saying they had recieved my LBA and wanted to know if I could provide them with my copies of my account statements because otherwise they would have to order them and it might take longer than the 14 days given in the LBA.

Needless to say I'm not too keen to provide THEM with the statements I paid for! I pointed this out and also mentioned that I felt that 14 days was adequate for them to assess the situation, and that if their systems hindered them that this was their problem and should be addressed at their end, not at mine.

Is this a legitimate request or a stalling tactic do you think? Was I right to stick to my guns and the LBA I sent them?

Any advice is appriecated!

Dissapointingly I have been charged a lot less in bank fees than I suspected.

Still it adds up to *amount* interest on penalties.

Next up is the LBA.

Called the bank to chase up the statements, apparently there's no record of the request on my account, which is odd because they sent me credit card statements which I asked for in the same letter!

The statements have now been re-ordered free of charge and should be here in 5-10 days, I'll re-chase on the 21st if they're not here by then.

You can run Nat-West but you can't hide!

So having been a member here for a few months and having just received another £70 worth of bank charges for very little reason I've finally taken the plunge and sent off my S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) letter with the £10 fee to Mr Lyons.

Between my current account and credit card account I figure I may have upwards of £2000 worth of charges over the past 6 years partly because I got screwed over when I got made redundant from a job and partly because I have a long term illness which means I have to live on incapacity benefits. IF anyone has any advice relating to people with illness and disability claiming back bank charges I would be greatful!

I have a feeling this may be a rocky ride, but I'm fed up with having my already very limited income further compromised by profit hungry banks!

Hi Batfink,

I see you're from Bristol, I'm also in Bristol and am just about to start on claiming against nat-west myself, by my reconing across my current account and nat-west credit card I'm owed probably around the £3000 mark.

Good luck with your claim, drop me a message if you need any moral support!.

Ben.