Unfortunately we didn't make a note of the person's name. Neither of them. No further statements were received, that is why it was such a surprise when we got the call from the collection agency. We haven't moved house and the loan was paid off when we received the refund of charges. The legal dept said they had written off the bank charges and when we went into the bank to pay the £100, the rep confirmed that no monies were owed and the account would be closed down. If we had received statements it might have been a clue that something had gone wrong but nothing for a year until we get this call. What do you think?

Natwest have really hit below the belt now! On an account where we successfully reclaimed all charges, we wanted to close the account down but not allowed as a loan was assigned to it. Natwest wouldn't let us pay the account in any other way but from that account even though there was no money in it! Hence more bank charges which soon added up to over £1000. We rang the legal dept who wrote off all the bank charges but mysteriously £100 was left. We agreed to pay this amount and asked the account was closed down. This was confirmed by Natwest over the telephone. 12 months down the line we get a phone call from a collection agency claiming we owe natwest over £1000. These people have been hounding us and were very rude down the phone. Trying to get hold of Natwest to sort this out has proved difficult. Surely they aren't allowed to do this?? We didn't get it in writing that account was closed down and no remaining debt, only over the telephone. Now they are threatening to take us to Court. I hate this bank!

Hi all, Smile asked for four weeks to consider my complaint. Times up and have heard nothing. Tried to call yesterday but they wouldn't put me through to the Complaints dept. So they sent them an email asking them to call me. Anybody have a phone number? Guess its time to register complaint with the Court.

Hi Bradachin, this is the letter I sent. I hope it helps. To be honest I cannot believe that Cobbetts are still pursuing this line of intimidation. Good luck with your claim and do not ever cave in, you will get your money in the end. "In response to your request for further information and clarification as requested for by Cobbetts acting on behalf of NatWest Bank PLC, pursuant to your CPR Part 18 Request, please find below my responses to your part 18 enquiry. Please understand that it is clear to me and to the Court that you are asking questions which are already within your knowledge and as such serve merely as an attempt to obstruct and intimidate legitimate claimants acting in person. For your information and the information of the Court I state here that one copy of my schedule of charges was sent to your client on two previous occasions, 1st October 2006 and 23rd October 2006. 1. This response is served pursuit to CPR 18 The Response 2. In response to Para 2.1 and 2.2 (a)(B)© of defendants request please find herewith a break down of the charges applied to the claimants account. This includes the claimants account number sort code and the dates the charges were applied and the reason. 3. In response to Para 2.2 © of the defendants request, the claimant has already explained why the charges should not have been applied but for the avoidance of doubt the claimant alleges that the charges are Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79.along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963 It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. 4. In response to Para 2.3(a) Yes, the claimant should not have been charged an amount above the true administrate cost incurred by the respondents, (B) I am contesting the legality of your client’s charges and need to see a breakdown of your client’s charge structure to ascertain exactly what level of disproportionate charging has taken place. It is my belief that they are disproportionate and as such contrary to common law and consumer regulations. © the claimant should have been charged the true administrative cost, 5. In response to Para 2.3(d) The Respondents have asked what the claimant should have been charged, to answer this the claimant will need a break down of the administrative cost incurred by the defendant in applying the said charges. 6. In response to the further question made by the defendant the claimant will not be able to respond to these until the claimant has disclosure and inspection of documents as the claimant will be requiring a copy of his contract with the respondents 7. If the defendant requires any further information, the claimant will be happy to provide this once the discloser of documents/information has been dealt with by the court. "

Thanks Scott for advice. Talked to daughter (whose money it is) and she just wants to take what they have offered. Personally I would have gone on for full amount but I think she is desperate to get it all sorted. She is going to pay off her loan now and then we'll start another claim for the money she has been charged in the the last 6 weeks (400 +). Thanks to all who have support us during this time, its been hard, but worth it in the end.

I'm not sure that I have worked it out correctly, thats the problem. It was very complicated but we knew that she had paid all of the capital back so we just asked for a settlement figure and quoted that amount. I'm really no good at maths and was not sure which way to go with it. Because of that I think we are going to accept the cheque and call it a day.

Have we won? Got a letter from Cobbetts today offering 4,300. Natwest will not pay out everything, they say they will only pay the interest on the loan which we have already paid. Still leaves us with about 800 to pay it off. Not sure whether we should accept or not because it still leaves a balance which would not have been there had they not put charges on. Daughter is delighted and wants to accept as she can now pay off most of her debts. Anyone have any views on this?

Yes gizmo, I'm claiming just over 5 grand. So yours took a long time as well, thats comforting. Cobbetts have to contact me either way before 26th April otherwise I believe I can apply to the Courts for a Judgment due to non-compliance. 2 more weeks to go......

Thanks Parkvale, for the reply, hanging in........

Quick update: I sent off my court bundle to Court and Cobbetts at the end of March. They have until 26th April to send me theirs. I have heard nothing from them. A big fat zilch! Diddly squat! When I see other people getting cheques, I can't help feeling a tad worried about this. My case has been going on since last October and some people who have started their case much later are getting paid. Should I ring Cobbetts tomorrow or just wait to see if I get a court bundle back from them by 26th?

Fantastic news Scott! Well done!

Thanks Micky, I have sent the letter off asking for the refund. Hopefully will get a cheque soon!! Ever hopeful.....

Anybody?

Today I finally heard from Smile, but its not what I expected. What they have done is sent me a list of all the charges, but all it gives me is figures. There no explanation as to what each charge is for. Is this acceptable as on the spreadsheet theres a section which asks for the reason for each charge. If it goes to Court I will not be able to explain each charge will I? Can anyone tell me whether I should accept this or not?

I'm very interested to see what happens to you as I too have submitted my Court bundle to cobbetts and to the Court. That was at the end of March and Cobbetts have until end of April to submit theirs. Haven't heard anything as yet. Court date is in May. Just wondered whether it was worth phoning them to see what they were doing. Have you?

Hi Tiggersmum, go onto energy watch website. Interesting stuff on there. And then change supplier. My friend from Energy Watch recommended Ebico. They are a christian, not for profit organisation. Not the cheapest around (yet cheaper than SP) but they don't penalise you for not using direct debits. A big plus in my book.

I followed it to the letter, Rooster. I have been down this route for Natwest and had no problem with getting statements from them. Smile appear to be taking a different tactic. Will wait until Friday and then report them. Thanks for reply.

My sympathy is with you and your mum. I too am currently in a battle with ScottishPower. Their customer service is awful. I won't go into details about my case but I can tell you that I have asked for compensation under guaranteed standards. Not sure if this case falls under this, but if I were you I would contact Energy Watch and get their advice. ScottishPower is awful and as soon as my case is sorted, I will be changing supplier and I suggest you do so for your mum too. 125 pounds per month for a pensioner!!! Outrageous. Good god, how does she manage?

I sent the letter asking for the last 6 years of statements at the end of January. Nothing. Phoned them; they said they never received the letter so sent the letter again with date changed but originally posted on 29th January. By end of March nothing. So sent the 7 day letter threatening to report them last Tuesday. I suppose I should give them until the end of next week to reply because of bank holidays. In retrospect, I should have sent the letters recorded delivery, but didn't. Anybody else had this problem with Smile?

Yeah!! So finally we know the true cost of bank charges.

I waited four weeks before I got anything back from the Court. You can always call the Court but when I did they told me that the case was before the DJ and I would here shortly. Good luck.

Yes, account number and sort code correct and the money has been returned to her Nationwide account. Another alternative we could consider is that she puts the money into my account and they take the money from there. Not keen on that just in case my account goes into default which to date it has never done.

I'm considering writing a letter of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, copying in Natwest, regarding Natwest's retaliatory action in cancelling overdraft facility without notifying us first. Also to complain about their unhelpfulness regarding the loan, i.e. not accepting cash or standing order from another account. What do others think? Is this a good idea at this stage? We got out Court date yesterday so we are about to get our Court bundle ready.

They just sent the money back and then rang daughter up to say she hadn't paid!! Natwest wouldn't accept any payment but then on the phone, woman said that they would accept payment from a credit card on this one occasion! To be honest I am inclined to complain to Financial Ombudsman now about their whole "retaliation".

Anybody?