My Benefits & Nationwide

[sweetnsexyenglish]

I have read the numerous threads regarding banks taking benefits and I have found myself a template letter to use. Am I right in thinking I add up all the unpaid direct debits separate of the interest I have then been charged?

Does it make a difference that for some of the time I have had my Student Loan going into the same account as said benefit?

 

I currently don't have every single one of my statements, I have the odd few missing but the majority I have and so £597 of my benefit has gone on charges, now I know they argue that they give you a month's notice however it can be argued that as the only money is benefit coming into the account then a months notice or not I have no other money, however I can not argue that for the times when uni money has gone into my account even though the uni money is allocated for paying nursery fees and bills, based on that Would it be wiser to just add up the the charges where only benefit has been my sole income into the account?

[sea-sidelady]

You can claim ALL your charges. Regardless of what money gets paid into your account.

 

You need to send your S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) including a £10 fee (you can reclaim this later) to get all your statements. You need to claim all your money back.

 

Here is a guide to what you can and cant claim.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/consumer-forums-website-questions/92004-charges-can-claimed.html#post867497

 

Guide to reclaiming bank charges - Consumer Wiki

 

Any help you need, just ask.

Edited May 13, 2008 by sea-sidelady
Added link

[MilkTrayMan]

Nationwide have been known to put down something like an UNPAID DD FEE, as INTEREST on the Charges Sheet that they send U...

...

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Well I have added up everything that they have charged £689.50 of my benefits and £0.56 in tax....I didn't send for an S.A.R as they offered to send me all my Bank Statements for £5 and charged it as interest.

 

I understand this is a different process from filing for Bank Charges as opposed to requesting benefit back, so do I take it that regardless of what has gone into my bank I would just request the lot back even though my argument is them taking my benefit?

 

Sorry if I seem a bit slow, just trying to make sure I understand the advice so I can handle the paperwork accordingly....loads a thanks all

[sweetnsexyenglish]

I sent my letter via post and email....

 

here is my responce:

 

Unique Tracking Number: xxxxxx

 

 

 

Dear Ms xxxxxxx,

 

Thank you for your enquiry.

 

 

 

 

I regret that your message has come through blank. If you require our assistance, please re send your message including details of your enquiry.

 

 

 

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

Steve Webb

Senior Customer Advisor

Internet Services

 

Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide Building Society)

 

Nationwide.

 

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as its no skin off my nose the letter is in the post also but for fun I emailed it again and see if they gonna say it is still blank!!

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Still waiting for them to acknowledge the second email, not worried its in the post anyway:D

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Received Reply...What next?? Second Letter??

 

 

[sweetnsexyenglish]

This isn't a normal claim for bank charges this is my benefit, and as far as them sending me 5 simple ways to avoid bank charges...half of the charges are either due to them making me go overdrawn when I have no overdraft facility, they can not expect the money to be in there if its benefit and what a person requires to live on, once they even lied took the money on the 17th and said they took it on the 16th....they ended up refunding this as my Internet banking showed my activity and at no point at 11.59pm of the 16th had money been taken from my account yet I had a social loan payment the 17th and they took the money from that. Had I not questioned it they would have made money out of me the following month for being overdrawn when they took they money when there was money in my account, which makes me wonder how many times have they done this and that was the only time I had spotted it.

 

Refusing to pay an DD because it is 3p short then charging me £30 to bounce it? yet it would have been 3p overdrawn for 1 day?

 

Or the fact when my daughter stole money from my account and made DD's fail, they would not refund charges unless I pressed charges but she was 14 at the time and once the police had talked to her they felt she was genuinely sorry, didn't help my bank account when they took £90 out of my child tax credit £114 and left me £24 to feed my kids on. Do I just start the next level?

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Issued LBA due to recieving reply from bank.

[sweetnsexyenglish]

I have also logged a complaint with the FO after reading a few threads early this morning, hope its a wise move:oops:

[MilkTrayMan]

Hi sweetsexyenglish!

This isn't a normal claim for bank charges this is my benefit...

Methinks U are approaching this from the WRONG angle.

Yes, I am perfectly aware of the Right to Appropriation with regards Benefit Credits etc etc.

However, the Banks (...+ especially Nationwide) have been notoriously slow to acknowledge this.

 

I can see that U have maybe looked at the current situation Re: Stays put on Claims...+ are perhaps hoping to circumvent this impasse by going down the 'Hardship' route from the very start??...

 

IMHO...Methinks the following Post would serve U better...

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/show-post/post-1431000.html

 

 

 

 

 

Issued LBA due to recieving reply from bank.

If U have given Nationwide 14 days (...from receipt) to reply, U should have waited 14 days, irrespective of ANY reply that U MAY have received from them so far...

 

 

...

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Hi sweetsexyenglish!

Methinks U are approaching this from the WRONG angle. could you elaborate how I have gone wrong?

Yes, I am perfectly aware of the Right to Appropriation with regards Benefit Credits etc etc. not even used right of appropriation, dont need to since i have drasticaly limited what/who can take money from my account most bills are set up where I select when to pay them via bacs similar to standing order however it doesn't go out without manual intervention

However, the Banks (...+ especially Nationwide) have been notoriously slow to acknowledge this.

 

I can see that U have maybe looked at the current situation Re: Stays put on Claims...+ are perhaps hoping to circumvent this impasse by going down the 'Hardship' route from the very start??... nope just based it on the template letters found i.e. see the one below and the lba posted in templates

 

IMHO...Methinks the following Post would serve U better...

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/show-post/post-1431000.html

 

 

 

 

 

If U have given Nationwide 14 days (...from receipt) to reply, U should have waited 14 days, irrespective of ANY reply that U MAY have received from them so far...

1st letter went off 13th May ....why am I waiting when I have had their reply?((these are just questions))...am I waiting for them to change their mind? is their 1st reply a test of my endurance? I sent it via email & post and as long as I have a received date confirmed by them on an email, I can take it that I can count it as being received as of that day?? that would be the 14th May ...and is this 14 days or 14 working days?

 

...

I used a template letter found on here in order to claim back money:

 

Draft prelim letter based on Social Security Administration Act:-

 

Your address

 

date

 

 

Customer Relations

National Westminster Bank plc

225 Shenley Road

Borehamwood

WD6 1TE

Social Security Administration Act 1992 - Request for repayment

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: xxxxxxx SORT CODE xxxxx

 

I am give brief description of circumstances and in receipt of state which benefits-include child benefit which are paid in to the above account by the department of Social Security (and…). No other income is paid into my account.

 

Section 187 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (‘the Act’) states that these benefits are inalienable, that is, every assignment of or charge on these benefits and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void.

 

During the period start date to end date, charges totalling £xxxx have been applied to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth in direct contravention of the Act. In addition, interest totalling £xxx has been applied to my account in relation to these charges. The charges are detailed in the attached schedule.

 

I am writing to ask you to refund to me the charges and interest listed in the schedule which you have levied from my account in contravention of the Act.

 

I will give you 16 days from the date of this letter to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim through the Small Claims Court immediately on the expiry of the second deadline.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Any comments, additions, corrections?

 

Send to Borehamwood and copy to your branch.

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

 

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site.

[MilkTrayMan]

1st letter went off 13th May ....why am I waiting when I have had their reply?((these are just questions))...am I waiting for them to change their mind? is their 1st reply a test of my endurance? I sent it via email & post and as long as I have a received date confirmed by them on an email, I can take it that I can count it as being received as of that day?? that would be the 14th May ...and is this 14 days or 14 working days?

U obviously haven't read enough Threads + are intent in doing things your OWN way, instead of the tried + trusted way which has been sucessful for sooo many previous Claimants.

...It's YOUR Claim...YOUR choice...

But, if U are aware of the CPR's U will know that pre-court action to accelerate the perhaps unnecessary cause to actually have to File a Claim at Court would be deemed by that Court as litigacious.

At best, it enable Nationwide to automatically apply for a Stay.

...At worse, U could have your entire Claim struck out + Nationwide's Costs to have to pay for.

14 days (...from receipt) is 14 calendar days btw...

...

 

[sweetnsexyenglish]

U obviously haven't read enough Threads + are intent in doing things your OWN way, instead of the tried + trusted way which has been sucessful for sooo many previous Claimants.

...It's YOUR Claim...YOUR choice...

 

But, if U are aware of the CPR's U will know that pre-court action to accelerate the perhaps unnecessary cause to actually have to File a Claim at Court would be deemed by that Court as litigacious.

At best, it enable Nationwide to automatically apply for a Stay.

...At worse, U could have your entire Claim struck out + Nationwide's Costs to have to pay for.

 

14 days (...from receipt) is 14 calendar days btw...

 

 

...

 

 

 

May I hightlight I have been a poster of one on here, the thread requested advice....especially the what next question?? You must appreciate there are so many different threads on CAG i have read through loads, as the one regarding the bank taking benefits seemed more geared to what I needed to do....I have done nothing but read and read and read hence questions have been asked, what do you suggest I should have done, as the question was aked with no reply, there are not enough threads that deal with the benefit side in full lenght and as for the template and what to do the miniscule detail of 14days well by the time they get the formal letter in the post or choose to respond to email lets hope it is 14 days...there is no point constently highlighting faults when you fail to offer solutions or advice on what to do which is what I requested, and as to my reading matter on CAG.....I have been on here 4 weeks morning noon and night gathering information to deal with LBL and Nationwide as well as DWP & a baliff for a parking fine, my laptop has not been turned off in 4 weeks solid and the majority of the time I've gone all nite reading....and thats just how easy it is to find the relevant information that pertains to my circumstances.

 

 

ps... maybe my spurred action is/was based on the fact the times money was taken when they didn't need to charge me but most of all I am angry at the time they took money and issued me another charged based on the fact they decided to back date the day they actually took the money out of my account to a date when there was no money....and all the times I have had £3 to get from thursday's child tax credit day to mondays income support day for the princely sum of £19.95 with three children one of which was a baby....

Edited May 22, 2008 by sweetnsexyenglish
ps....

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Well I have had two letters from the same person which basically state they are reviewing my papers and will give me a decision 18th/19th June.... :?

[sweetnsexyenglish]

I seem to have been bombarded with letters from Nationwide, 23rd, 28th, several on the 29th that contradict one another showing the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing based on the letter dated 30th. the first two I received seemed promising then I was delivered a third which they had the cheek to tell me judging from my incoming and out goings on the account I am not in hardship, but how would they work this out as she asked for no evidence from me? Because I don't owe the bank any money as I can not go overdrawn with no overdraft and the only time I am forced into overdraft is when the bank charge me, but as I have streamlined who/what I pay via DD everything else is a standing order that I allocate when money is paid, or I pay them cash as I refuse to give various companies my bank details....Virgin Media springs to mind for their habit of taking money early:rolleyes:.

 

However it would appear another letter went out the same day with an expenditure form from someone else within Nationwide after receiving the letter from the FO...they say too many cooks and all that....While a letter went out the following day from the person who has sat in judgement over my financial claim without requesting any evidence and I doubt she even knows I have been sent an expenditure form as her letter was a YOUR NOT GETTING ANY REFUND letter.

 

Well....here I go again:roll:

[stonedecroze]

This is about standard for shabby, they will bombard you with paperwork and emails, trying to confuse you. The fact that the charges appear to be unlawfully taken from your benefit is not proven in law and is not a safe course of action to take. Write to the bank ask them for all your statements and/or a list of charges applied to your account and dont forget the £10 cheque. then follow the tried and tested method that MTM has advised in his usual blunt way, it is good advice. I helped a fellow cagger in a similar case, and the Judge stated that he was unable to make any decision regarding taking charges from benefits although he did agree in general with our interpretation. But there has never been a ruling from the High Court. I will try to find the link to a thread that whent down this route and it may help you to see the problem better. Good luck with your claim and dont let them mess you around stick to YOUR timetables and dont let them distract you. It is your money after all, Stone

[stonedecroze]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/benefits-tax-credits-minimum/108952-claim-charges-taken-benefits.html

 

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/abbey-bank/96365-abroadgirl-abbey.html

 

 

These are the two threads I was looking for. they are long reads so take your time, and again, good Luck we are all fighting the same war

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Thank you Stoned will have a look through it;)

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Today is the 14th Day since sending LBA I dont know what to do as they sent me the expenditure form so I have filled it in and sent it back....does the expenditure form change my position or do I file court papers tomorrow anyway??

[stonedecroze]

This is entirely up to you SSE, you can file or send them another letter giving them a further 7 days to respond. It is probably the best course as your claim will no doubt be stayed along with everybody else`s. this will probably go well for you at any hearing, showing you as being very reasonable and giving the bank every opportunity to negotiate

Edited June 5, 2008 by stonedecroze
spelling

[stonedecroze]

the ependiture form may be shabby playing for time or gathering evidence for their defence

[sweetnsexyenglish]

This is entirely up to you SSE, you can file or send them another letter giving them a further 7 days to respond. It is probably the best course as your claim will no doubt be stayed along with everybody else`s. this will probably go well for you at any hearing, showing you as being very reasonable and giving the bank every opportunity to negotiate

 

 

Ok, I was just about to leave a message for you, had so much going on I finally managed to read through both threads you left for me so understand where you are coming from.

 

At this point in time though it wont make a difference to me will it, yes my letter does state the taking of benefits etc however if I base both my claims as a basic refund it can continue from where it is at this point in time.

 

As for the further days I was wondering about that as I should/could at least wait for their point in time where they intend to give me a review once looking at my expenses and lets just hope that they have an ounce of sympathy since my housing are seeking possession of my home and the fact I am on below minimum income, that they at least have a conscience and realise the money they have taken could go towards paying my rent thus preventing the council getting possession.

[stonedecroze]

Ok, I was just about to leave a message for you, had so much going on I finally managed to read through both threads you left for me so understand where you are coming from.

 

At this point in time though it wont make a difference to me will it, yes my letter does state the taking of benefits etc however if I base both my claims as a basic refund it can continue from where it is at this point in time.

That is the point that I was making, It really doesn`t make a difference to your claims, but may make you look as if you are exploring all avenues to the court.

 

As for the further days I was wondering about that as I should/could at least wait for their point in time where they intend to give me a review once looking at my expenses and lets just hope that they have an ounce of sympathy since my housing are seeking possession of my home and the fact I am on below minimum income, that they at least have a conscience and realise the money they have taken could go towards paying my rent thus preventing the council getting possession.

 

Have you tried explaining the position to the housing people, pay a small amount extra each week to reduce arrears. Is it council or housing assn. or private landlord? all these can make a difference. are they just threatening possesion, or has a hearing date been set. If you can give me more information about this I may be able to help out, or find someone who can. keep smiling Stone;)

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Have you tried explaining the position to the housing people, pay a small amount extra each week to reduce arrears. Is it council or housing assn. or private landlord? all these can make a difference. are they just threatening possesion, or has a hearing date been set. If you can give me more information about this I may be able to help out, or find someone who can. keep smiling Stone;)

 

You will find my thread here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/benefits-tax-credits-minimum/147172-housing-have-issued-notice.html everything is explained save me covering it in two threads:) hope you dont mind.

 

And Thank you