Arthur Dent v Nat West

[Arthur Dent]

Hello Folks. 1st post so please be kind

 

My daughter applied for a Nat West Student Account at the end of July (when the Railcard offer was on) - the on-line application will not let you proceed without ticking either the box for an overdraft or not. She is absolutely sure that she ticked the box for a student overdraft.

 

Once the account was open, she then sent a cheque to her University (she goes on Sunday 14th Sept) for her Hall deposit.

 

A month later, she gets a letter telling her that they have applied an unpaid item charge to her account.

 

We went into the local branch earlier this week and I find that there have been 2 charges of £38 (a total of £76) applied to her account. The branch were VERY defensive and wouldn't cancel them. They told us that one charge was for the unpaid item but were very hazy regarding the second charge. I believe that the second charge was for an "unauthorised overdraft" (ie she had zero balance, had an unpaid item charge applied so balance now negative and then the unauthorised overdraft charge).

 

I have arranged to go in again to the branch today, this time to see the branch manager to discuss them.

 

Any advice would be welcome, especially as to whether the charges are correct. Post #9 in the thread 'NatWest Charges- A guide' says the following:

Unarranged borrowing charges, card misuse/guaranteed card payment fee and referral fees DO NOT apply to Card Plus accounts, STEP accounts and Student accounts.

Is this correct?

 

I've rung the office of Sir Fred Goodwin, Group Chief Executive on 0131 523 2033 and spoken to a very nice lady called Silvia Robertson (who works with Roslyn Towns - Sir Fred's Support Manager). She has suggested approaching the branch first and then addressing a letter to Sir Fred if the meeting is unsatisfactory.

 

I'd really like to know what charges should be/can be be applied to my daughters account and what people think would be my best course of action this afternoon.

 

BTW does anyone know offhand how much profit Nat West made either last year or last quarter?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Art

Edited September 12, 2008 by Arthur Dent

[Arthur Dent]

Hi again folks

 

Sorry for the above in one huge post.

 

I have tried to put line breaks in but no matter what I do the text just appears as one huge "lump".

 

Can a mod break it up a little?

 

Cheers

 

Art

 

EDIT: It seems that the WYSIWYG editor isn't working properly!

 

Have modified my User CP and now (at least) I can get line breaks!

Edited September 12, 2008 by Arthur Dent

[yourbank]

Apologies Arthur for the late arrival. The First year student overdraft could not be applied for until August 16th(I did post a student guide on here but the nature of the site means that it gives me no work to do on here). THe guide is posted on another site called "the student room"(if you google NatWeststaffmember you will see the thread). It has most of the answers you need apart from one.

I guarantee you the first and second charge was for an unpaid item. The first time it was returned "Refer to Drawer Please Represent"(that means the recipient bank will process the cheque again). The second one was Refer to Drawer. It might be worth arguing with the bank that it was not clear as to when the overdraft would be applied and whether the bank could refund the charge on the basis that the overdraft was requested on application, and that no correspondence was received that it had not been applied to the account. The cheque was written out in good faith on that basis. See whether they will budge on at least one of the charges.

[Arthur Dent]

Thanks for the reply YourBank

 

I had a very pleasant chat with the branch manager yesterday.

 

They confirmed what you said in your post that the two charges were both for an unpaid item (the first as you said 'unpaid item, please represent' and the second simply 'unpaid item').

 

Because of the current litigation regarding the whole issue of bank charges, NatWest Branch Managers (apparently) DO NOT have the authority to refund charges. The manager was 'fairly confident' that the two 'unpaid item' charges would be removed as well as the accrued interest on the unauthorised overdraft!

 

The manager also referred the overdraft issue to the underwriters (after taking a copy of my daughter's Student Loan letter) for immdeiate application to my daughter's account.

 

Overall, reasonably impressed with the outcome. It remains to be seen whether the charges are removed (should get a reply Monday or Tuesday) and also whether the overdraft is applied to my daughter's account.

 

If not, I propose a letter of complaint to Sir Fred Goodwin in Edinburgh, a letter of complaint to the Banking Ombudsman and contacting my local paper (but not necessarily in that order)!

 

I'll let folks know how I get on.

 

Art

[yourbank]

Arthur, branch managers limit is £50 and because the amount was £76 it has to be referred to a regional refunds team. They should respond within 48 hours but I have known it to take longer. Personally, I think that they should refund them both on the basis I mentioned on post 3. I would have been very shocked if i had been wrong;)

[Arthur Dent]

UPDATE

 

All charges and interest charged to date removed.

 

Overdraft facility immediately authorised.

 

And an understanding and helpful Bank Manager

 

I call that a RESULT

[sallysas]

Apsolutely. Congratulations for finding a human bank manager.

[Arthur Dent]

Yes, that's what I thought too! Really understanding and almost apologetic!

 

There I was ready, to have to go into battle and fight our case and there wasn't any need at all.

 

I did mention that the woman that I had spoken to earlier in the week about the situation had basically given me a "Well the charges have been correctly applied to the account, take it or leave it" attitude and that I was on the point of closing the account. No empathy for the customer's position at all.

 

Still, my daughter is really happy now that everything's sorted (and so am I TBH)!

 

Art