Natwest credit card CCA - enforceable

[chattanooga]

I actually posted these a few days ago but I can't seem to find them via search since the forum change, still looking for some thoughts regarding enforceability. Thanks.

 

 

Any advice?

[chattanooga]

I've agreed a payment with the above acount based on what I can afford and I'm currently in the process of reclaining charges. I've got a list of all charges applied to the account since it began and it's not really much, just under £100. All the charges however are the standard £12 ones for overlimit and late payments. Can these still be reclaimed and if so, what's the next step?

 

Thanks.

[Abby25]

Hi,

 

Take a look at the attached sticky - which gives you details on the information a correctly executed CCA must contain - compare this with the copy agreement you have been provided with.

 

In general post 2007 agreements tend to be ok - thats in general - there are still those which were incorrectly issued - so carefully go through what you have been sent - looking for errors or omissions ... check quoted interest rates are correct to what you have been charged etc.

 

With regards to the charges that have been applied I would say if the charges were applied as you had exceeded your limit - and not as a result of a load of charges being added - then I would suspect they will stand - as these charges form part of the contractual agreement you signed when you effected the card.

 

Anyway, sure others will soon be along - and give you more help and assistance .... but in the meantime read the sticky link I have attached and compare with your own docs - its a starting point for you ...

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?105315-Is-My-Agreement-Enforceable-Useful

 

Hope this helps

 

Abs x

[chattanooga]

Thanks, bit disappointing about the charges but hey, I'm desperate

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I would re-claim the charges £12 or not, the OFT did not give them permission to charge £12.00 ( quote from OFT) “We are not suggesting that default fees should be set at £12, and a court will certainly not consider that a default fee is fair just because it is below the threshold. We consider that a contract term is likely to be unfair if it requires consumers to pay more as a result of a default than the court would order them to pay if they were sued for breach of contract. This means that a default charge should not exceed a reasonable pre-estimate of the administrative costs that the consumer ought to have realised would be likely to be incurred by his or her card issuer in dealing with defaults”.

 

So they would have to show it costs them £12, before they could charge you £12.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[PriorityOne]

These look like reconstituted documents.... which could/should put you in a stronger position if they get sh*tty with you for making token payments and/or sell the account on because they get fed up collecting those payments. How old is this account and what sort of account is it?

[chattanooga]

It's a credit card, at the end of the day, I'm not denying I borrowed the money and I intend to pay it back as best I can.

 

They have been very quick to accept anything I have paid them and have frozen interest for nearly a year now. I may be in a position to offer a full and final in the next few months but I'd quite like to get the reclaiming done first.

 

Thanks for the input.

[valeriedixon]

Heya

Can you tell me how you managed to get interest frozen for so long? My OH has debt of 11000 on Natwest visa card taken out July 1994. when I spoke to them about freezing interest for 12 months but paying monthy amounts around 2% of balance until OH is better (he has Stage 4 throat cancer and cannot work) they will only freeze interest for 6 weeks and then put defult notice. I have made one late payment begining of last year and missed one payment (last one due) pd 20 - all I could afford. I have writen to them as acting on behalf of OH as he is doped up on morphine and told them I wanted to try to work something out as we have had card for all these years and never missed a payment and only one late payment in 17 years but it doesn´t seem to count for anything. She said that a defult has been issued and I have 17 days to pay what is owed then it will register as defult with CAs. In her letter she stated account was opened under full data sharing rules but during phone con she said something about partial data sharing rules and her mistake. Didn´t quite get what she was saying as very stressed at the moment. All we want to do is have a compromise until we are both able to work. I know the answer is for me to get a job to pay the debt but my OH needs 24 hour care and there is noone else to help. I know it is our debt we should pay, that isn´t the problem, I just can´t at the moment and I am terrified that 30 years of excellent credit is going to be shot to bits in an instant and will count for nothing. Any advise please.

Edited March 29, 2011 by valeriedixon

[chattanooga]

@valerie

 

I'm not sure why my situation resulted in them freezing interest. They have done since last July or thereabouts. It could be something as simple as the amounts involved. My debt to them is quite a bit less so maybe I'm seen as an annoyance rather than a money tree.

 

The other thing I did was present an I&E form showing verifyable income and reasonable expenditure and the surplus wasn't much. I've been paying just a couple of pounds a month for a while now.

 

I suspect the relaiming of charges will be a long drawn out affair considering they sent back my very first letter regarding the claim because it had no signature, what a load of nonsense.

 

Anyway, sorry to hear of your OH's health problems. The advice I can give would be don't worry about credit reports. Mine is absolutely shot to blazes to the extent where I couldn't borrow a cup of sugar and you know what, it's the best thing that ever happened.

 

My advice (based on experience, not any qualification)

 

1) Take control. Do lots of reading here.

2) Do a PROPER budget, don't miss anything, you may well be surprised at what you do spend (I was).

3) Work out your total debts, don't miss anything. Mine was much higher than I first realised.

4) After all your income and expenditure is accounted for, your surplus is what you can afford to pay creditors.

5) Send off for CCA requests to all creditors. (letter is in the library)

6) Assuming you are not disputing any debt, pay the creditors only what YOU CAN AFFORD, not what they tell you to pay.

7) Claim back all late and overlimit charges.

8) Relax, stop worrying. You are in good hands. (other Cagger's, not me )

[chattanooga]

Oops, forgot to mention, if you are going to go down the road of reduced payments then you need to get another bank account that has no financial ties with any creditors. They can dip into your bank account and take what they say you are owe if it's the same bank or sister bank.

[brokebutnotbeatn]

Val, time to write to your local MP, local radio station, local and National Press by writing a letter of complaint to the CEO of NatWest regarding their treatment of you and the added stress and worry they are piling on you as per this posting and at the bottom listing all the people/organisations you have copied in. Then write to all thesse people enclosing a copy of your letter to NW and inviting them to interview you as shocking way to treat loyal and long standing customers, financial fat cats etc. Write again if after 2 weeks you haven't heard back from them and repeat the exercise. Time to shame them into compassion. x

[chattanooga]

I've had an offer of all my charges + compounded interest from Natwest but I notice they say that if accepted the refund "will be applied to your account". Am I right in thinking that I can insist on the refund by cheque? I sort of feel that as I was deprived of this money in the first place I should be able to get a 'cash' refund particularly since reducing the balance by the refund amount would be unfair to my other creditors...or have I got that hopelessly wrong?

 

Any suggestions on a further letter?

[brokebutnotbeatn]

I'd write back and politely say that you require a cheque, on the basis you don't ask you don't get?

[chattanooga]

I've drafted a letter which basically asks if they could refund me by cheque, I've got two reasons for this...

 

- Money should not have been taken in the first place

- Potentially unfair to other creditors

 

I am sure I've seen a draft letter template somewhere which outlines several reasons for a refund by cheque rather than just reducing the balance but I've searched for hours and turned up nothing. Am I going mad?

 

Anyone have any other reasons which give creedence to my argument?

Edited April 28, 2011 by chattanooga
Clarity

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I have'nt seen the template you mention but think if you can argue you are still in Financial hardship ,eg you have mortgage or utility arrears, this should help your request.

I know the Ombudsman has said this is generally acceptable as it is returning you to the position you would be in without charges but it does'nt really as there's always a knock on effect which involves your other debts ect.

 

I'll have a look for that template.

 

Are they refunding everything you asked for ?

[chattanooga]

Hi,

 

I have'nt seen the template you mention but think if you can argue you are still in Financial hardship ,eg you have mortgage or utility arrears, this should help your request.

I know the Ombudsman has said this is generally acceptable as it is returning you to the position you would be in without charges but it does'nt really as there's always a knock on effect which involves your other debts ect.

 

I'll have a look for that template.

 

Are they refunding everything you asked for ?

 

They are refunding all charges plus interest.

 

I could be completely wrong about having the right to insist on a cash/cheque refund but it's one of those niggling things in the back of my mind...I'm SURE I've seen it SOMEWHERE, it's infuriating

 

 

EDIT: I've scoured the intertube and can't find any info for definite, most of the hits seem to suggest the credit card companies have every right to do this so I think I'll write a very polite and respectful letter gently requesting I get a cheque refund. If that gets no result I'll bite the bullet and accept the balance reduction.

 

Thanks for the help.

Edited April 28, 2011 by chattanooga