Tigerlilly -v- NatWest

[tigerlilly24]

Hi everyone.

 

I'm just at the beginning of claiming (first letter gone off to the bank (recorded del.) today after receiving statements and calculating the amount of charges). I'm a bit concerned as my claim is just over £4K excluding interest. Is it harder to get the money back if the total amount claimed is over £5K? Is my claim, when interest is added, likely to be more than £5K?

 

Thanks in advance.

J

[Michael Browne]

If the interest takes your claim over the £5000 limit, it will still be in the small claims track, but the interest is included for court fees, which would be £250 (reclaimable) over 5k

[tigerlilly24]

Thanks Michael,

 

My next question (there'll be lots more no doubt ! lol) is that I have only claimed for unpaid direct debits and cheques at the moment (this amounts to the £4K).

 

I have also been charged for 'paid referral fees', 'unarranged borrowing fees' and 'card misuse fees' too. Am I allowed to submit a different and further claim for these once my first claim (for direct debits and cheques) has been settled (jumping the gun a bit I know !) Anyone know the answer? Should I have claimed for the whole lot in one go? Am a bit confused with everything at the moment so if anyone could clarify i'd very much appreciate the help.

 

Thanks in advance (again !lol)

 

J

[Michael Browne]

There are 2 ways of approaching this.

 

1. Fast track, similar to small claims You are liable to costs of up to £750, but can ask for disclosure by the banks . See these threads:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/search.php?searchid=320715

 

2. Split your claim into tranches of less than £5000. Start from 6 years ago, add up charges to £5000ish and claim for those. When that is settled claim again for thel ater charges.

[tigerlilly24]

I'm really worried i've made a bodge of my first letter ! I didn't send off a schedule of charges with my letter and the letter I sent was not as detailed as the one on here - it read as follows:-

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Account no: XXXXXXX

Over the last six years, you have charged me for unpaid Direct Debits and returned cheques. It has come to my attention that this is unlawful at common law, and under statute and recent consumer regulations.

In the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account, it is implied that you will conduct yourselves in a manner which complies with UK law.

Unless you can prove that the charges merely cover your administrative costs, I require full repayment of these charges, which I calculate at £XX. I also ask you to remove any default notices on my credit record that are related to these charges. A correction or amendment to the entries is not acceptable.

If you do not comply fully within 14 days, I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount, plus interest and costs, plus I shall submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Have I mucked up my claim before i've even started? I haven't received any response yet.

[tigerlilly24]

I sent off my initial letter to the bank requesting they refund the charges but I didn't send off a schedule of charges - is that going to seriously affect my chances? Is it ok to send one off with my next letter (depending upon their reply of course)? I'm really worried i've blown it already - I jumped the gun a bit and sent off a letter which wasn't as detailed as the one on this site (I found it on another site). For info it read as follows:-

 

Dear Sir/Madam

Account no: XXXXXX

Over the past six years, you have charged me for unpaid Direct Debits and returned cheques. It has come to my attention that this is unlawful at common law, and under statute and recent consumer regulations.

In the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that I opened my account, it is implied that you will conduct yourselves in a manner which complies with UK law.

Unless you can prove that the charges merely cover your administrative costs, I require full repayment of these charges, which I calculate at £?. I also ask you to remove any default notices on my credit record that are related to these charges. A correction or amendment to the entries is not acceptable.

If you do not comply fully within 14 days, I shall begin a claim against you for the full amount, plus interest and costs, plus I shall submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner.

Can anyone help please?

[hagenuk]

Hello Tigerlilly24, this is not a disaster, you can stop worrying. Your next letter should be an LBA giving them a further 14 days and this time use the template letter from the library. You should also include a schedule of charges with that letter.

[tigerlilly24]

Thanks for that reassurance hagenuk ..... I have been reading up on everything and will continue to do so !

J

[Wissa]

I'm no expert but my initial claim was similar to yours and on the 28th day they defended it stating 'Our client is embarrased by the lack of particulars in your claim...'

 

I would imagine that you will receive a similar letter and you will have to submit a much more detailed claim (my second attempt was 4 pages of A4 paper!). You can find a copy on one of my threads (search for 'Wissa').

 

Don't worry, I've messed up several times and each one has cost me a further 28 days without my money but you always get a second chance. Keep asking for advice on this site and keep reading as much as you can from other peoples threads. If you don't make mistakes you will get your money quicker!!!

 

Good luck

[tigerlilly24]

Thanks Wissa ....... it's good to know things can be rectified fairly easily ! I haven't got to the 'claim' stage yet ........ not even sent off my LBA. I'm a bit of a latecomer but am reading intently and taking notice and will do everything 'by the book' from now on ! I think i've got a fight on my hands as my claim is just over £4K but i'm not going to give up !

[Michael Browne]

.

 

Have I mucked up my claim before i've even started?

 

 

No problem, the letter's fine. Send the LBA 14 days after the date of your 1st letter and include a schedule.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/92-letter-before-action-consumer.html

[tigerlilly24]

I want to prepare my schedule so it's ready for the LBA (I've got a lot to list !). Is there any distinct way of doing it or do I just list the date, charge and what the charge was for? Is there a template I can use on here? I have had a look round (I remember seeing somewhere what should be included in the Schedule) but I can't find it now. Can someone help me please?

 

Very encouraged by the postings on here today about people's claims being settled in full - is making me more determined than ever ! Well done everyone !

[Shazzam]

Hello Tigerlilly,

 

There is a library of template, I just tried to do you a link but not too good at doing that soooo, if you go the the first page of CAG where you initially sign in, then scroll down you'll see Bank Templates Library. You'll find all the templates that you need. You just adjust them accordingly. Good luck.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------14/09/06 - Preliminary Letter sent requesting repayment for £3018.25

21/09/06 - Letter of refusal from Stuart Higley.

28/09/06 - Letter Before Action Sent.

06/10/06 - Letter of refusal from Stuart Higley.

 

:razz:

[tigerlilly24]

Hi Shazam,

I'd looked in the templates library the other day and couldn't find anything on preparing the Schedule?? I just want to make sure I get everything right after my initial 'scare' with my first letter !

 

I presume the headings would be:-

 

Date of Charge

Amount

Reason for Charge

 

Do I need to include anything else?

 

Thanks in advance.

J

[Michael Browne]

Use the Simple s/s here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/182-interest-calculation-spreadsheets.html

 

Overwrite the existing examples. Save it (for filing at court), delete the last 2 columns (8% bits) and print out

[tigerlilly24]

I've hit yet another snag ...... helppp !!!

 

I sent off my initial letter (not the template - see below!) stating the amount I was claiming was £4,035 for unpaid direct debits and cheques, worked out from the statements they sent me. I've since gone through my statements again and prepared my schedule and the amount I stated in my initial letter is wrong ! There were some duplicated pages on my statement (which I had added to the amount and I shouldn't have done) and I didn't include Paid Referral Fees, Card Misuse Fees and Unauthorised Borrowing Fees. I HAVE now included those latter charges on my schedule and it now amounts to £4,560). Is this going to be a major problem or can I put in my LBA something like:

 

Please note that the figure quoted in my last letter did not include Paid Referral Fees, Card Misuse Fees and Unauthorised Borrowing Fees, which I am now claiming.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if i'm cut out for all this, i keep mucking it up ! I sent off my initial letter (from another website) before i'd come across this fantastic one and I've since read up on the FAQ's and everything else and I am now very clear on what I have to do and when. So, a warning to all of you new people, make sure you read everything absolutely thoroughly BEFORE you start !

[Michael Browne]

No problem. You can amend your claim (up or down) right up to moneyclaim. You can include the para you suggest + new schedule of charges.

[tigerlilly24]

Thanks Michael (again! lol).

 

I've now finished (after about 6 hours!) and have gone through everything thoroughly. I've entered all the charges onto the spreadsheet (including those charges that NatWest combined from Oct 2002, but have made sure i've taken off my Advantage Gold Fees) and it comes to about £5.5K. I'm going to claim up to Dec 2005 for now and then claim the rest at a later date (as suggested in other posts).

 

It's amazing how reading and re-reading everything makes it all so much clearer and all the posts sharing successes, builds your confidence !

[Guest NATTIE]

Tigerlilly can I ask a quick question, where did the wording of the first letter come from?

[tigerlilly24]

Natwest

It was from 'This is Money' Website. Any particular reason for asking?

J

[tigerlilly24]

I have yet another question (I can hear you all groaning ! lol) ......... We want to open a parachute account as I have the distinct feeling that NatWest will close our account once we have recouped our charges (we don't have an overdraft with them, however, we have a loan which will finish in March next year so i'm presuming they'll demand repayment of that loan too !). Due to us having bad credit (mainly down to the darn bank !) can anyone recommend where we should go? We need to be able to pay in wages and have direct debits coming out - no need for an overdraft and we don't have a mortgage (rented).

 

 

 

 

NatWest claim £4,724

Statements received (in full !) - 04/09/06

Initial letter (not LBA) sent - 05/09/06

[Michael Browne]

Your loan is covered by a completely separate agreement and shouldn't be affected by a claim on your bank a/c

 

See here for details of alternative a/c's:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/13832-do-you-need-parachute.html

[tigerlilly24]

Thanks for that link Michael. I'm a bit confused about the manaul intervention thing though. Have been speaking to some people in the chat room and as my initial letter was from another website, it didn't include the paragraph about Manual Intervention. Is it going to seriously affect my claim and can I put that paragraph in my LBA?

[Guest NATTIE]

Tigerlilly, I have seen wording like this in letters before so was interested how you had formulated it, rather than a CAG prelim Letter.

[tigerlilly24]

Not formulated as such natweststaff - more like 'borrowed' !

 

I'll be using the templates on this site from now on though !