Default Due to Charges!

[optikal101]

Hi All,

 

recently I have been trying to rectify my credit history and

 

upon checking my files was shocked to discover that I had a default on my file

for an old Natwest Account I had stopped using in 2011.

 

I was certain that I left the account in with a few pounds worth of credit

and transferred all of my outstanding payments to my new account.

 

As it was just a basic account with no overdraft, paperless billing and was used almost exclusively online, I just left it as it was.

 

Checking the details I was shocked to find that the address was registered as in Leicester,

when I have always lived in Leeds and the default was for a total of £795.56!

 

I called them immediately and

 

Natwest told me that the address had been updated in November 2012.

 

However, he also admitted that they had no record whatsoever that I had communicated in any way a change of address.

 

I had had Mail Forwarding for three months from my old address to my current one

when I moved in November 2011 and know that I never received anything to say the account was overdue.

 

I also never updated the address further as I didn't use the account and it was just kind of forgotten about.

 

the guy updated the address from Leicester for me.

 

He told me he couldn't how the £795.56 had accrued but that he would order statements from their archive and post them to me.

 

I have received them today.

 

The following is a breakdown of the final transactions on this account:

 

15/09/2011 - Card Transaction - £2.70 - Balance: £2.44CR

 

03/10/2011 - Charges - Returned Item Fee - 6.00 - Balance: -3.56

02/11/2011 - Charges - Returned Item Fee - 42.00 - Balance: -45.56

02/12/2011 - Charges - Unarranged OD Fee - 60.00 - Balance: -105.56

03/01/2012 - Charges - Unarranged OD Fee - 186.00 - Balance: -291.56

02/02/2012 - Charges - Unarranged OD Fee - 186.00 - Balance: -477.56

21/02/2012 - Charges - Unarranged OD Fee - 114.00 - Balance: -591.56

22/02/2012 - Charges - Default Notice Fee - 30.00 - Balance: -621.56

21/03/2012 - Charges - Unarranged OD Fee - 174 - Balance: -795.56

 

Now first of all, these charges seem incredibly high.

 

Second of all, if not for the charges, the account would not have gone overdrawn and eventually into default.

It feels ridiculous that for an initial spill-over of literally a few pounds, I should end up paying £795!

 

My statements also do not inform me of whoever or whatever tried to take a payment causing the 'returned item fee's,

nor can the department I spoke to apparently see this information :/

 

Is there anything I can do about this mess?

 

Any help or advice is most welcome!

[dx100uk]

yes

 

try a bcobs complaint

 

have a read of the blue RBS link after clicking bcobs

 

dx

[optikal101]

Many thanks for that DX. I've had a read and think there are definite grounds to argue it. Ideally I'd like them wiping and the default removing. However, I'm not sure how to begin, are there any templates for this type of thing?

[orfoster]

Also have a look when the default was registered on your file. It should be between 3-6 months after the charges started according to the Information Commissioner Technical guidanceon issuing defaults, i know the whole lot is unfair but this is also sometimes useful to show further unfairness.

[optikal101]

That's very interesting. Looking at it, the first charges were placed on 30/10/11. The default notice was charged on the account 22/02/2012. However, according to my file the default was actually registered on 31/07/2012.

[orfoster]

You'll need to have a read of the guidance by the ICO on the issue to see if it fits your circumstances. I've just had the ICO find in my favour.

[dx100uk]

Many thanks for that DX. I've had a read and think there are definite grounds to argue it. Ideally I'd like them wiping and the default removing. However, I'm not sure how to begin, are there any templates for this type of thing?

 

not as such

 

that link should give you enough basis

 

dx

[optikal101]

Okay, I'll set to work on it. Thanks again!

[optikal101]

I've managed to put together a decent letter but is there a particular address that I can send my letter to?

[optikal101]

Okay, so an update on all of this as I finally received a letter back yesterday.

 

This is the letter I initally sent:

 

 

Account: ******

Sort Code: *****

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I am writing to lodge a dispute with regard to this account, which is currently in default. The total balance outstanding is currently £795.56, the entirety of which is made up of bank imposed charges, levied between the dates of 30/10/2011 and 21/03/2012.

 

On 30/10/11 I was charged a £6.00 Unpaid Item Fee and again on 02/11/11 a further £42 was levied. Prior to these charges, the account was in credit with a balance of £2.44. and has since not been used further by myself. The bank induced charges placed my account into a negative balance which you then began to charge a monthly ‘Unarranged OD Fee’ on from 02/12/11 until 21/03/12. These charges, along with a ‘Default Notice Fee’ of £30.00 amassed the total outstanding balance.

 

I would point out to you that under BCOBS you have a statutory duty to treat me fairly and have regard to my interests. It is clear that by deciding to pursue the course of action which you did, you acted completely against my interests and completely in your own interests, in order to maximise your opportunity to apply unfair charges against me, in order to maximise your revenue stream.

 

I object to these fees because it is your own charges which you have levied against me which have put me into overdraft. It is your charging scheme, it was designed by you, and it is intended to provide revenue for all parts of your personal account operation. Therefore your imposition of these charges on me can not be said to be ‘un-arranged’. You have imposed these charges upon me deliberately, in full knowledge of the state of my account and for your own purposes. It can never be said that the overdraft on my account was in any way unauthorised or un-arranged.

 

I need hardly point out to you that any reasonable person would regard treating unauthorised borrowing charges as themselves unauthorised as inherently unfair. Furthermore there is no contractual provision in your terms and conditions which allows you to treat your own charges as unauthorised borrowing. This means that there is an ambiguity in your terms and conditions which you have decided to interpret in your favour and against my interests. This is a violation of your statutory obligation under BCOBS, which require you to treat your customers fairly and to have regard to their interests. Clearly you have not done so here.

 

I would also like to bring to your attention the update of my registered address which took place in November 2012. My address was registered as ****. This fact was only brought to my attention whilst checking my ‘linked addresses’ on files provided by credit reference agencies. I have never has an association with Leicester, much less registered an address there. I telephoned your call centre and was assured by your operative that they had no record of any communication with me with regards this update and he subsequently changed the information.

However, due to you reporting this information to credit reference agencies as factually correct, I am now ‘linked’ to this address through my credit history. This constitutes a clear breach of the Data Protection Act with regards to data accuracy.

 

Both issues have had a negative impact on my credit history and will continue to do so for a period of six years from the date the default was registered. Once again, this is an unfair representation of myself as the registered default is entirely bank levied charges and further constitutes a violation of your statutory obligation under BCOBS.

 

In order to resolve this matter you must remove the outstanding charges from my account, remove the registered default from all credit reference agency reports and remove any registered address links to **** that you have previously reported. Failing this, I would invite you to take legal action against me to force me to pay. If a court determines that your charges are fair and the manner in which you have applied them is not a breach of your statutory obligations under BCOBS then I will of course, pay the outstanding in full.

 

I look forward to hearing from you presently.

 

Yours Faithfully

Op

 

 

Natwest agreed that the address change was wrong and out of order and have agreed to purge all of my credit files of this link. That's all well and good.

 

However, they have upheld that their charges are all in line and fair. They completed overlooked the fact that their returned item charge placed the account into overdraft and then they bean to charge monthly unauthorised overdraft charges on their previous charges month-on-month. They simply quoted back to me the terms and conditions that I signed:

 

6.31 Unarranged Overdraft Usage Fee

 

An Unarranged Overdraft Usage Fee will be charged for each day on which there is an unarranged overdraft of greater that £6 on your account at the close of business on that day. This is charged 21 days after the end of the charging period (or the next business day if this a saturday, sunday or bank holiday)

 

Unpaid Transaction Fee

 

An Unpaid Transaction Fee will be charged if: you informally request an unarranged overdraft by issuing instructions for a withdrawal or other payment ; and the payment cannot be met from the cleared balance in your account or any any unused overdraft; and we decide in our discretion not to make the payment. This is charged 21 days after the end of the charging period in which we decide not to make the payment (or the next business day if this is a saturday, sunday or bank holiday)

 

Then did the whole 'hope you are satisfied, if not talk to the FOS' spiel.

 

As far as I'm concerned, they did not even acknowledge anything in my letter regarding fairness or the fact that charging upon charges is unethical. I know that I should continue to fight this but I'm unsure how to further proceed?

 

Any help at all would be massively appreciated!

 

Thanks

[renegadeimp]

Call their bluff. Get it to the FOS, and when the adjudicator finds in favour of the bank, escalate it to the ombudsman. Natwest know they are wrong, but are still trying to get the money from you.