NatWest and the removal of benefit money.

[RaeUK]

Yes, that's about the top and the tail of it, Lapsed. I would expect the account to show DWP money going into it with two different NI numbers and for any transfer to coincide and corroborate.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Regarding this first period - The action she took to get back on an even keel resolved the problem and to all intents and purposes there should have been no further immediate cause for concern.

 

Were any arrangements made or advice given by the bank at that time to ensure that a similar situation would not develop again with payments on the credit card account?

 

In the meantime steps were taken by the daughter to try and safeguard her son's disability benefits payments by transferring them to the savings account, steps that would have been obvious to the bank had they shown due diligence and exercised their duty of care before emptying said savings account.

 

Not being nosey or difficult. Trying to compose a formal letter asking for a reconsideration of the decisions that the bank took. The sequence of events need to be clear in order to show that the bank acted illegally according BCOBS by not exercising their duty of care. I read that somebody sued on the strength of that legal requirement and was well compensated.

[RaeUK]

No worries, you're being neither nosey nor difficult, just helpful and patient.

 

 

Anything I'm not aware of / privy to I will need to ask my sister.

(It is just her and her son we are discussing here, just to clarify, no daughter).

 

My understanding is that she was having difficulties,

was advised by the bank just to pay what she could.

 

 

This she did for a while but still managed to miss a total of two payments.

 

 

The bank told her to pay all outstanding sums within two days.

This she did.

 

 

Now, at that point, everything was then up to date, she had caught up her payments with a lump sum payment.

 

 

No mention then of an intent to close the account the next day.

 

 

As far as she was aware, provided she continued to make regular payments, then things had been caught up with.

[AndyOrch]

Thread moved to Natwest...although the subject is with regards to benefit monies...better placed in the Banking forum for the correct advice.

 

 

Regards

 

Andy

[RaeUK]

Thank-you, Andy.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

ReaUK

I have attempted to compose a letter for resolving your sister's issues with the bank using the facts that I have as I understand them.

 

Obviously if you choose this course of action feel free to add to, omit or correct anything that I have written. This is basically an example of the flavour or tone that such a letter could take if you, or your sister, were inclined towards this course of action.

 

 

The Manager

Such & Such Bank

Address

 

 

Re: Removal of Savings Accrued in Savings Account to Off-Set Shortfall in Credit Account.

 

Dear Manager,

I write to formally bring to your attention my dissatisfaction with the inconsideration, unfairness and indifference that the bank has shown in emptying and closing the savings account that I used exclusively for my son's disability benefits. The following is a recounting of the sequence of events that led up to the current impasse and I ask that you reconsider your decision.

 

Over a year ago when I realised that I was having difficulties keeping up with the payments on my credit card I contacted the bank and was told not to be overly concerned as I would be given time to catch up. I was advised to keep paying whatever I could afford each month in the meantime so that there would be no default on my account.

 

I kept in touch with the bank's customer services people, not always the same ones, who kept assuring me that everything was fine and to keep paying as I was doing. I followed this advice but still missed two payments in total.

 

On the occasion of my last call the tone and attitude of the customer service person who answered was decidedly cool. I was informed that I needed to catch up with all payments within two days.

 

I scraped the requisite amount together and was able to meet the deadline.

 

Having satisfactorily overcome the difficulty of the moment and with no alternative plan, proposal, suggestion or advice, I was resolved to continue, as was previously agreed and accepted between the bank and myself, to fulfil my obligations regarding the upkeep of my credit card account.

 

Shortly after this, the condition of my son, who suffers from a disability, deteriorated. Needless to say this placed additional strains on my ability to provide adequately for us both and I was compelled to seek help in the form of social security benefits for the purpose of alleviating and improving his condition. To this end I applied for and was successful in obtaining the requisite benefits on behalf of my son, to wit, Personal Independence Payments and Carer's Allowance.

 

Those benefits then began to be paid into my bank account.

 

Conscious of my duty and responsibility for ensuring the proper stewardship of said benefits money I undertook to transfer it to a savings account where, being apart from any other money, it would only be available and used for the purposes for which it was intended, the major one being additional accommodation needs. The money was allowed to accumulate in the savings account because a substantial sum would be necessary to pay for the alternative arrangements more suited to his needs once such arrangements were put in place. Progress on those arrangements was nearing a satisfactory conclusion.

 

It was with abject consternation then that I recently learned that the said savings account has been completely emptied of funds. This was done arbitrarily by the bank, without either consultation or notification.

 

Needless to say, this action by the bank will have dire consequences on my son's life.

 

On the basis of the facts as I have outlined then above I ask that the bank reconsiders its decision to act as it has and to restore to my son his rightful dues.

 

Furthermore, in reconsidering the bank's decision, I ask that the bank give due regard to my rights and entitlements as a customer under The Financial Conduct Authority's Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook (BCOBS), which stipulate among other things:

 

The new banking conduct regime comprises:

 

• the conduct of business requirements in the Payment Services Regulations 2009, which apply to payment service providers, including banks, e-money institutions, and payment institutions conducting payment services, including the provision and operation of "payment accounts" within the scope of the Payment Services Directive
  
• full application of the FSA's Principles for Businesses to the regulated activities of accepting deposits and issuing e-money as a retail banking service (to the extent that these do not conflict with the PSRs)
  
• the Banking Conduct of Business sourcebook (BCOBS) containing high-level rules and guidance
  
• monitoring and enforcement by the FSA of the retail banking regulatory framework which in the case of the conduct of business requirements of the PSRs will be "complaints-led" (i.e. based primarily on information received from customers and other interested parties)
  
• the availability of the right of action under section 150 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 in relation to breaches of BCOBS rules.
  

Principle 6 requires a bank to pay due regard to the interests of its customers and to treat them fairly. In particular, a bank should deal fairly with a banking customer whom it has reason to believe is in financial difficulty.

Those extracts clearly indicate that the bank has a duty of care. Furthermore, it is a legal obligation. As such those are implied terms of my contract with the bank and failure to adhere to them may be regarded as a breach of contract, actionable at law.

 

The bank will hold records of every transaction in or out and between any and all of my accounts with it. Even a cursory glance at those records will show my financial situation and the origins of the funds involved in those transactions.

 

I look forward to a favourable response to this letter and a reconsidered course of action to bring the current state of affairs to an amicable conclusion. Obviously any further action, including legal action, I choose to take will rest on your response.

 

I remain, etc. etc.

[RaeUK]

Many thanks, Lapsed, that's excellent work and very kind of you. I'll email it to my sister.