Help - Natwest are taking my claim to court

[dontuaca]

Can i claim back charges against NatWest if i am a small business. they have told me that the findings of OFT only covers personel customers and that business customers are unable to apply for a refund under this direction. is this true or should i press ahead and try and claim back the £6900 thay have charged me over the last 6 years....Help

[HadEnough]

yes it's true, but you can still claim just use the template for business customers the the library

[dontuaca]

thanks i'll ava go

[dontuaca]

Can any one help. NatWest have filed a defence. So i believe we now have to go to court. I need some more amo....

 

Does anyone know how much Natwest has already paid out.

 

Has anyone filled out the Allocation questionaire?

 

Any advise - i never thought it would go to court - so i need to be prepared. Should i get expert witnesses etc...

 

Thanks

[The cobbett slayer]

Chill out Don - it's not as bad as it looks.

 

Can you post a brief account of what you have done so far and let us have a look over it. It's probably the standard defence (The claim does not properly particularise the details etc...).

 

First advice is don't panic.

 

Paul

[livelylad]

Can any one help. NatWest have filed a defence. So i believe we now have to go to court. I need some more amo....

 

Does anyone know how much Natwest has already paid out.

 

Has anyone filled out the Allocation questionaire?

 

Any advise - i never thought it would go to court - so i need to be prepared. Should i get expert witnesses etc...

 

Thanks

 

Ok I think you need to read the Step by step instructions and FAQS again

1. They have paid out so far £309458 this is only the amount we know about it is probably far greater.

 

2.Hundreds if not thousands of AQs have been filed. I have enclosed the link on how to complete for you.http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/11644-allocation-questionnaires-guide-completion.html

 

3.You do not need an expert witness

 

Also please stick to one thread to make it easier to follow and help you.

[frankthecabbie]

Don't worry Nat West take most right to the brink of court and then settle . You can find help filling in the Allocation questionaire in the bank templates . Nat West are just trying to scare you off .

Frank

[dontuaca]

Thenks for the reply Paul.

 

I have so far sent all the letters etc that we are advised to do. They wrote back saying they did not believe that the charges are unlawfull so 8 then put my claim in through money claims online. I am claiming £6900 + interest.

 

 

There defence is that the particluars of the claim do not disclose reasonable grounds for bringing a claim against the claimant to recover the bank charges. It goes on for 6 pages

 

Cheers

[Deller]

There defence is that the particluars of the claim do not disclose reasonable grounds for bringing a claim against the claimant to recover the bank charges. It goes on for 6 pages

 

Cheers

 

Their standard mumbo jumbo by the sounds of things!!

[The cobbett slayer]

Is there a part 18 request with it Don?

[dontuaca]

Yes they have requested part 18

[livelylad]

Hi in response to their CPR part 18 request this reply has been drafted by Bigcol. He used it i have used it and staceymason, we have all be paid in full. As NatWest use Cobbetts as well as RBS this letter can give you the basis for your reply. You will need to ammend it to suit your claim.

 

"Dear Madam,

 

 

I am writing in response to your letter dated 15th August 2006.

 

I note from your recent correspondence that you have requested further information from me under Part 18 of the CPR, indeed, a deadline date for receipt of the response is included. This will be submitted in court and the judge can decide on the impression the letter is intended to give.

 

I must advise you that CPR Pt18 has little relevance to Small Claims procedures; however, I am aware that Part 27.2(f) applies subject to paragraph 3 of part 27.2 which states that the Court of its own initiative may order a party to provide further information if it considers that is appropriate to do so. As such, I consider that the inquiry to be intimidating and I intend to bring this matter to the notice of the court, should my case proceed that far.

 

 

I obtained all of the information pursuant to this claim (vis the charges, account numbers etc) from your client, The Royal Bank of Scotland; I am therefore somewhat surprised that you have not been sent this information by them directly to enable you to defend this claim efficiently. As a goodwill gesture, therefore I am enclosing details of the charges in question, the interest applied as of today’s date, and details of the account number and sort code.

 

In respect of the relevant clauses and contract terms, I have endeavoured to obtain a copy of the original terms and conditions, but the best I have managed to retrieve from them is a leaflet about charges.

 

In respect of the charges detailed on the enclosed spreadsheet, the relevant statements of the said leaflet are as follows;

 

·Account

o Service charge £10

§ Monthly maintenance charge

· "If you borrow more than your agreed overdraft limit you will be liable for a maintenance charge applied monthly, 16 days after the end of the charging period (or the next business day if this is a Saturday, Sunday or Bank Holiday). The charging period is normally in line with the date that we send your statement to you."

 

· Referral £30 per day

o "If we pay a debit drawn on your account which results in an unarranged overdraft, a daily referral charge is payable and will be applied monthly on the sixth business day of the following month."

 

· Unpaid DD Charge £38 per item (previously £35)

o "Payable when a cheque, standing order or Direct Debit is not paid due to there being insufficient funds available on your account"

 

· Unauthorised transaction fees £35

o Card misuse

§ "Payable when we are forced to pay an item which has been supported by cheque guarantee or Maestro although there are insufficient funds available on your account"

· "When your account is overdrawn in excess of any agreed overdraft limit, a maintenance charge will also be applied."

 

However as stated in my original claim and letters the charges laid out in the original contract are unlawful penalty charges and cannot be legally enforced i.e. charges in relation to unauthorised Overdraft, Referral, Chq/DD/SO Unpaid and Default Notice etc are a disproportionate penalty and therefore unenforceable as they are contrary to common law. Further, as a disproportionate penalty they are invalid under the Unfair (Contracts) Terms Act 1977 s.4 and under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Para.8 and sch.2 (1) (e). In the event that the charges are not a penalty then they are unreasonable within the meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 s.15. The laws and regulations relating to this claim are clearly documented in the particulars of claim on the initial claim form.

 

I hope this clarifies the situation for you.

 

As previously stated, I am more than willing to provide any further information at the courts request.

[dontuaca]

Hi livelylad

 

Thanks for your response....sorry for the delay , i was working away. I was starting to get very nervous about all of this, but the more i read and with the help of people like you i'm sure it's going to be fine.

 

Once i see how this works out i have got 6 credit cards to go for!

 

Thanks for the last letter draft...amending it now.

 

Should i send a copy to Cobbetts as well.

 

Many thanks

DonTuaca

[dontuaca]

I have now recieved an offer for £4500, but as i am claiming for £6900 + interest i have rejected the offer.

 

I am now waiting to see what happens. Does anyone know how long it can take once you have refused their first offer till you get another offer or full setlement?

 

Thanks

[The cobbett slayer]

Hi Don

 

Well you seem to be getting through it quite quickly!

 

I received an offer 2 weeks ago which I rejected and laid out what I would be prepared to accept and I haven't had a response yet. Bear in mind that 1st class post is taking up to 3 days at the moment so it takes a week just to exchange 2 letters, plus whatever time it takes for Cobbetts to talk to Natwest.

 

Main thing is you are in the home straight but I doubt very much if you will see it before Xmas:(

[dontuaca]

:o) ;o)

 

Started 6th October 06

FINISHED 13th January 07

 

 

Thanks to all that have helped me through my claim............Ooh i'm not allowed to say anything about my claim now..........HE He He He He He He

 

;o)

[The cobbett slayer]

Are we to assume they have sent you some money Don?

[dontuaca]

in full

[muggins73]

in full

 

You lucky bugger!!!!! And I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course!!!

 

NatWest really are going nuts today, this is the fifth one already:D!!!!

 

Wot's going on, and more to the point 'SHOW ME MY MONEY, NATWEST.

 

WELL DONE!