sally v NatWest ***WON***

[sallysas]

Oh steve thank you. I feel so frustrated right now I could cry. Had a lovely but stressful day at work, came home really tired and happy to this load of c**p. Going off to have a relaxing bath now and a beer.

[steven4064]

I refer to your letter dated 11 June 2007.

 

I confirm that I am willing to sign the Notice of Discontinuence on receipt of a suitable offer from your clients in addition to the amount of £3540.00 of which I have accepted £2952.77 as part-payment already.

 

May I remind you that the court hearing date in Tuesday 19 June 2007.

 

 

Will this do do we think. Poping in the post tomorrow.

I don't think youshould sign on receipt of an offer, only on receipt of the MONEY.

 

What about-

 

"I confirm that I will sign the Notice of Discontinuance only once I have received cleared funds to the value of £xxxxx. I reiterate that will not sign any confidentiality clause or any other conditions on your offer"

 

If you feel that strongly that is.

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[sallysas]

You just knew I was sat here, beer in hand, waiting for pearls of wisdom didn't you? That looks much better. Letter being altered and printed off. Many thanks yet again. Sally:)

[sallysas]

If they are trying to make me nervous they are succeeding!! No credit showing on my account on Saturday. Still, we have one day left. Perhaps I will call them later to give them a nudge.

 

What has angered me however is the fact that when they sent my original statements these stopped being produced in November 2005 when CCCS started my debt management plan. No problem there I thought, the £5 per month is showing and the interest is now stopped. OH NO IT WASN'T. The staff gave me a printout on Saturday and it shows interest being taken out for the whole of this year. Now I wondered how come the amount I owed them was approx £200 more than I expected. And it begs the question why I was not sent up-to-date statements from November 2005 to present day (well last November). Will now be contacting cccs to ask about Natwest's action and whether an error occurred. This will be fine for me 'cos I'll just claim it back but how about anyone else not aware they can claim back. Don't get mad girl - get even.

[sallysas]

It's good to talk..... They rang me. Someone from Paralegal rang on behalf of Cobbetts asking if I was willing to settle without any further money. As I wouldn't budge my stance I suggested to her that she consult with her client and call me back today or tomorrow. After 40 minutes she calls back offering me £60 less than I had stated in my letter of last week 'as it was commercially not viable for the claim to be defended'. I still said no as this was my daily interest after filing at court. At this point she caved in and I am now drafting a letter to the court informing them that we have settled in full once I receive a cheque from whoever. I have also received copy of Paralegal's letter via e-mail which will be in the post today or tomorrow.

 

Have I done all right people? I presume if they renague I can go for non-compliance. I ought to be over the moon but strangly I'm not 'cos I don't have the cheque in my hand. And there is the little matter referred to in post above. It all helps keep the wolf from the door though.

[steven4064]

Well done for sticking to your guns! Don't stop court proceedings util you have the money cleared in your bank account. And congratulations on a fine win (because even though it may not yet feel like it - YOU WON!!!)

 

Steven

 

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Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

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[Micky the Hippo]

well done

 

and what steve said, keep the process rolling right up til the money clears

[sallysas]

itionHaving read their letter that is how I feel. They want the discontinuance letter signed but I think I will call them back asking for the cheque/funds transferred first. The court will not be amused though as they want me to discontinue in writing even though I rang up this afternoon.

 

Had to leave a message as she was on the 'phone. Will send them discontinuance letter then. (Cobbitts that is.) Thanks for the support guys............

 

Yeah -- 1 WON!!!!!!

[steven4064]

the court will not be amused though as they want me to discontinue in writing even though I rang up this afternoon.

That's OK, just wait until the cheque has cleared. I'm sure it will not put the court out - they've almost certainly got plenty to do!!

 

Steven

 

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Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[doo]

Well done sally, another good result.

[sallysas]

Well not quite!!!! Cobbetts are messing me about regarding the cheque. They say NatWest will have to forward the cheque to Cobbetts within the next week and then it comes to me. I smell a delay coming on so I rang the court this morning and was advised to turn up anyway and explain the situation to the judge. Wish me luck. I am happy to turn up though as I can see me waiting weeks for the cheque to clear if the pressure is off NatWest.

 

Should I call Cobbetts as they have written they will pay me 'strictly on the basis that you write to the court withdrawing your claim'. Perhaps not.

[Parkvale]

Tell the judge exactly what Nat West are doing and that you are sorry wasting the courts valuable time, but you are very hesitant to stop your claim, because Nat West

are notorious for abuse of the courts system and complacency towards their customers during bank charge claims. Good luck.

[sallysas]

My backbone has been suitably stiffened. How dare they try and dictate to me. Lovely turn of phrase 'notorious......' Will definately use that in court. My eldest needs to buy a suit for army swearing in and he will be with me today which will be a comfort. Stiff drink afterwards perhaps

[Parkvale]

GOOD LUCK and let us know how it went.

[steven4064]

My eldest needs to buy a suit for army swearing in and he will be with me today which will be a comfort.

Buy the suit first. That might strengthen the court's backbone!!!

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

 

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[sallysas]

The sun is shining and I have True Friends to back me up. Am so glad I sent copies of Cobbetts letters to the court last week as this latest turn of events will not endear them to the judge.

 

Not feeling so nervous right at this moment. Will post later. xxxxxxxx Sally:-)

[sallysas]

Judge was sympathetic but Cobbetts had written saying we had reached an agreement so if they keep me waiting there is nothing the court can do. She also said it was outside ushers brief to give opinions on cases but the point is I HAVE REALLY WON and will just have to wait for the cheque.

 

Thank you to everyone for their advice and support. Donation on its way when cheque arrives and is cleared.

[steven4064]

Well done Sally. As you say, YOU HAVE REALLY WON. Make sure you apply for a wasted costs order: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/85726-wasted-costs-order.html

 

Steven

 

If this post is helpful, please click the scales

Any opinions are without prejudice & without liability.

Almost everything I know concerning the law I learned from this site

[sallysas]

Already started looking at this but usually this is awarded when you are in front of the judge or before final acceptance reading one thread. Still nothing ventured.......... I will learn for next time if unsuccessful on this occasion. I also need to get statements from when I should not have been paying interest after debt management plan set up with cccs. Very irresponsible of them (NatWest that is). Do you think I have got it in for them as I started this claim in November?

[Parkvale]

Well done Sally. You gave it your best shot. CONGRATULATIONS.

[HSBCrusher]

congrats!

 

please fill in the survey, and spare a few coppers for the hat if can! :grin:

 

Crusher :grin:

[sallysas]

Nothing ventured. Going for 'Wasted court order' and sending off request for all data to start again. Does anyone think it is worth contacting the FO if I can prove they continued charging me after reaching an agreement via cccs. Unfortunately I have no paperwork proving this and the cccs do not also due to the volume of clients they help. But it will be showing on statements. Payday on Thursday so will make donation then. Still waiting final cheque.....................

[Parkvale]

Sally go for it. You have certainly worked hard to win your claim.

please fill in survey.http://www.consumeractiongroup.c o.uk/survey.php

and please remember this site relies on donations. Thankyou.https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr

[sallysas]

Sending off letter to FOS. Will post response in the fullness of time. But I have managed to impress myself.:o

[sallysas]

I rather thought I had missed the boat on 'wasted court order' so I have sent the following off to Financial Ombudsman.

The form can be found on-line and printed off.

I decided on a resume of events first with a full breakdown of letters/telephone calls as I presume they will contact the bank for clarification.

Will post result when I hear anything.

 

COMPLAINT FORM

 

Claim Number xxxxxxxxx was issued in xxxxx County Court on 17 February 2007.

The day before the final hearing (19 June 2007) I agreed to settle for £xxxxx of which I had already received a part-payment of £xxxxx by cheque on 29 May 2007.

 

I had an account with xxxxxxxx since the early 1990s but from November 2000 to 30 December 2005 on 100 separate occasions xxxxxxxx made unlawful charges to my account and charged me interest on top.

 

During this period I was left alone to bring up 3 children (all under the age of 7) assisted by maintenance payments arriving from the USA.

On occasions when the payments either arrived late (or not at all – which tended to happen twice a year)

 

I repeatedly asked xxxxxxxx to suggest any ways in which they could assist my financial difficulties ie defer taking their charges promptly in favour of later that month so cheques could be paid thereby assisting my financial situation. This they refused to do insisting I should manage my finances better.

 

On one occasion they simply increased my overdraft level which I do not now regard as a sensible financial response.

I found life difficult and embarrassing and over the years it also caused me considerable distress and worry.

 

In the summer of 2005 I contacted the CCCS who put me on a debt management plan which xxxxxxx agreed too.

Whilst listening to the radio in November 2006 I became aware that bank charges are unlawful and decided to pursue this line of enquiry.

 

I wrote letters asking for a refund of the charges and interest charged expecting a reasonable response from the bank but received only a partial offer of the total claimed.

 

Although I had returned to work full-time as the only wage-earner in the family I did not have the means to consult a solicitor so I bought a small claims book to enable me to do this correctly.

 

As we had failed to reach an agreement, on the day I had decided to file at court I rang xxxx asking if they would increase their offer to avoid court action and was told the offer was non-negotiable.

 

I ultimately had to assemble a Court Bundle of over 100 pages to present my case to the court.

I had spent over 20 hours researching my legal position.

 

During the time this correspondence/legal action was progressing I suffered considerable worry about the necessity to pursue this action through the courts in case my ability to follow the correct court procedures/case law was incorrect.

 

29/11/06 letter to xxxxx asking for data going back 6 years

 

06/12/06 Reply from xxxxx confirming data would be provided asap and there had been no manual intervention

 

28/12/06 letter to xxxxx asking for refund of charges/interest totalling £xxxxx referring to OFT report 5th April 2006

 

08/01/07 letter from xxxxx advising they were investigating my complaint

 

16/01/07 letter to xxxxx with amended claim for £xxxxx stating that I would take court action if necessary

 

18/01/07 Reply from xxxxx offering £xxxxx as a goodwill gesture paid directly into my account

 

20/01/07 letter to xxxxx accepting their offer as a part-payment only confirming they had until 30/01/07 to respond positively before I would commence court action

 

11/02/07 Reply from xxxxx offering £xxxxx (reduced from earlier offer) paid directly into my bank account

 

12/02/07 I rang asking them to reconsider their offer to be told it was non-negotiable. Filed at court

 

27/02/07 letter from xxxx solicitors stating they are going to defend

 

17/03/07 defence received from xxxx

 

19/03/07 AQ received from court also offering mediation

 

10/04/07 AQ handed in at court with copy and covering letter sent to xxxxx

 

12/04/07 copy of xxxxx AQ received

 

18/04/07 letter to court rejecting mediation as xxxxx have had ample time to reach settlement

 

29/05/07 settlement letter received with cheque for £xxxxx stating Limitations Act applies from date I filed at court – 17/02/07.

Conditions attached to offer that I was unwilling to accept

– charges that accrue in future will be applied etc

 

03/05/07 Court hearing date set for 19/06/07

 

14/05/07 copy of court bundle posted to xxxx

 

26/05/07 bundle handed in at court

 

04/06/07 letter to xxxx accepting as part-payment only for this claim reserving right to make future claims if necessary

 

11/06/07 reply from xxxxx confirming they will not pursue me in respect of condition of confidentiality

 

13/06/07 letter to xxxx confirming I will sign Notice of Discontinuance once I have received cleared funds

 

16/06/07 obtained printout from local branch showing that although payments being made via CCCS, interest charges still accruing to account which I estimate at £xxx since debt management plan set up

 

18/06/07 telephone call from Ms xxx of xxxx asking if I was willing to settle for cheque already received. I suggested she consult with her client and call me back before hearing tomorrow. Ms xxx called me back within the hour offering an extra £xxx but I asked for £xxx to be paid directly into my bank account.

She stated ‘this is not how NatWest operate’ and I agreed to discontinue my action. Discontinuance Notice posted

 

27/06/07 I rang xxx bank asking where cheque was as I had been waiting over a week. Staff member could shed no light on this and advised she would get another member of staff to call me back

 

29/06/07 cheque finally received

 

At no time did I receive an apology from the bank and although we reached an agreement I do not feel that they handled the matter appropriately.

I do not believe they had any intention of defending this action in court and the settlement did not include any compensation for the worry and anxiety I have incurred over the last 8 months.

 

Although this action is over I am very disappointed that xxxx have delayed payment when they could clearly have paid funds directly into my account and I feel aggrieved that they had continued to charge interest even though payments had been made via the CCCS.

 

At the time the management plan was being set up they asked me to return my debit card which I did.

 

I have sent off a letter requesting an up-to-date statement so I can see the correct amount of charges applied to this account since January 2006 as the data they supplied last year ended in December 2005.

 

I have no confidence that they will agree to refund these charges and feel that it is likely I will have to resort to court action again but I hope that I am incorrect.

 

It also worries me that if I had not started this action interest charges would still be accruing