icezebra versus THE WORLD. Erm, well, NatWest at least.

[icezebra]

Afternoon all.

After hearing about the bank charge revolution, I decided to 'ave a go myself.

The story so far:

Sent off an SAR, received statements back and totalled up charges.

Total sum of £3320. Interest on the charges at 8% totals £642.88.

I'm claiming a total of £3962.88 back from NatWest.

On the 11th Dec 06, I wrote to NatWest asking for a refund [letter here]. I offered them a 25% discount on the interest only and 7 days to pay me.

No response received.

Wrote again on the 27th Dec 06. [letter here] I advised that they had 7 days to pay, before I launched a court case. Again, no response.

On the 10th January 07. I received 2 letters, acknowledging receipt of both my letters. Both were identical, from Stuart Higley, just saying, "thanks", "we're looking into", "will get back to you". Interestingly enough, both these letters were in complete breach of FSA regulations (I had asked in my first letter that they deal as a complaint pending any court case). They breached on the following points under DISP 1.4.1 in the FSA handbook:

a) Letters not dated.

b) Letter not issued within 5 working days of receipt.

c) No description of my complaint.

d) No timescale given as to when I may expect a detailed response.

e) No telephone contact number.

f) No leaflet enclosed detailing NatWest's internal complaint handling procedure.

g) In addition to the above points, they have not adhered to their own complaint handling procedure as detailed on their website.

Anyway, rather than wait - none the wiser, for a response, I phoned them up yesterday and advised they had one day to pay me before I issued proceedings. Also advised them of their breach of FSA Regs. They refused to make a decision on payment.

Proceeding were issued with mcol this morning. It'll be Monday morning before they get checked / reviewed et cetera. Wish me luck!

On a related note; after reading through the forum, I see that Stuart Higley @ NatWest has in the past been rather prompt. I hope that by being inundated with such cases, the response times are increasing and thus a defence may not be posted in time. Hey, I can dream can't I?

[Guest NATTIE]

They are technically in breach of FSA complaints handling guidance not you will reply within 5 days or it is unlawful. They have responded but I think you really needed to have read the FAQ's because 8% is what you can claim at MCOL stage not prior to it. You can claim either contractual interest or not and 8% at MCOL stage. I am sure that others will correct me if I am wrong. The Acknowledgement of your claim will be done within time so please do not think that it will not be. It would be wise to read other people;s experiences of when they filed to prepare yourself as to what is in store. Welcome to the CAG and Good Luck

[icezebra]

Nattie,

 

That's just what I said - NatWest have breached FSA Regulations - the law has nothing to do with that point. I work for a major insurance company dealing with high level complaints - I'm subject to these (damnable ) regulations every day...

 

8% was requested from them as I felt that if the court would award it, I should claim for it from the start. Now I've launched on mcol, 8% is definite. The last sentence re claim acknowledgement was a joke.

 

As a point of interest, do your employers know you post on here? Are you part of damage control, or CAG's "deep throat"?

[Guest NATTIE]

I;ll bump this up the thread so that others can help you and correctly answer the points of interest you raise. As I said at the end, Good Luck.

[lee in wales]

Hi icezebra, for fear of being dragged into an arguement,

"As a point of interest, do your employers know you post on here? Are you part of damage control, or CAG's "deep throat"?"

seems a bit harsh,

As you can see from other peoples threads and the amount of posts, Nattie has helped lots of people on this site, i don't know a lot about Nattie but she does give good advice.

[icezebra]

Lee - it wasn't meant to be harsh, and Nattie, if I caused offence by it, apologies!

 

Being new to the site, I just wondered which side Nattie was on; i.e. a "deep throat" as in; insider; meaning, you're working on our side secretly within NW's ranks... From Lee's response, I guess this to be true!

 

Once again, no offence meant!

[pmhcfc]

They are technically in breach of FSA complaints handling guidance not you will reply within 5 days or it is unlawful. They have responded but I think you really needed to have read the FAQ's because 8% is what you can claim at MCOL stage not prior to it. You can claim either contractual interest or not and 8% at MCOL stage. I am sure that others will correct me if I am wrong. The Acknowledgement of your claim will be done within time so please do not think that it will not be. It would be wise to read other people;s experiences of when they filed to prepare yourself as to what is in store. Welcome to the CAG and Good Luck

 

NAttie..Just a question re the address for NAtWest (Im not hijacking btw)...Everything of mine went through Borehamwood branch..is this their new policy? They settled mine after prelim letter (last week)..Just thought I'd check

[ataction]

I presume you filed your claim today, it will probably be deemed to be served on the 18th or 9th Jan, (you will be notified of acknowledgement) and then the defendant (NatWest) has 28 days to file defence. They almost certainly will. There is some tolerance to the 28 day rule. The process will now followed an established process, with some variables depending on the size of the claim.

[Guest NATTIE]

Icezebra- no worries, sometimes I read things as harsh from the newbies and realise it may be better to pop off the thread concerned so others can help. I would prefer to keep my loyalties to myself, but I think my post count and the threads that I have inputted on speaks for itself. As you are at MCOL bit that is where I leave you as it is out of my depth at the moment. Good Luck

 

pmhcfc- it was a recent change to free up staff, there are a lot of claims but now a cosa nostra exists(a pact of silence) with it being at Customer Relations Unit.

[icezebra]

Right,

 

Things are now getting interesting...

 

I've received a defence and a CPR Part 18 from Cobbetts. I've also received the Allocation Questionnaire.

 

Furthermore I've also now received an offer from Natwest...

 

The offer (made without prejudice obviously) comes to £3280 - The original sum of the charges I was claiming for. This sum was raised to £3320 as another charge came about after my original letter to NW.

 

Including interest and court fees, the total I'm now claiming comes to approximately £4082. I've found a response (on CAG) to the Part 18, and am about to send it to the court with the AQ. I'm including a copy of the offer and also sending a copy of my response and the offer to Cobbetts. At all stages, I'm trying to be reasonable - in my letter that will shortly be sent to Cobbetts, I'm advising Cobbetts I'll now accept £4180 out of court (kindly disregarding £2.88 of small change and further interest accumulated since the date of issue).

 

I phoned NW and asked them if they wanted to up their offer, my reasoning being that if I proceed with the AQ, the claim will raise by another £100 (cost of completion). They declined and said they would not pay interest on charges or court fees.

 

I'm sorely tempted to complete the AQ and proceed to court. Do you guys recommend this action? Do you recommend I accept the £3280? What ramifications will the action of proceeding to court have?

 

Advice sorely needed!

 

Thanks

 

iz

[icezebra]

Ok, I'm going for it.

 

Off to the post office now to send AQ and a letter to Cobbetts. Included with the AQ a draft order similar to SD with a request the Judge orders it...

 

Hopefully, this should expedite matters somewhat, I could do with the money!

[livelylad]

Ok, I'm going for it.

 

Off to the post office now to send AQ and a letter to Cobbetts. Included with the AQ a draft order similar to SD with a request the Judge orders it...

 

Hopefully, this should expedite matters somewhat, I could do with the money!

 

 

Best of luck.