northern Bank charges reclaim **WON**

[Bru]

I wouldn't agree to this meeting, unless the terms of the meeting are agreed in advance,

 

Indicate that you are willing to meet to discuss your ongoing dispute for unfair charges, but that, due to impending legal action, you are not prepared to discuss any other business until this matter is resolved.

[lickthewallfatboy]

I don't think I want to agree to a meeting on any terms.Northern are fully aware of what we require-they don't need a meeting to be told what's needed.

 

Sorry - I think I'll have to pass on this one....

[flojo1985]

Good for you!!! Let them meet you in court.

[big aid]

you have asked them to enter into frank and meaningful discussion about this matter, therefore your only reply should be in writing, letting them know that whilst you are willing to discuss the issues at hand, you would be far more comfortable doing this in a written format. to reject a meeting i think would do you no harm, but you must display a willingness to resolve this without court

 

 

hope this makes sense

[lickthewallfatboy]

you have asked them to enter into frank and meaningful discussion about this matter, therefore your only reply should be in writing, letting them know that whilst you are willing to discuss the issues at hand, you would be far more comfortable doing this in a written format. to reject a meeting i think would do you no harm, but you must display a willingness to resolve this without court

 

 

hope this makes sense

 

understand where you're coming from Aid.....but I have been dealing with head office in Belfast.This lady (area manager)rings me up after I sent a letter to the branch and claims not to know what's going on???I have drawn 3 possible conclusions here-

 

a.Northern internal communication is rubbish if she genuinely hasn't a clue what all this is about.(HIGHLY UNLIKELY)

b.This woman thinks I'm stupid and can manipulate me to their way of thinking-if she is playing the "naive card",she is trying it on with the wrong guy-I'm much too long in the tooth for that.(HIGHLY PROBABLE)

c.I am being set up for a serious grilling session.(A SERIOUS POSSIBILITY)

 

Why would they want to use a minnion when the big decisions are made in Belfast.I want to talk to someone who has the authority then and there to settle this before going to court.I'm not interested in some kind of "shuttle diplomacy" arrangment.As this is in the hands of the court,I feel it is only right to conduct all communication in writing-then there can be no ambiguity or incorrect recollections of conversations which may or may not have taken place.....

 

I would be EXTREMELY wary of advising anyone to go down this route.Too many pitfalls for the unwary.

[Bru]

The Area manager should be in a position to make decisions on refunding your account. Though I agree with you that is a bit suspect that she is unaware of what is going on.

 

Be careful though, big aid has a point, you must be able to show the court your willingness to mitigate.

 

Very simple, if you ask her has she the authority to deal with your complaint and rectify the situation. If she does, agree to discuss the complaint, and the complaint only.

 

If she doesn't , tell her you will discuss it with the organ grinder and not the monkey

[big aid]

i couldn't agree more with your analysis of this

i pick option c-- you are being set up for a grilling

 

you still have to appear like the most reasonable, approachable, hard done by person for miles around.

what you think of them and what they think of you doesn't matter anymore, it's what a judge thinks of both of you

[moriman]

Whilst I agree with BigAid on your need to appear approachable, I totally agree with you on your preferred method of...

 

As this is in the hands of the court,I feel it is only right to conduct all communication in writing-then there can be no ambiguity or incorrect recollections of conversations which may or may not have taken place.....

 

If you did meet with them and things go pear-shaped, you will obviously then revert to the court action. They, however, will have it to say that you broke of negotiations with them. FWIW, I think you should stick to the written avenue.

 

Best wishes

 

mori

[lickthewallfatboy]

I would appreciate Bankfodder,Dave or Bookworm giving an opinion on this.Things could be reaching a pivotal moment and I want to have all bases covered....

[lickthewallfatboy]

we have a hearing date-

 

OCT 5,10.30AM.....

[Bru]

Good luck,

 

I'll make sure I'm free

[lickthewallfatboy]

cheers-and anyone else who feeels like a ringside seat would be welcome as well!!

 

had another message left by that area manager as well looking for a meeting....no thank you very much!!!

[lickthewallfatboy]

The court office has just sent us a copy of their notice of dispute-

 

they intend to dispute on these grounds

 

1.The charges are levied in accordance with contract and are charges previously advised to the applicant

 

2.the charges are not in breach of the unfair terms in consumer contracts regualtions 1999

 

comments please......

[flojo1985]

Hi Lickthewallfatboy

 

The dispute is very similar to the one First Trust have lodged in my case:

 

'The claim is denied. The Respondent disputes the claim. The money claimed is not due and owing to the applicant and all fees and charges levied were done on foot of the terms and conditions which governed the aggreement between the applicant and the respondent'

 

I think they are just standard disputes. Let them argue in court that the charges are not contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts regs - I don't think they will have a leg to stand on.

 

I'm just sorry my court case is so far away - but then they say patience is a virtue.

 

Flo

[lickthewallfatboy]

I have been doing some nosing around this morning,and have discovered something very interesting.As you know,the BIG 4 have sister companies in the Irish Republic.Well,I have discovered that Northern's other half down south is National Irish Bank Ltd-and what did I discover on their website?

 

From the NIB Ltd website,and I quote-(items in brackets and italics mine)

 

 

“REFERRAL FEES(not applicable to accounts opened after 18th April 2006)

when cheques and debits collectively exceed the credit limits or cause an account to overdraw without permission a charge of 4 Euro (very roughly £2.70)per item presented will be applied,up to a maximum of 22.20 EURO PER DAY(roughly £15 MAXIMUM PER DAY)

 

UNPAID ITEMS OUT-APPLICABLE TO ALL ACCOUNTS-when an item is returned unpaid from your account a charge of 10 Euro(roughly £7) PER ITEM IS LEVIED.”

 

 

END

 

a letter has been drafted to the Northern pointing this out-or should I hold this back for court?I would love to let them know that I am aware of this and it might loosen things up a bit.....

[lickthewallfatboy]

compare how we are being ****** by the equaivalent charges levied in the Irish Republic-and remember the figures are in euro!!

 

1 EUR0 = roughly 68 PENCE

 

ULSTER BANK(PART OF RBOS)-

http://www.ulsterbank.ie/content/ri/personal/current_accounts/downloads/Guide_to_Personal_CAccFees_and_Interest.pdf

 

ULSTER BANK CREDIT CARD(RBOS)

Ulster Bank: Credit Cards - Credit Card Rates

 

 

BOS Ireland Credit card

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) :: Credit Cards :: Irish Credit Card Application for Bank of Scotland Plastic Credit Card

 

 

That's all I've got so far.....

 

Please do not post libelous comments thanks

[lickthewallfatboy]

have a look at what the BIG 4 charge across the border compared to us-

 

ULSTER BANK(PART OF RBOS)-

http://www.ulsterbank.ie/content/ri/...d_Interest.pdf

 

ULSTER BANK CREDIT CARD(RBOS)

Ulster Bank: Credit Cards - Credit Card Rates

 

NORTHERN BANK (NATIONAL IRISH BANK)-FROM THEIR WEBSITE

“REFERRAL FEES(not applicable to accounts opened after 18th April 2006)

when cheques and debits collectively exceed the credit limits or cause an account to overdraw without permission a charge of 4 Euro (very roughly £2.70)per item presented will be applied,up to a maximum of 22.20 EURO PER DAY(roughly £15 MAXIMUM PER DAY)

 

UNPAID ITEMS OUT-APPLICABLE TO ALL ACCOUNTS-when an item is returned unpaid from your account a charge of 10 Euro(roughly £7) PER ITEM IS LEVIED.”

FIRST TRUST (AIB)

http://www.aib.ie/servlet/BlobServer?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application/pdf%0D%0AContent-Disposition%3A+inline%3B+filename%3DPersonal%20Current%20Account%20Fees%20and%20Charges.pdf%0D%0AMDT-Type%3A+abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1141408093639&csblobid=1141322474997

 

AIB Personal Finance

 

BANK OF IRELAND

http://www.bankofireland.ie/html/gws/includes/personal/pdfs/fees_charges.pdf

 

another string to our bows perhaps???

[besty01]

ulster bank here still charging £30

my wifes acc is mucked up

keep taking it out and putting it back in

8 times already

take it out the comp thinks shes over her limit then they put it in

so same thing happens next month

[lickthewallfatboy]

sod it-sent the letter off anyway!!

 

Hope this wakes them up a bit!!

[lickthewallfatboy]

I wonder how the northern (and others) are going to explain the drastic difference in the fees we get planted on us and those charged down south....

 

could be interesting!!

[Anaconda]

Hold it for court.....don't let them know you know.

[Anaconda]

Been a bit of a busy week then!!

 

I spend a good deal of thim in the ROI(Republic of Ireland) The Nat Irish Bank also bought by the Dansk Bank just prior to the Bank robbery(from the Bank of Australia) are even having all their external signage done to match the Northern, not the case before. I will grab a copy of their charges and contract details during the week this week, you will find them interesting to compare. I have found the same with the Ulster Bank, the difference in charges north and south are dumbfounding given they have the same, cost base....

 

To be honest I cannot see how they can defend their charges. How can I put this, the Irish banks are the most profitable in the whole of Europe, hence Dansk Banks purchase of the NB and NIB but get this the Northern Irish Banks are the most profitable of all. We get so ripped off.

 

Fact Dansk Bank Bought NB because it was the most profitable bank in Europe. I think there may well be a possiblity that the Dansk bank will just pay up all the cases claimed, as most of the money they will be able to claw back from the Bank of Austraila (covered by the purchase contract between the two banks), and it would be better as a new comer to the market to take some loss leaders and distance themselves from that immoral banking as practiced by the Bank of Australia and somewhat poetically get the Bank of Oz to pay for it. Remember this Aquisition by the Dansk Bank took place 2 days before the NB was robbed...I love it the NB must feel they are in a quagmire.

[lickthewallfatboy]

I've posted the links to the Irish equivalent of our banks here- http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/other-institutions/20574-northern-ireland-members-look.html

 

-all the charges are there in black and white for everyone to see.

 

Oh and by the way,that area manager has written to me asking for a meeting with herself and our branch manager.I will be constructing a suitable reply hopefully this evening.

[lickthewallfatboy]

Hold it for court.....don't let them know you know.

 

too late I'm afraid-the letter should be waiting for them on monday morning.I'm hoping this will wake them up to the fact that I'm not in the mood to be messed about.

[lickthewallfatboy]

I sent this letter to the area manager on 7 August(the one who was asking us to go for an interview.)

 

 

 

NORTHERN BANK

 

 

7 AUGUST 2006

 

Dear Ms xxxxxxxx

 

We are in receipt of your letter of 3rd August.

 

Thank you for your offer of a meeting.As you will be aware,this matter is currently the subject of a county court action,and has been allocated a court date since Northern filed a Notice of Dispute.

 

We must point out at this stage that any unwillingness to enter into a meaningful dialogue does not originate with us.We wrote to Donegall Square on more than one occasion on the matter of Data Processing Act non-compliance,and in an attempt to resolve this matter.On 15th July,we received a letter from Norma Goodison,Service Recovery Manager, quote –

 

"further to our letter of 26 June

 

as Court proceedings have been issued against the bank it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the issues raised in your letters of 6 and 22 June 2006 at this time

 

I trust that you will understand our position

 

Norma Goodison

 

Service Recovery Officer"

 

 

This would seem to make it clear that Northern are unwilling to enter into a meaningful dialogue at this point.

 

 

You will of course appreciate that we would prefer to have a written record of all communication in this matter.However,if the following criteria can be met in full,the possibility of a meeting would not be ruled out -

 

1.Confirmation that you personally are in an executive position to resolve this matter fully to our satisfaction,at any meeting which may be arranged.

 

2.Confirmation that any settlement will not result in either-

a).closure of our accounts

b).adjustment downwards in the level of overdraft limit currently applicable

 

3.Any meeting which would be agreed to, would take place at a neutral venue to be decided by ourselves.

 

4.Any meeting to involve you, and you alone.

 

5.A single item agenda-ie the full reimbursement of the charges levied on our accounts since they were opened.

 

6.All matters settled at any such meeting shall be confirmed in writing before the meeting would be concluded.

 

 

 

 

We look forward to receiving your reply in this matter.

 

 

Mr and Mrs LTWF

 

 

 

 

Strangely,it seems to have gone all quiet over there.....