dickboy1 vs Natwest (hoping for a result... and a new surfboard!)

[bram stoker]

I chased mine with a stern phonecall. Have you tried chasing yet?

[dickboy1]

Nope. Will do now! Ta, Vampiress.

[bram stoker]

No problem. I'm around for a while. Let me know how you go on.

[dickboy1]

 

Just spoke to Stacey, who was apologetic and helpful. I probably wasn't as 'stern' as I could have been, however! Put me on a stage, and I'm unstoppable;I am nonetheless crap at acting in real life!!

 

ANYway... Stacey has no idea why the statements haven't arrived. She has ordered them to be sent to me, suggesting they will arrive in the next 7-10 days. She also gives away that a note has been placed on my account that a copy of my statements should be sent to 'Peter Ismali at Customer Relations'. I question her, asking why on earth someone else should have access to my statements - especially as I have yet to receive them in full, having paid for them. She does not know why they will be sent to Peter and suggests I call Customer Relations on 0800 0154212 to find out.

 

He will receive them for one of two reasons... (I presume):

 

1) he is dealing with my DPA request (fair enough)

2) he is sussing me out, anticipating a claim (unlikely, surely? even so, legal?)

 

Hmmm...

[bram stoker]

Ooooh, call him, pleeeease. Then let me know. My my, I'm so nosy. But this could be quite useful.

[Guest Lueeze]

I bet its no. 2 as some people get offers even before they get a letter in the post, and wonder if he is working out the possible cost of your claim now in preparation.

 

I bet most banks do it. I cant wait to find out tho!

[dickboy1]

DPA cheque cashed on the 18th. Progress, it seems.

 

Still awaiting second batch of statements.

 

For those of you interested in Peter Ismali... I haven't yet had the time to call him. Will give him a bell on Monday, and let you know!

[dickboy1]

Ok. This morning...

 

Another set of statements arrive in post - in brown tatty holey envelope. A further set going as far back as 2002 - which I don't need as I already have them! GRRR. Waste of paper etc etc etc

 

Along with this, a white and secure envelope with statements going back as far as December 2001. My maths isn't brilliant, but surely I should be getting statements as far back as May 2000?

[bram stoker]

They seem to be messing you about a bit. They will make it difficult. That's why we're here. You will get all the encouragement to persevere that you need. Remain calm throughout and you will get a result.

 

Mention everything to Peter when you call him on Monday.

 

My brother is in Cornwall. He has to raise his court claim on Friday. I believe his nearest is Bodmin. That may be your nearest too. Follow his thread Cos v Barclays. If he ends up going to court you may want to tag along for experience depending on how yours is going. Although you may already have a court buddy. Just a thought.

 

Don't forget to update us on Monday.

[dickboy1]

Sorry folks, been so busy. Can't wait 'til this PGCE is over.

 

Right - to bring you up to speed, nothing major has happened since last post apart from another secure white envelope arrived with more statements.

 

The joint fruit of a DPA request and a separate statement request means that I have a complete set of statements for my account, and I know my total = £581.

 

I believe that the statements I now have are the result of the statement request rather than the DPA request, so I am writing to Natwest (preliminary approach for repayment) with a paragraph reminding them to honour the DPA request. They haven't given me any notes on manual intervention etc, so surely this is not a 'complete' DPA so I can register a complaint with the Information Commisioner after 40 days, right? The other thing is, since I have a complete set, how do I go about proving that they are indeed not the result of the DPA request, but the result of two phonecalls and an extra £5?

 

So... with all that in mind, I was going to deliver the following to my local branch today. Any thoughts?

 

 

my address

my email address

my phone number

 

branch address

Wednesday 31st May 2006

 

 

re: request for repayment of charges

 

Dear Ms. XXXXXX,

 

I am writing with reference to the following account:

 

 

account number: XXXXXXXX

sort code: XXXXXX

account based at branch: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Thank you for arranging the provision of a list of transactions and charges relating to my bank account. I notice that the cheque for the £10 DPA fee has been cashed by Natwest, but I draw your attention to the fact that I have still yet to receive a complete list for the last six years, including information about manual intervention as requested. Under the Data Protection Act (1998) you are entitled to further time in order to comply with this request, however if I am not in receipt of a full disclosure by June 19th, then I will be forced to contact the Information Commissioner to register a breach of this Act.

 

My Request

 

I am now writing in order to ask you to refund to me the charges which Natwest have levied from my account over the last six years, from today. I make this request because I now understand that the regime of fees which Natwest have been applying to my account in relation to direct debit refusals, exceeding overdraft limits and so forth are unlawful at Common Law, Statute and recent Consumer regulations. If you say that they are not then will you please demonstrate this by letting me have a full breakdown of the costs to which Natwest have been put by as a result of my breaches in order to reassure me that your penalties really do reflect your costs.

 

Additionally it has now been confirmed that Natwest’s particularly high level of penalties are considered to be unfair per se by the OFT who reported on the 5th April 2006 and are therefore presumed to be unlawful in the absence of specific proof to the contrary.

 

Your Responsibilites

I would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which Natwest agreed to at the time that I opened my account. It is an implied term of that contract that Natwest would conduct themselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

 

I am frankly shocked that you have operated my account in this way as I had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as my fiduciary.

I consider that your repeated representations that your charges are fair and reasonable are deceptive and that they have deceived me into agreeing to pay them. You concealment of the true nature of your charges has prevented me from asserting my right until now.

 

What I Require

 

Without a full DPA disclosure, I have calculated that over the last six years Natwest has taken £581. I require an immediate repayment of this sum in its entirety.

 

My Targets to Resolve this Matter

 

I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.

 

I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting unconditionally my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.

 

If you do not respond or you do not respond positively within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.

 

After that will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

dickboy1

 

 

The italics in blue are the main alterations to the template letter... let me know your thoughts, if you'd be so kind. Ta! Oh - ALSO - I am starting a separate claim for Natwest credit card. Should I start a new thread?

[dickboy1]

Preliminary Approach letter delivered to local branch today.

[dickboy1]

Standard letter received today from Higley.

 

 

19 June 2006

 

Dear dickboy1,

 

Thank you for your letter of 13 June 2006 and I apologise for any dissatisfaction caused by the application of charges to your account.

 

We believe that our charges our fair, reasonable and transparent. We consider the amounts debited to your amount have been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us and our published tariff, which we are satisfied, complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are also committed to ensuring the transparency of the information that we give to our customers about the operation of our products.

 

We have considered the Office of Fair Trading's statement of 5 April 2006 and do not accept its findings in relation to the setting of credit card fees. We are concerned that the Office of Fair Trading has publically called into question the setting of charges applied to other products, including current accounts. The Office of Fair Trading has restricted its investigation to credit cards and made no attempt to consult the RBS Group or the industry in relation to other entirely different products.

 

Consequently, against that background, we must differ with the views expressed and will not be refunding any of the charges applied to your bank account.

 

I am disappointed to note that you are contemplating legal action against the bank. Whilst I hope you will feel able to reconsider, should you decide to go ahead, please ensure that any Proceedings are served on our Registered Office address, which appears at the foot of this letter.

 

I suspect that this is unlikely to be the answer you might have hoped to receive but nonetheless thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Stuart Higley

Customer Relations

 

 

Hmmm. LBA time, I think.

[fizzystutter]

Hi dickboy1,

 

Just keep going with it. I'm just about to start the process as welll once I have calculated how much NatWest have illegaly charged me.

 

The more I read stories like this the more determind i get.

 

fizzystutter

[b4rt0]

It looks myself is about to go thru all this as well.....

BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dickboy1]

After standard letter received from Natwest, LBA sent yesterday. 14 days and counting!

[grey_lady21]

Hang on a minute, i received that exact same letter from Stuart a couple of weeks ago, does this mean they arent giving us personalised individual responses?

 

I may have to file my moneyclaim online this evening now.

 

Good luck!

[Guest NATTIE]

The letters are not personalised except that you're name and address. You may get them from the branch from someone who works there but they are esssentially given the text from Customer Relations Unit. They will eventually be dealingwith it anyway

[dickboy1]

Absolutely!

[dickboy1]

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