Rutilus v Natwest

[Rutilus]

I have, over the years, incurred many charges to a bank account that I recently closed with the Natwest. I have been assured elsewhere on here that I am still entitled to claim, what I need to know now is this.

 

Over the period that the account was open I never recieved letters informing me of charges, which the bank would then charge you for sending. Instead every month I would have on my statement an entry for 'unarranged borrowing fees.'

 

Did the Natwest come up with a way of charging me whilst not actually incurring an outlay? Am I still entitled to claim these 'fees' back?

 

They were basically doing the same thing, but without sending the letter to trigger the charge.

 

Basically what I want to know is this, am I in a position to claim these 'fees' back as after all they are simply charges given a different name are they not, and they were also dissproportionate to the size of my regular overdraft exceeding.

 

At the end of the day I would most usually only go overdrawn as a result of these charges. A nice little earner for the Natwest, when they charged me my 'unarranged borrowing fee' for one month, this would usually lead to me incurring one for the following month, and so it went in a never ending circle.

 

I just want to clear up this whole 'unarranged borrowing fee' malarkay before kicking off my claim, and making a fool out of myself.

 

Cheers in advance.

 

Rutilus.

[Rutilus]

Have just read NATTIES sticky on AG and UBF's.

 

This clears things up for me, sorry to have asked the question before giving the site a full perusal.

 

Anyhoo, thats the decision made. I will be sending my SAR at the earliest opportunity.

 

I will let you know how things progress.

[hedgey06]

Hi Rutilus - unarranged borrowing fees can be reclaimed - but you must have gone overdrawn in the first place to incur these charges (perhaps without realising???) Good luck - hedgey x

[Rutilus]

By overdrawn I take it you mean I had to have exceeded my overdraft limit, which I did regularly, without realising.

[hedgey06]

Easily done mate........... I seem to manage it on a monthly basis!!! Think it's called 'more month than money'!!!! Ah well......... we're not supposed to be perfect!!!

[Rutilus]

Right, I've been away for a few days and decided that today was the day to send my SAR. However I have come back to find that the game has seen some rule changes.

 

I printed out my SAR and only when reading it back through did I notice that the 6 year stipulation was missing. On further investigation I found the thread alluding to the fact that we may now be able to claim beyond the original 6 year deadline.

 

So, opinions please folks, should I be going for the full monty? Or should I play it safe and just go for the 6 years for now?

 

I don't want to jeapordise my chances by going for the lot. It would seem that I will be one of the first people to be asking for the lot and as such there are no clear precedents.

 

I just want to get things moving now but don't know which way to jump for the best. There are a lot of what if's, but I will cross those bridges (hopefully with the assisstance of this site) if and when I come to them.

 

All and any advice appreciated.

 

Cheers, Rutilus.

[Parkvale]

Its your money that they unlawfully took from you.One of my claims i prat over the 6 years. They do take these sort of claims to the bitter end, but you will be able to claim a daily interest rate once you file at court. Their are alot of threads covering the limitations issues over 6 years. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/legalities/65306-forget-32-limitations-act-4.html. As far as jeapordising your charges going for the whole lot. The very worst scenario is they will not pay your pre 6years, but will pay your post 6 years. This site is gradually chipping away at the 6 year barrier and it would not surprise me that we find away around it. This will help your claim.http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/site-questions-suggestions/53182-cant-find-what-youre.html#post436526. Good luck.

[Rutilus]

Cheers, all input gratefully recieved.

 

I tend to be a bit of a pessimist so I am basically looking for assurances.

[Parkvale]

No probs. Ask away your confidence will soar as you progress.

[Rutilus]

So does anybody think that there is any value in making the claim for the 6 year deadline, playing things by ear, and going for the rest at a later date when things become more clear.

 

I am requesting my statements for as far back as I can, the account ran for about 10 years until I closed it recently.

 

I know this might seem negative, but I might wait and see just how big a difference there is between the six year claim and the whole claim.

 

I felt really confident about my course of action until coming back today to see the alterations with respect to the 6 year deadline.

 

I've taken the time to read through anything I think may be helpful but I'm just getting more unsure of the course of action to take.

 

Anyway my SAR has just gone so I guess it gives me upto 40 days to decide.

[Parkvale]

Deal or no deal. The choice is yours.

[Rutilus]

I am, by nature, the sort of person that likes to take chances. However on this I'm being unexplicably over cautious. Fear of the unknown?

 

I guess I will just have to wait for the statements to arrive and let the figures involved decide.

[Parkvale]

Fortune favours the brave.

[Rutilus]

After seeing Ripoffstoppers thread I don't know why I'm worrying about going back 10 years. Sod it lets go the whole hog, after all it's my money and it would seem that I'm entitled to all of it.

 

What have I got to lose? A tenner?

 

Small beans in comparison to the potential gains to be had.

[Parkvale]

. Onwards and upwards. Loads of help available on this great site. Good luck.

[Rutilus]

I beg your patience please, another question if you would be so kind to indulge me anybody.

 

What should I be saying by way of argument if the bank challenge my right to claim for more than the widely accepted 6 year period?

 

This whole claiming my money back process is a constant minefield of what if's.

 

Like I said, I was happy with the 6 year thing, it was a tried and tested method borne out by the successes of the users of this site. I can't help feeling that by claiming beyond it I am stepping into the unknown.

[bob m]

I`m in the same situation ruti`CMS have my account, the account is closed, and has been for a year. The only difference being the 25years I held the account (what a bonehead!). I have my SAR ready to post. I too have the same reservations as yourself, perhaps we should confer notes as we progress? To be honest I am dreading the time I do find out how much the horrors at NW have ripped me off in 25 years, I`m angry with myself for being such a pillock. Thank goodness the site has given us some chance!

[Rutilus]

Cheers for the input bob.

 

Its reassuring to know that I'm not the only one in this situation mate. I think your suggestion of keeping an eye on each others progress is a cracking idea, at least I won't feel as alone (christ I sound like a right pussy now don't I) and hopefully we will be able to help each other.

 

I don't envy you the task of sorting out 25 years worth of statements though fella, don't envy you at all.

 

And your not a pillock mate, irrespective of the bank you used, the way charges are made would be similar. The only difference would be that you would now be chasing after your money from another bank. We were all blissfully ignorant of what was happening, thats why so many of us are now in the position we are, trying to get back cash wrongfully taken from us over a number of years.

 

I'm lucky in a sense, used to get my cash in a wage packet once a week and as such never bothered with anything other than a savings account. It was only when I started a new job just over 10 years ago that I had to open an account to get my wages paid into, thats the only reason I'm not looking at going as far back as you are.

[Rutilus]

I have been thinking about this and was content only to look to reclaim the charges made under the thinly vieled title of 'unarranged borrowing fees.'

 

Having considered my situation over the years I have just remebered something that may hold a relevanve where my overdraft was concerned. I held a student account after going back to college following redundancy. This account was opened for the sole purpose of being a paying in point for my grant money and subsequent student loan.

 

While holding this account I was persuaded (ok I didn't take that much convincing) to take an overdraft of 1000 pounds as it would not incur any charges, being, as it was, a student account. I don't remember ever exceeding the limit but my issue arrises here.

 

When I started work again and opened my account into which my monthly wages would be paid, the bank, after a few months, contacted me to make an appointment. I duly did this and when I went in it was obviously to discuss my now redundant student account along with its fully utilised 1000 pound overdraft.

 

This seems perfectly normal, after all they were looking to get their money back in much the same way as we are now. The problem was I did not have 1000 pounds spare to pay off the overdraft thus enabling them to close the account. This is where they got me, they as good as forced me, through thinly veiled threats, to move the overdraft onto my recently opened current account. This negated my exemptions with respect to charges that I had held whilst the overdraft was on a student account.

 

Now to show my complete ignorance and naivety, what, if any, charges would I have started to incur when the overdraft was switched, and am I entitled to claim them back, if indeed there are any. Would these charges be proportional to the size of the overdraft (it got bigger in following years until I finally managed to pay it off and close the account) and what should I be looking for on my statements when they arrive.

 

I appreciate that this is a lot to ask but I want things clear in my mind before my statemants arrive so that I can try and be decisive over my ensuing claim(s). As previously stated, this whole claiming for more than 6 years has put everything up in the air again, and gotten me thinking even more deeply about my chosen course of actions.

[Parkvale]

I think Nattie is your man for this. He usually logs on anytime now. Good luck.

[Rutilus]

Cheers mate, will keep an eye out for him and try to get his much sought after attention.

[Parkvale]

No probs, Pleasure.

[Rutilus]

So, is there anybody, anybody at all who can shed a little further light on my situation? I'm starting to feel like a right numbskull.

 

I feel I need a little advice off somebody with experience of my particular issues.

[bob m]

Hi Ruti, Just a quickie, I tried the chatroom y`day I was told to use a S32 statute of limitations act 1980 to claim for the longer period, still investigating same.

[Guest NATTIE]

i am not good with long posts after a day at work but the basic question of claiming charges back is a yes. What other things were you considering?