Weymouthuk -v- Nat West

[weymouthuk]

Well Folks

 

Here is where it all begins for me on 05th June 2007. I've known for some time that the charges were happening but when I checked a few days ago and discovered that in the past 30 days I have been charged £380, I decided enough was enough.

 

I am confident that 6 years worth of charges should add up quite nicely at an average of £38 a time. I've printed my Subject Access Request Letter so I guess all that remains is for me to let em have it!

 

Weymouthuk

[WendyB]

Welcome to the Nastywest forum Weymouth.

 

If you need any help and advice you're in the right place. Don't hold your breath waiting for the statemnets though - they could be some time!!

 

Wendy

[weymouthuk]

Hi Wendy, thanks for your message. Just reading previous threads on Natwest shows me that they can be a bit naughty. That said, I'm so annoyed with them that the time has come to take some action, and besides which, I could do with a nice holiday

 

They'll get their 40 days to send me the info. It may potentially help that a friend of mine is a solicitor so if no response to my first letter then hopefully my LBA letter on headed notepaper from the solicitors should encourage them to come round to my way of thinking. Actually I am quite happy to go to court if I have too.

[weymouthuk]

Subject Access Request letter sent 20/07/07.

 

Received letter 25/07/07 advising account overdraw £275.00 past limit (this £275 being charges they have piled on) and asked to cut up cards and return to the bank which to be honest I will gladly do as they will be very kindly paying my overdraft off for me.

 

I now await the printouts of my charges.

[WendyB]

You could ring up Collections and see if they'll come to some arrangement about the overdraft, at least that way you won't get any more overlimit fees added on, provided you keep to the arrangement. If you do this you've got to be sure you can stick to it, and don't let them browbeat you into payments you can't afford, or turnining it into a loan or something. They usually will give you 6 months to get below your limit.

You really need to get your printous/statements sharpish and get the Prelim sent. You might be lucky and get them soon...

[weymouthuk]

I would estimate that at least half of the overdraft is charges. I did think about arranging a repayment plan but then is it worth it when I'm claiming back the charges anyway? I reckon in the past four months alone I've suffered close to £600 in charges alone! This is really what spurs me on, they charge me on top of of the chrages they have already applied. They really are a bunch of bastards.

[WendyB]

Yes but in the meantime while you're waiting for your statements they'll keep charging you. It will be at least 8 weeks after you've sent your Prelim that they pay up, possibly longer if you file at Court.

[weymouthuk]

Hmm, good point, thanks Wendy. I'll contact them. I don't think this is a result of me asking for my records, the two issues have just met at the same time.

[weymouthuk]

Actually Wendy, perhaps you can answer a question for me. In the letters I'm sending out I'm giving Natwest 40 days or 14 days or x amount of days. Is this calendar days or working days?

[WendyB]

Proper days, as in calendar days.

[weymouthuk]

Wendy

 

Thanks again. You've become my guardian angel in this matter.

[weymouthuk]

Much as it pains me to do it, I need to write to my bank to make arrangements to pay off my overdraft. Can anybody point me in the direction of some text or a template letter I could use? I've totted up my charges and the bastards owe me at least £3k but I need to start paying the balance off in the meantime. Also, I understand that the debt is a secondary debt (according to Citizens Advice) so I would be in a good position to offer what I can best afford?

[weymouthuk]

'tis just a thought but, as my total charges exceed the figure of my overdraft, given that the banks don't have to pay out charges until the OFT case is decided, is it not only fair that people shouldn't have to pay back charges to the bank? Surely it's not right to have one rule for them and one for us?

 

I have started to repay my overdraft (reluctantly) and am hell bent on squeezing the money out of them. Does anybody know of any progress regarding the OFT -v- Banks case?

[WendyB]

You would think that would be fair, yes. But there's no such moratorium and we just have to keep paying the charges in the meantime. There's various links to the OFt test case on various sites if you need to read up on it. Due to be heard January/February I think. There's others far more knowleable than me, I haven't been around much recently, have been concentrating on the credit card side of things myself. No stays on credit card cases so they proceed as normal

[weymouthuk]

Ahh Wendy, good to hear from you again. Hope your OK. I have started repaying my overdraft. I got a default, then it went to debt collectors and then Natwest wrote back saying visit www.natwest.com/paybcard to set up an arrangement which I have now done. One disturbing thing was that I wrote a letter to Natwest and to the Debt Collection agency offering payment and neither letter (both sent Recorded) was acknowledged or replied too. Both letters ignored!! I'm relieved to be paying something back is it does show I'm holding my side of the bargain but man, am I ever fired up to get it all back.

[WendyB]

I'm fine thanks weymouth. Keep at it, I'm sure you'll get the re in the end:D. There is light at the end of the tunnel:)

[weymouthuk]

Yeah? Well I wish somebody would put a brighter bloody bulb in!

[weymouthuk]

Get this:

 

They've sent me a default notice so I wrote them a letter and sent it to them Recorded delivery offering them £75.00 a month to clear my overdraft. I received no response.

 

Then I get a letter from Natwests Debt Collection agency threatening all the usual stuff so I wrote another letter with the same offer, sent it Recorded delivery, received no response.

 

Then a further letter from Natwest, this time telling me to visit NatWest - Pay by card - Welcome to the Online Repayment Service and make payments against my balance that way. So I set up to pay £75.00 a month and the payment was taken from account. So I assumed all Okat.

 

Then today, a further letter from Natwest saying the amount is now due in full and failure to comply will lead to any of the following:

-Secure the debt against your property by way of a court order. Should a charge be obtained over your property, then we may take possession. (I rent so, good luck to em).

-Pass your debt to a firm of debt collectors (already been that route with them)

-Commence court action to secure payment from your employer direct from your income (I'm a temp so again, good luck to em)

-Apply for your bankruptcy/sequestration (what the hell is sequestration?)

 

Ive really now had enough of this regime of threatening letters. I've offered them what I can, in fact actually its more than I can comfortably afford and still they threaten me. What do I do?? Who do I write too and what do I say??

 

The T&C's from their 'Pay By Card' Site mentioned above are:

Terms and Conditions

 

Please allow up to 5 working days for payments to reach your account. Please note that interest and penalties may continue to accrue or be applied until the payment reaches the designated account. (Please ensure that you have sufficient funds in your account to meet the payment).

Please note that our acting on a single payment or recurring payment instruction received from you will not mean that we have agreed to accept that payment and/or future payments in place of your payment obligations to us as set out in the relevant contract between us or as may have been varied from time to time by written agreement. If you give us a recurring payment instruction which you wish us to accept as changing your agreed payment obligations, you must submit a request to your usual contact point and your request will be considered. You are free to end a recurring payment instruction at any time.

 

Can anybody point me in the right direction cos at the moment I'm tempted to right back and tell them that if they want to see me in court then I'll be there!

[weymouthuk]

I was thinking of sending them this, its only a draft but any pointers/advice would be much appreciated.

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

ACCOUNT:

SORT CODE:

I enclose various correspondence received from NatWest recently in relation the above account.

 

In response to the letter of (DATE) I wrote back to NatWest via Recorded delivery offering £75.00 per month to clear my overdraft. I received no response whatsoever to this letter. I know it was delivered and I know it was signed for but apparently, simply ignored.

 

In response to the letter of (DATE) I wrote back to the Debt Collection agency, again via Recorded delivery and again offering £75.00 per month to clear my overdraft. I received no response whatsoever to this letter. I know it was delivered and I know it was signed for but apparently, once again, simply ignored.

 

In response to the letter of (DATE) I visited the website NatWest - Pay by card - Welcome to the Online Repayment Service and arranged, on-line to pay NatWest £75.00 monthly. The amount was taken from my account, accepted and not returned.

 

And so to the latest letter (DATE) not only demanding the full amount but also again advising me to visit the same website I have already been to and already set up a payment plan along with a very succinct little Bullet Point list of threats for remedial action.

 

You will no doubt be aware of the current case in the High Courts which Royal Bank of Scotland have entered into along with other High Street Banks to ascertain the fairness of bank charges. Obviosuly NatWest are unsure of the fairness of these charges or RBS wouldn't have agreed to take part in this case. I urge you to look at the percentage of my existing overdraft that is made up of these charges. I also urge you to look back some 6 years and add the whole amount of charges and interest whereby you will see that, under the current state of the law on these charges, NatWest are in fact in debt to me and it is I who should be sending the threatening letters.

 

I am lodging a complaint with the Financial Ombudsmen as I believe this matter will be of interest to them. I will be enclosing this letter along with copies of your letters and a full explanation of how I have been ignored & threatened.

 

I am also declaring to you formally that I have now had enough of this regime of threatening letters and I am writing today to tell you that I find your conduct unacceptable, unprofessional and I am formally asking you to stop this immediately. I have offered £75.00 per month which is more than I can comfortably afford but I am eager to pay off the overdraft. This is my final offer in the matter. If this is not acceptable by NatWest then I will gladly hand my collection of letters along with the facts of my own experiences detailed above over to a Judge if this matter should go to court.

 

I have made several attempts to settle this matter amicably, which you yourselves are bound by law to do. Your letters and conduct in this matter fly in the face of this law and I therefore believe you to be guilty of breaking the law on this matter. In addition you have applied charges upon charges to my account, all of which are unlawful and so again, I believe you to be guilty of breaking the law in this matter also.

 

I have broken no laws by having a debt, by responding to your letters promptly and by setting up a regular payment with yourselves.

 

Yours sincerely

[WendyB]

And have you tried talking to Collections?

 

I like the letter but not sure whether I'd send it or not. Dunno if I'd have the bottle lol. I've got a fax number for Birmingham collections if you want it though.

 

Sorry I'm not much help today, someone will be along shortly with a better opinion than me, I'm sure.

[weymouthuk]

Do you thinks its too much Wendy? I'm really just at the end of my tether with these people now. I draw the line when it starts to make me feel ill opening these letters. Surely it's not right? I do want to put my point across as forcefully as possile because I really do mean business with them. I'm quite happy for this to go to a CCJ if it has too because I know that any judge is going to look at my income and conclude that £75.00 per month is actually more than I can afford.

[WendyB]

Not exactly too much, just might need tweaking a little. I was lucky cos never had to go down the court route with Natwest, got my money before the test case. And I've just sent a snotty letter to Citi, so who am I to be the pot calling the kettle lol. Its easy to give advice when I'm not the one on the receiving end. If it was me, I'd definiteley ring Collections, give them a potted version of events, and see what happens. Get the full name of who you speak to. Make sure they put the notes on your account while youre on the line, then fax them a letter summarising what you've discussed, incorporating your first letter. If you get no joy, then send the first letter anyway. If my boss goes out this afternoon I'll get back to you if I can, but dead busy cos its the end of the month.

[weymouthuk]

Hi Wendy

 

Thanks again for your guidance. A tweaked version would be a great help but of course I understand your busy.

 

Thanks

Carl.

[WendyB]

still up to my ears but will try and have a look over the weekend. No chance tonight, I'm off to a Northern Soul gig.

[weymouthuk]

Northern Soul? Im a DJ myself, I play Indie, Mod and hey, Northern Soul too!!