Easy peasy or see you in court?

[brett48]

Hello NatWesters

 

Following an arduous but ultimately successful campaign battling the biggies of my banking/credit card past, it's time to turn my sights on the comparatively smaller fry of banking present in the shape of our old friend NatWest.

They welcomed me with open arms when I opened a shiny new account last year but naturally the honeymoon period was short lived and they soon found another way to slap hefty charges on my account at every conceivable opportuity.

Before I don my natty claims suit once more and head out west to do battle with the boys in red and blue, I would welcome any comments and advice from anybody who is still stuck in a claim or is flushed with the success of a full settlement. In particular :

 

Do they normally cave in full at the first sight of a prelim or is it a case of no way Jose standard rejections all the way to court?

 

Are their telephones manned by cheeky chappies eager to thrust a large credit into your account or clueless temps/disembodied voices from distant shores chanting the company mantra 'We will respond in 4 weeks'

 

Is their administration in meltdown, groaning under a vast backlog of claims, or have they thrown in some extra resources to give them a slim hope of meeting SAR,prelim,LBA deadlines?

 

Are they prone to close your account at the drop of a charge? This is a significant factor in my case as my credit rating is a few default notices short of an A* rating, making opening a parachute account a little tricky.

 

Thanks in advance for your comments, answers, experiences etc.

 

Brett

[steven4064]

Do they normally cave in full at the first sight of a prelim or is it a case of no way Jose standard rejections all the way to court?

No chance, all the wayto court (if you are claiming interest, anyway)

 

Are their telephones manned by cheeky chappies eager to thrust a large credit into your account or clueless temps/disembodied voices from distant shores chanting the company mantra 'We will respond in 4 weeks'

The latter, except in NatWest case it is 6-7 weeks

 

Is their administration in meltdown, groaning under a vast backlog of claims, or have they thrown in some extra resources to give them a slim hope of meeting S.A.R - (Subject Access Request),prelim,LBA deadlines?

Meltdone. I'm afraid

 

Are they prone to close your account at the drop of a charge? This is a significant factor in my case as my credit rating is a few default notices short of an A* rating, making opening a parachute account a little tricky.

NatWest are not known for closing accounts but they have come up with a novel idea - they try and persuade you to open a new sort of account (forget the name) where you pay the £10/month and they promise onoy to slap £17 penalties on you instaed of £38

[brett48]

Thanks Steven

My worst fears were confirmed and it looks like I'm in it for the long haul.

Let battle commence ....

I've fired the first prelim salvo off to Borehamwood towers and I've got the LBA ready for when they inevitably do not respond in 14 days

 

Brett

[steven4064]

I've got the LBA ready for when they inevitably do not respond in 14 days

You're learning fast!!

[em_19uk]

hi brett although 9 times out of 10 court is the case, natwest offered my full charges back after my LBA although i must say it was well past the deadline of 14 days as i didnt have the money to file the claim. so good luck

[phill123]

you forgot as well once the claim is settled in my case it took me four month then it took them an other month to paid your money back the into the account of your choice oh natwest an other way ..... nopw i am in my second claim and they close my account without notice .....

[brett48]

Hi Em

 

I might also be tempted to hang in there after LBA as the reason such a high percentage of cases go to court could be mainly down to the 6-8 week response. I did the same on my second Halifax claim, like you I had no funds to file, and it worked with a belated full settlement. The only downside is that you miss out on the 8% interest which can be quite chunky if the majority of the claim goes back a few years.

 

Hi Phill

You are getting me worried! Are you on a regular account or advantage gold?

It's funny how banks are really slow when it comes to coughing up the readies. Halifax also took a month after the offer date on both my claims to send me a cheque/credit my account.

[brett48]

As expected, received standard 'respond in 6 - 7 weeks' so LBA is on it's way .....

[the-miser]

Hi Brett, Miser here,

 

I have a case in court with Natwest, and have just received a letter with an offer, (short off course) , but it is worth taking into consideration that with the OFT test CASE, Natwest are asking for all court cases to be stayed..

 

see the natwest website here here

 

Off course the local judges may not allow natwests aplication for a stay but they have a pretty good argument.

 

You should still go ahead with your claim, so that when the jugment finally comes from the test case ( which could be as much as a year from now)

your cliam will be top of the list. But just don't expect a quick ruling on the matter.

 

Hope this helps,

 

I have started a new thread to see how many people are successfull in removing a stay of judgement. Might be worth to see what reactions that gets.

 

Good Luck!!