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Had a small dispute with Natwest some time ago and after they refunded the princely sum of £38 told them I was closing account.
Anyway I was busy at the time and forgot, and guess what, they charged me, to the tune of £230 odd, so off went this letter
Account No:
Dear Sir/Madam
This is to confirm that I have received your most recent threatening letter, regarding this account. Your points have been noted and I will address them in this letter.
Whilst I received a letter from yourselves on 27th March 2007 indicating the account was overdrawn by £119.02, I find this rather surprising as I don’t have an overdraft facility with this account so there must be a mistake or you have again been misappropriating funds from this account to swell your profits.
No warning has been given as to the plundering of this account, i.e.: failed D/D or standing orders, yet you have seen fit to remove money from this account without my permission.
To my surprise, in your letter dated 3rd April 2007, a mere 7 days later it seems someone has again helped themselves to money from this account, taking it to £233.02 overdrawn.
Now I know that I have never given permission to anyone I know to use this account so can only assume that again you have helped yourselves to prop up your pension scheme or similar without telling me.
Forgive me if you feel the tone of this letter is rather cynical, but, it is meant to be. Having already applied unlawful charges to this account you then have the audacity to imply that you will default me too. This I will vigorously defend, in a Court if need be, as the amounts on this account are made up of entirely unlawful charges.
As you have seen fit to use my account more than myself, I enclose my only card with this letter, albeit in two, so that you can have exclusive use of this account.
As of the last time I looked at this account I believe there was the amount of £90.98 which of course was my money.
I request that this is returned within the next 7 days by way of cheque payable to Mr Morgan, along with confirmation that no default has been registered for this account.
Failure to comply will result in a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which, I believe, will incur you with further costs. A complaint to the Office of Fair Trading as to your fitness to hold a Consumer License and a Complaint to the Information Commissioners Office with regards to unlawful registering of Data.
I trust that you will take this matter very seriously and address these points I have raised, and look forward to your reply.
Well I got a result without the need for court action, so off the acceptance letter went, last week actually, so was a bit surprised to see their NEW revamped version, below. which I received today, anyone had one yet??
I've posted it because I cant seem to get the attachments working.. oops
Please quote our reference:
Private & Confidential
Mr Morgan
NatWest
Customer Response Services Unit
The Cornerstone
60 South Gyle Crescent
South Gyle Park
Edinburgh
EH129WF
Direct Dial Number: 0845 3030 456 From outside the UK: 44 131 549 8741
03-Aug-2007
Dear Mr Morgan
We refer to your complaint about bank charges. We wrote to you recently making you a goodwill offer in full and final settlement of your complaint about these charges.
We believe the charges are fair, transparent and lawful.
Since we last wrote to you, the bank (and several other banks) became involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") about bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues on the fairness and legality of your bank charges.
We have asked the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.
However, the goodwill offer the bank made to you still stands and you can accept or reject this offer. If you decide to take up this offer, you must contact us within 2 months from the date of this letter. You should be aware that if you accept this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of your complaint. This means that it is unlikely you would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicated that you could be entitled to a potentially larger amount. Though this does not preclude you asking for repayment of any future charges if the court finds they are unlawful.
If we do not hear from you within the specified 2 months, we will assume that you have decided to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT. This means that the bank's offer will expire (i.e. can no longer be accepted by you) and we will reconsider your complaint once the test case is resolved. We can assure you (in that instance) we have registered and stored your complaint.
Please retain your bank records, as this will make it easier for you to support your complaint on resolution of the test case.
Once the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks finish, we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles. This may produce a larger or smaller figure when compared with the current offer.
We are sorry that we have not been able to respond in full to your complaint now, but we (together with the FSA and the OFT) think that it is necessary to resolve the key legal issues before we decide how we should respond to your complaint.
Obviously exactly what will happen next will depend on the courts. We do not know how long the case will take - we have promised to proceed as quickly as possible but inevitably given the importance of the issues being considered this may take many months to finally resolve. But we can assure you that once the legal proceedings are completed we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. If at that stage you do not agree with our conclusions you will of course be able to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") (or to the courts).
Given this court case we have asked both the FOS and the courts not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. FOS has indicated that as a general proposition it will indeed not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.
Similarly, you should be aware that if you choose to issue a claim in the County Courts, "the Master of the Rolls" (in England & Wales) or "The Lord Chief Justice" (in Northern Ireland) has, at our request, issued a notification to the County Courts suggesting they stay proceedings about bank charges until resolution of the banks' proceedings with the OFT. Alternatively the bank will immediately apply to the Court for an order to stay your action until resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.
We will keep you updated appropriately about the proceedings with the OFT. You can also check the latest position on our website at http://www.natwest.com/overdraftcharqesupdate.
The FSA requires us to ensure that any bank charge complaint will not be adversely affected by the delay in dealing with it. For customers for whom Scotland is the most likely jurisdiction: In particular, your right to refer your complaint to the FOS will not be affected. The FOS provides a convenient alternative to the courts, and is free for consumers. However, if you nonetheless wish to continue your claim through the courts in Scotland, you may wish to seek advice on filing a claim now to protect your rights in prescription although you will have to pay a fee.
If you have any further questions or would like an update on the latest position regarding proceedings please check our website http://www.natwest.com/overdraftcharqesupdateor call us on 0845 3030 456. Lines are open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday or 9.00am - 1.00pm Saturday.
Stuart Higley Customer Relations
And their acceptance form
Please complete and return to the following address
NatWest
Customer Response Services Unit
The Cornerstone
60 South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH129WF
Please note faxed responses will not be accepted Re:
Mr Morgan
Date of offer: 03-Aug-2007
Acceptance of Goodwill Offer of £90.98
This offer remains open for 60 days.
Please tick BOX 1 or BOX 2 below and sign, print your name(s) and write the date where indicated underneath:
I/We accept your goodwill offer in full and final settlement of my/our complaint.
BOX 1 |/We am/are aware that in accepting this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of my/our complaint. I understand that this means that it is unlikely that I/we would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicates that I/we could be entitled to a potentially larger amount.
BOX 2
I/We choose to decline your goodwill offer and wish to register our complaint as outstanding.
I/We understand that my complaint will not be progressed until the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks have finished. At this point, you will resolve my/our complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles.
Signed:
Name: Date:
For joint accounts only Signed:
Name: Date:
They Have backdated this offer to the 3rd, which I already accepted, so does this mean i should send this one as well?? also it looks very much like another scare tactic to put people off to me, but hey what do I know
Anyway I was busy at the time and forgot, and guess what, they charged me, to the tune of £230 odd, so off went this letter
Account No:
Dear Sir/Madam
This is to confirm that I have received your most recent threatening letter, regarding this account. Your points have been noted and I will address them in this letter.
Whilst I received a letter from yourselves on 27th March 2007 indicating the account was overdrawn by £119.02, I find this rather surprising as I don’t have an overdraft facility with this account so there must be a mistake or you have again been misappropriating funds from this account to swell your profits.
No warning has been given as to the plundering of this account, i.e.: failed D/D or standing orders, yet you have seen fit to remove money from this account without my permission.
To my surprise, in your letter dated 3rd April 2007, a mere 7 days later it seems someone has again helped themselves to money from this account, taking it to £233.02 overdrawn.
Now I know that I have never given permission to anyone I know to use this account so can only assume that again you have helped yourselves to prop up your pension scheme or similar without telling me.
Forgive me if you feel the tone of this letter is rather cynical, but, it is meant to be. Having already applied unlawful charges to this account you then have the audacity to imply that you will default me too. This I will vigorously defend, in a Court if need be, as the amounts on this account are made up of entirely unlawful charges.
As you have seen fit to use my account more than myself, I enclose my only card with this letter, albeit in two, so that you can have exclusive use of this account.
As of the last time I looked at this account I believe there was the amount of £90.98 which of course was my money.
I request that this is returned within the next 7 days by way of cheque payable to Mr Morgan, along with confirmation that no default has been registered for this account.
Failure to comply will result in a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which, I believe, will incur you with further costs. A complaint to the Office of Fair Trading as to your fitness to hold a Consumer License and a Complaint to the Information Commissioners Office with regards to unlawful registering of Data.
I trust that you will take this matter very seriously and address these points I have raised, and look forward to your reply.
Well I got a result without the need for court action, so off the acceptance letter went, last week actually, so was a bit surprised to see their NEW revamped version, below. which I received today, anyone had one yet??
I've posted it because I cant seem to get the attachments working.. oops
Please quote our reference:
Private & Confidential
Mr Morgan
NatWest
Customer Response Services Unit
The Cornerstone
60 South Gyle Crescent
South Gyle Park
Edinburgh
EH129WF
Direct Dial Number: 0845 3030 456 From outside the UK: 44 131 549 8741
03-Aug-2007
Dear Mr Morgan
We refer to your complaint about bank charges. We wrote to you recently making you a goodwill offer in full and final settlement of your complaint about these charges.
We believe the charges are fair, transparent and lawful.
Since we last wrote to you, the bank (and several other banks) became involved in legal proceedings with the Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") about bank charges which we believe will resolve the legal issues on the fairness and legality of your bank charges.
We have asked the Financial Services Authority ("FSA") to suspend the normal timetable for dealing with bank charges complaints, and the FSA has agreed to this request subject to conditions that protect your rights.
However, the goodwill offer the bank made to you still stands and you can accept or reject this offer. If you decide to take up this offer, you must contact us within 2 months from the date of this letter. You should be aware that if you accept this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of your complaint. This means that it is unlikely you would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicated that you could be entitled to a potentially larger amount. Though this does not preclude you asking for repayment of any future charges if the court finds they are unlawful.
If we do not hear from you within the specified 2 months, we will assume that you have decided to reject this offer and await the outcome of the legal proceedings with the OFT. This means that the bank's offer will expire (i.e. can no longer be accepted by you) and we will reconsider your complaint once the test case is resolved. We can assure you (in that instance) we have registered and stored your complaint.
Please retain your bank records, as this will make it easier for you to support your complaint on resolution of the test case.
Once the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks finish, we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles. This may produce a larger or smaller figure when compared with the current offer.
We are sorry that we have not been able to respond in full to your complaint now, but we (together with the FSA and the OFT) think that it is necessary to resolve the key legal issues before we decide how we should respond to your complaint.
Obviously exactly what will happen next will depend on the courts. We do not know how long the case will take - we have promised to proceed as quickly as possible but inevitably given the importance of the issues being considered this may take many months to finally resolve. But we can assure you that once the legal proceedings are completed we will resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. If at that stage you do not agree with our conclusions you will of course be able to refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") (or to the courts).
Given this court case we have asked both the FOS and the courts not to proceed with any other case they are hearing until the test case is resolved. FOS has indicated that as a general proposition it will indeed not proceed with cases which rely on the legal issues being considered in the test case.
Similarly, you should be aware that if you choose to issue a claim in the County Courts, "the Master of the Rolls" (in England & Wales) or "The Lord Chief Justice" (in Northern Ireland) has, at our request, issued a notification to the County Courts suggesting they stay proceedings about bank charges until resolution of the banks' proceedings with the OFT. Alternatively the bank will immediately apply to the Court for an order to stay your action until resolution of the bank's proceedings with the OFT.
We will keep you updated appropriately about the proceedings with the OFT. You can also check the latest position on our website at http://www.natwest.com/overdraftcharqesupdate.
The FSA requires us to ensure that any bank charge complaint will not be adversely affected by the delay in dealing with it. For customers for whom Scotland is the most likely jurisdiction: In particular, your right to refer your complaint to the FOS will not be affected. The FOS provides a convenient alternative to the courts, and is free for consumers. However, if you nonetheless wish to continue your claim through the courts in Scotland, you may wish to seek advice on filing a claim now to protect your rights in prescription although you will have to pay a fee.
If you have any further questions or would like an update on the latest position regarding proceedings please check our website http://www.natwest.com/overdraftcharqesupdateor call us on 0845 3030 456. Lines are open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday or 9.00am - 1.00pm Saturday.
Stuart Higley Customer Relations
And their acceptance form
Please complete and return to the following address
NatWest
Customer Response Services Unit
The Cornerstone
60 South Gyle Crescent
Edinburgh
EH129WF
Please note faxed responses will not be accepted Re:
Mr Morgan
Date of offer: 03-Aug-2007
Acceptance of Goodwill Offer of £90.98
This offer remains open for 60 days.
Please tick BOX 1 or BOX 2 below and sign, print your name(s) and write the date where indicated underneath:
I/We accept your goodwill offer in full and final settlement of my/our complaint.
BOX 1 |/We am/are aware that in accepting this offer, this will be in "full and final" settlement of my/our complaint. I understand that this means that it is unlikely that I/we would be awarded a further sum even if the test case indicates that I/we could be entitled to a potentially larger amount.
BOX 2
I/We choose to decline your goodwill offer and wish to register our complaint as outstanding.
I/We understand that my complaint will not be progressed until the legal proceedings between the OFT and the banks have finished. At this point, you will resolve my/our complaint as quickly as possible and apply the (test case) principles.
Signed:
Name: Date:
For joint accounts only Signed:
Name: Date:
They Have backdated this offer to the 3rd, which I already accepted, so does this mean i should send this one as well?? also it looks very much like another scare tactic to put people off to me, but hey what do I know
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