* SUCCESS * Strugglingmum v Natwest ** PAID !!!!

**WendyB** · 3rd March 2009, 22:30:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Hi and welcome to Beagles.

As you have now sent them your bills etc, it means at least they are looking at your case. Have they given you a timescale of when they will be coming back to you with a decision?

Might be as well to have a thread in the hardship section, a team member will probably set one up for you, or move this one to there.

**strugglingmum** · 3rd March 2009, 22:37:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Hi and thanks for the welcome! Maybe someone could move this for me, Im not too sure with my way about the site just yet!

In answer to your question, I didn't get given a timescale although when I rang to confirm they'd received my fax i was told 'will be dealt with when they get to it' ... not a great help :-(

**WendyB** · 3rd March 2009, 22:50:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Originally posted by strugglingmum View Post

In answer to your question, I didn't get given a timescale although when I rang to confirm they'd received my fax i was told 'will be dealt with when they get to it' ... not a great help :-(

Well that's Natwest all over. They don't seem to be much good with hardship cases, although Archer has has success with them recently. Perhaps they are finally getting their bums into gear. Did you point out to them underwhat terms of the waiver you were claiming hardship? Might be worth posting your letter on here, so we know what you told them and can see if there's anything more that can be done. (if you do scan onto here make sure you remove personal details first)

Will probably just have to wait and see what they come back with, but no doubt someone else will be along to advise, if not tonight then tomorrow.

**TANZARELLI** · 3rd March 2009, 22:51:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Welcome to LegalBeagles strugglingmum.

Its better to start a thread in the hardship forum where you will get more help. At least you have got the ball rolling and taken the first steps which is great news.

There are plenty of peep on here in similar situations as yourself and who are also going through the process so your in good hands so to speak.

**Paule** · 3rd March 2009, 22:54:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Thread moved to hardship forum &
title changed

PKea

**strugglingmum** · 3rd March 2009, 22:56:PM

Re: Hello and Help!!

Originally posted by PKea View Post

Thread moved to hardship forum &
title changed

PKea

Hi and thankyou, now I've just got to find it! ;-)

**WendyB** · 3rd March 2009, 22:56:PM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

This is it, look no further lol.

**strugglingmum** · 3rd March 2009, 23:02:PM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Originally posted by WendyB View Post

This is it, look no further lol.

Ooops! Thankyou!
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

Originally posted by WendyB View Post

Well that's Natwest all over. They don't seem to be much good with hardship cases, although Archer has has success with them recently. Perhaps they are finally getting their bums into gear. Did you point out to them underwhat terms of the waiver you were claiming hardship? Might be worth posting your letter on here, so we know what you told them and can see if there's anything more that can be done. (if you do scan onto here make sure you remove personal details first)

Will probably just have to wait and see what they come back with, but no doubt someone else will be along to advise, if not tonight then tomorrow.

Yes I re-sent the terms of my claim with my fax today, rather hastily, but expressed how invasive I felt it to have to provide them with all my personal/domestic bills as I had clearly proved my positon to claim under the waiver by having constant dd's bounced/more then over £500 of charges within a year/reliant on means tested benefits and also a change to personal circumstances which I had already confirmed to them in my original claim and when filling in the statement of finances for them.

**Mochamoo** · 3rd March 2009, 23:21:PM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Hiya,

Did you fill out an income and expenditure form when you sent your stuff to the bank?
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ead.php?t=5102
Here are the guidelines for monetary amounts on i&e http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=10449

All cases are individual so we dont have any template letters for hardship but it might be worth your while looking through other hardship claims and seeing what others have written to the bank.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=15215
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=14882

When did you first contact the bank about hardship?

Below are the definitions of financial hardship as suggested by the FSA in the updated Waiver.

If you meet ALL or even ANY of these criteria then your Bank will have to be SYMPATHETIC and POSITIVE when considering these difficulties.

1. The firm will be sympathetic and positive when considering any financial difficulties claimed by the complainant. Firms will not subject a complainant to harassment or undue pressure when discussing their problems.

2. In making an assessment of financial difficulty the firm will take into account:

a. evidence of changes in lifestyle, including loss of employment; disability; serious illness; imprisonment; relationship breakdown; death of a partner; starting a lower paid job; parental/carer leave; and starting full-time education;

b. evidence of the following events:

i. items repeatedly being returned unpaid due to lack of available funds;
ii. failing to make loan repayments or other commitments;
iii. discontinuation of regular credits;
iv. notification of some form of insolvency or court proceedings;
v. regular requests for increased borrowing or repeated rescheduling of debts;
vi. making frequent cash withdrawals on a credit card at a non-promotional rate of interest; and
vii. repeatedly exceeding a credit card or overdraft limit without agreement (and, in this regard, where a complainant has incurred over £500 in unauthorised overdraft charges in the previous 12 months, that is to be treated as indicative of financial difficulty).

3. If during the handling of the complaint the firm becomes aware (including by notification from the complainant) that the complainant may be in, or heading towards financial difficulties, the firm will contact the complainant to outline their approach to financial difficulty cases and to encourage the customer to contact the firm if the customer is worried about their position. The firm will also provide signposts to sources of free, independent money advice.

4. The firm will make available to complainants straightforward information in plain English on the firm’s procedures and systems for dealing with customers in financial difficulty.

5. If it becomes clear to the firm that the complainant needs specialist assistance, the complainant will be referred promptly to a specialist team that deals with customers in financial difficulties, if one exists. The firm will give a phone number on all communications that will put the customer in contact with a named person or a team dedicated to dealing with cases of financial difficulty.

6. Where the firm does not have sufficient evidence to assess whether or not the complainant is in fact in financial difficulty, the firm will seek such further relevant information as is reasonably required to make that assessment. In the event that the firm reasonably requires relevant information to be provided by the complainant and the complainant does not provide the requested information within a reasonable period of time, the firm shall not be obliged to treat such a complainant as being in financial difficulty.

If you have a stayed County Court claim then contact your Bank by phone, email or letter and see if they are willing to discuss and settle your Claim on the basis of your financial hardship. If you have a stayed claim then on the written defence you should find a contact name and telephone number for the person in the Bank's legal department who is dealing with your claim and they would be useful first point of contact for you.

If you are starting a new claim and are in financial hardship then please see the following guide to starting a new claim on hardship grounds. How to start a new claim on hardship grounds

You have nothing to lose by doing this as the FSA Waiver states :-

(16) if the firm attempts to resolve a relevant charges complaint after 27 July 2007:
(a) the firm must not seek agreement from the complainant that the resolution is in full and final settlement of the matter;
(b) in relation to such complaints, if the outcome of the test case produces a result that is more favourable to the complainant, the firm must take all reasonable steps to pay any difference in the amount of compensation actually received by the complainant and that that the complainant would have been entitled if his claim has not been settled by the firm then; and
(c) the firm must explain the implications of its approach and commitment;

also.......................

(15) to the extent that sums are ultimately to be paid to complainants in respect of relevant charges complaints that have been stayed, the firm must include in these sums an element of compensation in respect of interest charged to or lost by the customer as a result of being out of money during the stay period;

**strugglingmum** · 3rd March 2009, 23:46:PM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Hi and thankyou, i have been reading the guidelines for sometime about claiming under financial hardship and followed every procedure above. My claim was put in at the beginning of January, I got financial statement forms back at the beginning of February and filled them in and sent them back recorded delivery, I fullfil all the requirements for claiming under the hardship waiver my biggest issue being Im on minimum income and live on the least Im told I should be able to (work full time) but have tax credit to help beacuse my income stills falls under what is classed as survivable. I seperated from my husband last year, took on a house with my kids on my own and could just (just) about manage.
The company i worked for went into administration and I lost a months salary, also had no notice and still managed to pick myself up from that. Then my CSA payments suddenly stopped and I incurred charge after charge which just snowballed and meant money I had to pay bills with was just eaten up by charges. I started a new job in January but as I say Im on minimum wage and work 32 hours a week with two teenage boys (16 and 13) .. literally the debt I'm in wouldn't have happened if I hadnt been charged in the last 6 months, if my charges were returned I could pay every bill. I dont smoke, dont drink, dont spend a penny on myself and shop on the tightest budget just so I can survive and because of these charges I no longer can and theres just nothing else I can cut down on. Im just praying the Natwest actually respond now I've faxed all my threatening debt letters over to them!

**Tools** · 4th March 2009, 01:22:AM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Welcome Beagles, you are in the right place to get help re-hardship.

You say you resent having to go through your income/expenditure with Natwest but unfortunately this is something that HAS to be done in order for you to be correctly assessed for financial hardship under the waiver terms.

supply them with as much information as they need it will help speed up the process. The time they are allowed to reach a decision is approximately 8 weeks but you need to be proactive in chasing them up. Once a week is sufficient, even if it is a quick telephone call to ask what stage your complaint is at.

Is there any reason the CSA payments have stopped and have you chased this up with them, if not you should. If they are in error and have caused you to incur bank charges you also need to inform them of this and seek refund from the CSA for these.

If you can manage to move your income to be paid into a different account such as a basic account or post office account then that will stop Natwest taking any more charges from your money. Just make sure you cancel your DD's and make alternative arrangements to pay your suppliers.

Your main concern is to ensure payment to your priority creditors such as your landlord, council tax and basic living expenses such as food etc. , your non essential debts such as utilty bills can be dealt with secondarily. Contact your suppliers and explain your circumstances, any arrears can be paid off with a repayment proposal. They will be fairly understanding if you explain to them. The worst thing to do is ignore it and hope it will go away, it won't. The quicker you can make repayment proposals the better and you WILL get back on your feet.

If there is any help you need in sorting out other debts don't hesitate to let us know, everyone here has been through similar and will help you as much as possible.

**TUTTSI** · 4th March 2009, 07:32:AM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Hi Strugling Mum,

A very warm welcome to Legal Beagles. We have had quite a lot sucesses on this site for hardship claims.

You have had some excellent advice on your thread so far.

We have found that if the claim is well packaged it will be dealt with more speedily. The important thing here is you need to send them all your evidences which confirms your hardship for them to be able to approve your claim together with a letter explaining why you fall under the FSA waiver rules for hardship and what caused your circumstances to change. You have done brilliantly so far...... so now you need to take it to the next stage.

Evidences, can be any documents showing arrears ie Rent/Mortgage, Council Tax, Utilities, any court document and have you got any documentation on why your CSA payment was stopped. In fact anything which fully explains your situation fully will help you ginormously.

I know how you feel that you do not think it neccessary but I want to assure you that they will not consider your claim unless they have all the facts.

All the best

xx

ps If you are working part time do you qualify for working and child tax credits! https://www.taxcredits.inlandrevenue...axCredits.aspx

**strugglingmum** · 4th March 2009, 10:32:AM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

Hi and thanks for all the warm welcomes! In answer to the last question, yes I receive tax credits as although I am working (it's pretty much full time) my income is very low. I've made sure the Natwest have now got all my debt notices etc so will just follow up at the end of the week to see if they've made any decision, considering it's past 8 weeks since I originally made the hardship claim by then.

Thanks again everyone.

Edit: just to say my CSA payments stopped because my ex decided to go self employed thus creating nil income, although the CSA took their time to inform me.

**natweststaffmember** · 4th March 2009, 11:08:AM

Re: Strugglingmum v Natwest

I guess I joined the party late so a Warm Welcome to Legal beagles. cannot offer further advice for now cos everyone else has beaten me to it

* SUCCESS * Strugglingmum v Natwest ** PAID !!!!