Just got off the phone with a chap ringing from the recovery department of Nationwide who's question was why am I not paying any of the overdraft off. I have already sent the LBA letter and had difficulty getting the money together to take the next step through the court. They gave me all the standard responses to the initial letters and I have opened a Natwest step account, into which my salary is paid with no problem. My claim is for £2400 of charges and interest. After a long period of silence, they have now said I can either pay £200.00 off per month or they will settle in full for £1080 i.e. half the amount I am currently overdrawn by. I explained that I was in the process of taking them to court and that would be done within the next two weeks. After quite a heated discussion I maintained that that was the avenue I was taking, as I had no other option!! Tonight they have passed my file to an external debt collection agency. What do I do?? Do I carry on with the court claim against Nationwide or am I to wait for the external agency to get in contact with me?

Will start the court process, but need to get the money together first. Should be in the next week or so. So good to know the support is there!!;-)

I have sent the preliminary letter to the relevant party and have had the standard response. I then sent the LBA giving them the standard 14 days. End of the 14 days was on Monday 19 June 2006. I have only just had a response from member relations manager Helen Savage which reads: "Your complaint has been sent to me by Tina Hiscocks, Team Manager, Member Account Servicing. I've only just received the papers and will be reviewing them as soon as possible. Once I haved finished, I'll write to you with my findings. The Financial Services Authority allows us 8 weeks to investigate before you have the right to ask the Financial Ombudsman to review your case. This ends on the 19 July 2006. If for any reason we can't send a full response by then, we'll write and explain why." Do I plough ahead and issue the court summons anyway? 14 days is most definately up and I have carried out everything suggested, to the letter. Following telephone conversations, when I could get through, it appears that most of the employees are sympathetic and against the charges! I was completely stuffed when an unscrupulous employer failed to pay me on time. Charges were applied and my £1000 overdraft very quickly became a £2400 reducing overdraft, which now stands at £1930, going in the right direction!! What really annoys me is that despite having explained every movement in and out of my account and probably having spent well in excess of £100 in telephone calls, "The computer says NO!" The human face of banking has disappeared completely. I have activately a parachute account and am having my salary paid into that one now. If it weren't for the charges, I would be in credit now and staying there, having changed employer and payment method. But I suppose we all would!! Good luck everyone, may the Force be with you!!!!!

Not being funny, but they charged me over £800 in one month! My wife has a maximum on her account with HSBC of £100.00 in charges. They are absolute B*****ds. Every sympathy with you. You have to live and put food on the table! There is no human side to banking any more, only something that rhymes with it!!!