I did take that on board Nattie- the problem now lies in the fact that natwest are offering full payment before action is taken, thus making it appear unreasonable to continue to court action, then insisting on paying the money into dormant accounts. This is the issue that it would be nice to see dealt with (I mean, legally, not by you personally of course!). Despite the fact we seem to fundamentally disagree on this point, I still value and appreciate the advice you have given me.

I probably wouldn't be nearly so annoyed if the refund made a serious dent in the debt. But as it doesn't, I really feel like i've been left with nothing to show for all this. I am hoping that as this is becoming so widespread, someone with a legal brain might be able to start looking into ways of challenging it. Too late for me, but I would like to know that other people could benefit.

Sounds like your situation is a bit different from mine, so you probably need advice from someone who knows about the law etc. I will keep an eye on this thread and wish you luck!

If money can still be paid into the account it doesn't count as being closed in the bank's eyes. I take it the account went to collections, as mine did, and you are paying the money back gradually? Believe me, I am looking all over the place right now to try and find a way round this but the bank have moved the goalposts and right now I don't see what we can do about it. As ever, those of us who didn't have much money to start with are being ripped off.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/61043-refund-offered-but-twist-2.html Sorry, it's disgusting and immoral but you are probably out of luck.

Well, i got a two line letter from higley today (ironically, my birthday) saying the money has to go back to the originating account (no explanation as to why, this is obviously a rule they just made up) and that he has already processed the refund and trusts I will be satisfied. Obviously I'm not, since a) I made it clear in my letter that my acceptance of the offer was contingent on them accepting my terms and b) it's not the whole amount so I should still have the option of furthering the claim. But I don't really see how I can now tell them to take the money back so i can carry on. In addition, if they are going to continue to insist on paying the money into an inaccessible account, presumably even if i did pursue the claim they would do so, and the final amount would include the court fees, so i would actually end up £80 worse off. In short, natwest definitely won this one. Since the amount repayed barely dents my debt, I am no better off materially, just had a lot of stress for no positive outcome. It also means that i don't have any money to donate to the site. Furious and disillusioned.

I am claiming for the last 6 years and not claiming interest because i don't trust my maths enough to calculate it. My overdraft is well over £540, which is why i don't want the money paid into it (it will make a very small dent and I really need the cash to be quite frank) but i'd prefer not to go any further into my affairs than that online- I hope everyone understands that. I didn't start this thread to ask for advice on my overall claim, just to find out whether anyone else was in my boat regarding refunds being paid into untouchable accounts and what, if anything, they did about. I actually claimed £500 of charges back last year, and got a cheque for that, so I know they can do it if they want. I will go and find the thread about that after posting this for reference. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/natwest-bank/29218-marksgirlie-natwest.html?highlight=marksgirlie There ya go. potless, you are quite right about getting the unpaid charges refunded but again that will not clear the account as I had a large (agreed) overdraft before everything went wrong. I will do it tho. I sincerely apologise if my post seems at all snippy- I am highly unamused as Stuart promised, via the call centre lady, to call me back 'within the next hour' at 3PM today. No call, and now the call centre number is cutting off after one ring and giving a number unobtainable tone (it's 5.15 right now). Even if they've closed for the day, it's hardly the most professional way to announce the fact. Well, the letter mentioned above went off on friday, so I will stick to dealing with them via mail in future.

No, because I never paid them in the first place.

As explained by me, yes I have paid these charges! I don't understand why people seem to think i haven't. My bank debt is utterly unrelated to any charges I am claiming. And as I am paying off the debt, albeit slowly, they can hardly justify their actions in my eyes. I am prepared to compromise by accepting a lower figure. They are niggling over just sending me a cheque. It's not me who is being unreasonable. And as they will have to repay the court fees as well as the extra £40 if i proceed, it simply makes it more unreasonable of them not to accept my wishes. There are obviously two distinct points of view here and neither of us can understand the other. As far as I am concerned, I am prepared to fight this and if I lose so be it. It is purely a matter of principle for me I'm afraid. I must admit, i think we, as a group, should be very wary of this behaviour by the banks, who are obviously trying to hang onto our money in any way they can think of now they have been so comprehensively slated in public. Anyway, i will keep posting as things develop. i do realise natty and gizmo that you may be right and i do appreciate all the points of view. btw, i have a guinea pig called gizmo, so we obviously have something in common:) PS I've edited my first post to try and make my position clearer, as I made the mistake of posting while still angry and stressed.

Sorry, i don't understand the last comment.

I am accepting- just on my terms. As they are not offering me the entire amount at this stage anyway, I still have plenty of leeway. Roosters comment was made on the assumption that the charges being refunded had never actually been paid, which was incorrect. This is all money that they have taken from me in the past and I would think I was entitled to have it refunded in whatever way I prefer. Hardly demanding gold ingots after all!

Someone with more knowledge will hopefully answer you, but it isn't something I would feel happy doing. Once they have a signature accepting the offer on their own official form, who knows what they'll do? Paranoid i know, but this latest turnaround is so fishy I'd rather be safe than sorry. I initially contacted the 0845 number on the letter and just got a call centre employee telling me they couldn't, under any circumstances, do anything except pay it into the account. That's why I took the route I did - no point arguing with someone who has no authority to help anyway! When (if) I get a call from Stuart Higley i will post the results here, though it may not be till monday now. If it's a negative, i will post when I get a reply to my letter, including any useful people and phone numbers I glean. According to the offer letter we have 8 weeks to contact them, so no need to do anything rash

Today i had 2 letters from natwest- one offering me £501 and related to my prelim letter of 4th dec, and an identical one offering £531 related to my LBA of 15th Jan (sent as there was no answer to the prelim before today). The actual amount i am claiming is £571. Unfortuanately I haven't yet accepted as they want to pay it back into my natwest account which i can no longer use (I have made another thread about this) so I may have to keep fighting. Still, it does look like a trend. Did anyone else's letter have a long paragraph about how they believe their charges are legit as they are service charges rather than penalties?

I have had a cheque from them before, when I made a previous claim, and that had my name on. At the end of the day, i have made it clear to them that I require the money in my hand, as it were, and I am prepared to fight them on that until the end of the claim. I realise I might not be successful, but I'm certainly not going to make it easy for them. Essentially, this move is just spite- 'you might make us give your money back, but we're darned if you're going to actually get to enjoy any of it!' Anyway, I spoke to Andy Sinden's PA, who spoke to Higley and he is supposed to be calling me back. i have sent the letter off too, so we'll just have to see what happens. Thanks for your post kenny99, it gives me some hope It is the completely unethical behaviour that has me steamed. Anyhow, as my husband pointed out- we are compromising by accepting a lower offer, so it's not unreasonable to expect them to compromise in return.

Right, I am going to send the following letter to give them a chance to play fair (oh, my old-fashioned English beliefs ). Dear Mr Higley, Thank you for your letter dated 22/01/07 ref1229827283. I am prepared to accept this offer if it is sent to me in the form of a cheque. As this money was certainly taken unlawfully, whether you agree with this interpretation or not, it would not be appropriate for it to be paid into my Natwest account, as I no longer have any faith in your institution. As this money was originally taken in cash, out of our wages and benefit payments, it is only appropriate that it be returned in the closest possible form to this. If you are unable to accept my terms, I will be obliged to proceed with my claim, in order to ensure that my money is paid directly to me and not simply re-absorbed into your system. I anticipate your reply with 14 days. If nothing else, it gives me 2 extra weeks to sort out the small claims fees and shows that I am not the one being unreasonable!