@natwest_help Nat West Bank's Unfair Treatment Of a Customer?

[luckyjim99]

I am new to this site and I will be very pleased if anyone has the time to read about our problem and advise us on how to get Nat West to reply to an escalated complaint and refund my wife's money.

 

The bonus interest rate on my wife's e-Savings account with Nat West was coming to an end and she rang Nat West to ask about alternative accounts, and if interest had been paid net or gross. She had to answer a number of security questions, and didn't understand one, so I helped her.

Well, the CSA told her off, told her to go into a different room and reset her security at the end of the call. Now, after passing security, the answers to my wife's questions were contradictory, so my wife asked the CSA to speak to me, as she was confused. The CSA refused. She then asked to speak to a manager and somewhat reluctantly was told a manager would ring her in 15 or 20 minutes.

 

One hour later and no one from Nat West had rung back, so my wife rang Nat West herself. She was told no call back had been arranged, but a manager would ring her back within 2 hours.

No one called back in 1 week So then I rang Nat West and asked a CSA if, after my wife had passed security, he would speak to me about the problems my wife was having, and was told NO.

 

After we had thought about this, my wife wrote a letter to The Manager of our nearest Nat West branch and took this into the branch herself to guarantee it was received. In the letter she asked Nat West to close her account on the 14th February 2012, the day the interest rate dropped, and transfer the closing balance to our Nationwide Flexaccount. For greater security only partial details of the Nationwide account were provided in the letter, the rest could have been obtained by a phone call, e-mail, letter or even the account from which my wife had made an initial deposit of £3000. She also asked that if Nat West contacted her by phone, would they please speak to her husband.

She also made a formal complaint.

 

A week or so after the account should have been closed, the closing balance had not been transferred to our Flexaccount, and she had heard nothing from Nat West so my wife rang Nat West again!

She was told that, on the computer screen, her complaint was shown as being resolved, and that the money had not been transferred because only part of our Flex account details were given in the letter. The complaint had not been resolved, and Nat West had made no attempt to communicate with my wife, so she asked that her complaint be escalated to the next level. She was told this was being done as she spoke, and she was asked for, and provided, the 'missing account details' so that the closing balance could be transferred to our Flex account. She was told the transfer would be made.

 

That was about 3 weeks ago, in the meantime I have been sent to our local Hospital's A&E for extra blood tests and an e c g etc, because of heart problems that this is making worse.

 

My wife has heard nothing at all from Nat West Bank. Is this Fair Treatment?

 

Please can anyone advise our best course of action to obtain my wife's money back, an apology from all concerned and some recompense for all the time this has consumed, and the stress it has caused us both?

[caro]

Hi luckyjim. Sorry you haven't had a response before, and hope you're feeling better.

 

Your wife needs to write to keep everything in writing. I suggest that she makes a complaint to Nat West about this, which they have 8 weeks to resolve, and if she's not happy with the outcome it can be escalated to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

 

Has the money been transferred now?