DroverAwn vs Natwest

[DroverAwn]

I sent in my Prelim Letter to my Branch. I figure that because its them I deal with actually.

That was two weeks ago and I have not heard a thing from them. Time for the Letter Before Action it seems.

 

I did send it recorded mail 1st class - kept copies on my PC (doing my wifes letters as well).

 

Watch this space.

[Guest NATTIE]

That is because they have sent it on to customer relations unit borehamwood as they have been instructed to do or it has been delayed further if they simply send their post onto the customer service centre that deals with the branch. The Branch never deal with letters and responses directly. Customer Relations on the Letter Before Action.

[DroverAwn]

Fair enough - i will send the LBA to customer services -

[DroverAwn]

Ok, so its two weeks on Monday next week that I resent my prelim letter to Customer Services as I had sent the 1st to my local branch. In effect giving them an extra two weeks to cough up. Now, when is it appropriate to send the LBA, on Monday exactly 2 weeks after I posted the prelim?

 

Thanks in advance ! :?

[hedgey06]

Ok, so its two weeks on Monday next week that I resent my prelim letter to Customer Services as I had sent the 1st to my local branch. In effect giving them an extra two weeks to cough up. Now, when is it appropriate to send the LBA, on Monday exactly 2 weeks after I posted the prelim?

 

Thanks in advance ! :?

 

Send the LBA on Tuesday if you haven't heard anything from them by then. Give them another 14 days to respond.......... then take them to court if needs be!!! Good luck, hedgey xx

[DroverAwn]

cheers !

[hedgey06]

Tis a pleasure!

[DroverAwn]

Well, the saga continues.......

Absolutely nothing from NatWest since I sent out the LBA almost 2 weeks ago. Actually 2 weeks this Tuesday 15th May.

Spose its time for court. Just scouring the forum to find the best way to do this

[hedgey06]

Hi DroverAwn, you're in the same boat that I am right now!!!

 

Two ways of filing at court - have a read of this to help you decide which way to to Moneyclaim and hardcopy claim compared. Personally, I'm going for hardcopy - but plenty of peeps go the MCOL route. If you decide on the MCOL route, this will help Her Majesty's Courts Service

 

It costs £120 to file - but you get this back when you win. However, have a look through here County Court fees and exemptions as you may find that you can get an exemption from the fee.

 

Hope this helps a little - post back if you need any more info. Good luck, hedgey xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DroverAwn]

Hi DroverAwn, you're in the same boat that I am right now!!!

 

Two ways of filing at court - have a read of this to help you decide which way to to Moneyclaim and hardcopy claim compared. Personally, I'm going for hardcopy - but plenty of peeps go the MCOL route. If you decide on the MCOL route, this will help Her Majesty's Courts Service

 

It costs £120 to file - but you get this back when you win. However, have a look through here County Court fees and exemptions as you may find that you can get an exemption from the fee.

 

Hope this helps a little - post back if you need any more info. Good luck, hedgey xxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent, let me know how your claim goes and I will likewise !! Think I'll go with the online claim - wont get parking within 30 sea miles of the court and besides I cant leave work to do it.

[DroverAwn]

Incredible? Unbelievable? I and my wife both received letters form Natwest offering a full settlement (I didnt get time to submit a claim to the courts). They have sent the standard letter offering to pay every penny we claimed (except the 8% interest) plus we need to sign a document thats a bit confusing - if I understand it correctly it means I agree to any future charges they place on the account if I accept their offer. I'll post the full wording later when I'm back at home. Confused but happy.Or am I happy? Confused yes.

[Michael Browne]

There's no need to sign their acceptance form, you can send your own:

 

Dear Whoever

Ref: Your Offer of Settlement

 

Account: xxxxxxxx

Sort Code xx-xx-xx

Claim No: XXXXX in XXXX County Court

 

I acknowledge receipt of your letter date xx/xx/xx and your settlement offer of £XXX.

I accept your offer as full and final settlement only for this claim of bank charges made on my account between xx/xx/xx and xx/xx/xx(dates of first and last charge) However I will only accept an unconditional offer and will therefore not be signing your acceptance agreement

 

I accept this offer without prejudice and I reserve the right to make any further claims should you apply future charges that may be considered unlawful under common law or in violation of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

 

I am also not prepared to agree to any confidentiality clauses you try to impose, unless of course your client wishes to make an offer of due consideration in addition to the amount of £xxxxx, in order to be afforded this privilege by myself.

 

I trust that you will find this arrangement acceptable.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

[DroverAwn]

There's no need to sign their acceptance form, you can send your own:

Ok, now I havent sent in any court papers so I presume the bit regarding the Case number I would leave out and the confidentiality bit wasnt mentioned in their letter. Oh, and the letter was from Natwest not their solicitors so where "your client" appears would Ii just replace that with "you" ? or just forget about the whole confidentiality bit cos it hasnt been mentioned by them at all.

 

Cheers

[DroverAwn]

Its been a good 3 weeks since I sent my letter in to Natwest , accepting the offer but not their conditions and have had no reply whatsoever.

Do I now proceed Court Action?

[hedgey06]

Contact customer relations unit first - phone call backed up by email. Just in case

[DroverAwn]

I finally got a reply from Natwest, is as follows:

 

Dear Mr xxxx

 

I refer to your letter of xx June and please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in replying.

 

I am sorry that you have declined our offer of goodwill in full and final settlement of your claim. Should you reconsider your decision please forward your signed Acceptance form to this office. Our position regarding your fees remains as stated in your offer letter.

 

I trust this explains our position.

 

Yours sincerely

 

signed

 

________________________________________________________

 

Got this in the post. I suppose it really means Court now?

[hedgey06]

I'm not sure about filing at court when they've already offered to refund your charges in full though. How about sending back their acceptance letter saying yes to the charges but crossing out the conditions they're imposing? I'm saying this as I don't feel it's a good idea to proceed to file at court when they're offered a full refund of your charges.

[DroverAwn]

That I have already done, said I would accept their offer but not the conditions , ie - accepting any future charges placed on my account:

 

Dear Whoever

Ref: Your Offer of Settlement

 

Account: xxxxxxxx

Sort Code xx-xx-xx

 

I acknowledge receipt of your letter date xx/xx/xx and your settlement offer of £XXX.

I accept your offer as full and final settlement only for this claim of bank charges made on my account between xx/xx/xx and xx/xx/xx(dates of first and last charge) However I will only accept an unconditional offer and will therefore not be signing your acceptance agreement

 

I accept this offer without prejudice and I reserve the right to make any further claims should you apply future charges that may be considered unlawful under common law or in violation of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 or Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

 

 

I trust that you will find this arrangement acceptable.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

I sent this to them in reply to their original offer "of good faith"

 

 

They'll pay me out in full as long as I agree to them applying illegal charges in the future. Thats like holding a gun to my head. Even if I do agree , surely they cant enforce those conditions which is why I am claiming back them in the first place? I could accept their offer and still claim back any subsequent charges much in the same way as I am doing already, basis of this being that the charges are unfair inspite of what I agree to/ what appear in terms and conditions? I feel this is another "delaying tactic " by the bank.

[hagenuk]

You are on the right track with this, they cannot impose conditions on you anymore than they could stop you issuing further claims against them.

 

Be aware however that they do not consider these charges unfair or illegal and if you sue them over and over again they can and probably will close your account.

 

On the question of whether or not you should issue a claim now, the letter you refer to in post #16 is a standard boilerplate reply. Nobody read your letter properly and as a result you received that. This is not a delaying tactic at all, it is merely shoddy customer service and ineptitude - the bank have manifestly failed to provide enough staff to deal with the volume of claims and you got a standard letter in reply to your "non-standard" one.

 

Do as hedgey suggested and contact Customer Services and inform them that you will issue a claim within 7 days should you not receive payment in full. You should do this as you must always abide by the Overriding Objective of the CPR and use litigation as a final resort. The reason you have not been paid, although no fault of your own, is misunderstanding not malice.

[DroverAwn]

will give customer relations a call tomorrow - guess their number is on the Natwest website?

[hedgey06]

Try this one - 0845 3030 456

[DroverAwn]

cheers