Natwest exercising thier right to off set my funds???

[yaffsimone1]

I have offered to pay my Natwest credit card at reduced monthly payments. becuase this is below the 2.25% that Natwest require they will transfering the account to a DCA. My question is, in thier letter saying they are transfering it to a dca they also say 'In addition, we may exercise our right of set off over any of your funds held elsewhere with us.'

I have asked Natwest to clarify but for some reason they seem unable to help! I have got the horrible feeling it means they are going to help themselves to my money when i get paid.

I have a current account with them, it hasnt got any money in it because its overdrawn every month the only time it is in credit is when i get paid then a week later the mortgage is paid etc. I do not have any savings accounts.

 

Do they have a right to do this? My credit card and current account are two seperate agreements. Where can i view this so called 'right' of thiers.

 

I have not CCA them or claimed unlawfull charges simply because I have my bank account with them and i didnt want to upset them but i dont think that i going to be the case now.

 

Today i am going to have to go out a try and get another bank account (to protect my wages, mortgage car etc) thats going to be hard because of this mess im in my credit rating is shot to pieces!

 

I really thought Natwest wouldnt turn against me like this, being a customer for nearly 20 years. how wrong was I.......

[Zimmie]

I have heard of banks dipping into other accounts for payments...I'm not sure of the legality of it, but have a suspicion they are allowed to.

Getting a new bank account is a good idea, I read, on Money Saving Expert I think, that Co-operative Bank will accept new customers with poor credit ratings, there are others too that will, but the co-op account will give you a debit card and has DD facilities.

[yaffsimone1]

I have heard of banks dipping into other accounts for payments...I'm not sure of the legality of it, but have a suspicion they are allowed to.

Getting a new bank account is a good idea, I read, on Money Saving Expert I think, that Co-operative Bank will accept new customers with poor credit ratings, there are others too that will, but the co-op account will give you a debit card and has DD facilities.

 

 

The thing is they can see i dont have any money, so what are they going to take....this is where i suspect they will wait untill i get paid and go for the lot! with total disregard for my mortgage etc. I will try the co-op all i need is a debit card and facility for DDR's.

[sequenci]

Lots of banks do this, if you are making reduced payments on any credit agreements and still bank with the same bank it is wise to move to a "safe" account.

 

So many people have been caught out by this horrible trap, the banks have a blatant disregard for circumstance. grr.

 

co-op are good, as are nationwide.

[powelll]

You need to move banks ASAP as the bank does have the legal right of offset against your funds. You can exercise your First Right of Appropriation against these funds but you need to do this in writing usually 7 days before the funds are paid in. Your best bet is to move banks and any overdraft you leave is just another debt to be cleared e.g. at £1 per month or whatever you can afford.

 

You need to open a Basic Bank account as you won't usually be credit checked for these & there are 14 or so high st banks that offer these. If you have a specific bank in mind to move to let me know & I will check what account name you need to ask for

[baileyboy]

Unfortunately, I think that probably they can do exactly that! What I would do is either open another account elsewhere for the wage / mortgage payments to be out their reach, alternatively can you have your wages paid into a partners account to protect it from the bank?

[yaffsimone1]

You need to move banks ASAP as the bank does have the legal right of offset against your funds. You can exercise your First Right of Appropriation against these funds but you need to do this in writing usually 7 days before the funds are paid in. Your best bet is to move banks and any overdraft you leave is just another debt to be cleared e.g. at £1 per month or whatever you can afford.

 

You need to open a Basic Bank account as you won't usually be credit checked for these & there are 14 or so high st banks that offer these. If you have a specific bank in mind to move to let me know & I will check what account name you need to ask for

 

 

My mortgage is with Northern Rock so i am going to try them first and i will also try the Co-op as suggested. I dont know if Northern Rock do basic accounts though. At least now i can go in for all the unlawfull charges and with Natwest they have charged me thousands, i am actually quite looking forward to getting to grips with them!

 

Got to try and get something back from this mess. At least i will be doing it legally.....

[powelll]

Northern Rock do offer a basic account - it's called Cashmaster - basic

[yaffsimone1]

I have got untill 12 May to get another account. That is when they will transfer it to a DCA, im hoping i will have one sorted by next week.

[denver]

Co-Op can give you a decision in 2-5 days. You can apply on the 'phone today. 08457 212 212. You could have an account number by Wednesday to give to your employer for your wages. Nationwide are also good. If you go into a branch you can get an OK almost instantly and an account number to get your money paid in. It may take a while to get your cash card but in the meantime you can go into a branck to withdraw. Apply for a few accounts at once so you're sure of having one in time. Don't leave it too late

[yaffsimone1]

Northern Rock do offer a basic account - it's called Cashmaster - basic

 

 

Powell, do you happen to know what the basic account is called at Nationwide. Or anybody

 

Thanks

[The Phantom]

Co-Op can give you a decision in 2-5 days. You can apply on the 'phone today. 08457 212 212. You could have an account number by Wednesday to give to your employer for your wages. Nationwide are also good. If you go into a branch you can get an OK almost instantly and an account number to get your money paid in. It may take a while to get your cash card but in the meantime you can go into a branck to withdraw. Apply for a few accounts at once so you're sure of having one in time. Don't leave it too late

 

Don't always count on that. We had to wait approx 3 weeks for a decision from the Co-Op, but one of us was bankrupt, so that could have been the reason, but I have heard of other people trying to open the Cashminder that they had to wait a long time for a decision. Sometimes it is done really fast and sometimes it takes ages. But they do give you a Debit card with the account (Electron / Visa)

[powelll]

The Nationwide one is Flex Cashcard account

[yaffsimone1]

Thank you Powell, im going to go over to Nationwide now.

[powelll]

Good luck - if you have any probs let me know & I can give you some others to try. You should only need proof of ID though no credit chack as these accounts don't offer a credit facility ie overdraft

[yaffsimone1]

At the moment i have narrowed it down to two. Halifax Easycash and Co-op Cashminder the reason being i need a debit card so i can make payments over the phone the others only seem to issue ATM cards.

[powelll]

I think these are the only ones ( that I am aware of ) that do a debit card. I've heard good reports of the Co op account but nothing specific re Halifax...

[yaffsimone1]

I think these are the only ones ( that I am aware of ) that do a debit card. I've heard good reports of the Co op account but nothing specific re Halifax...

 

My only concern with Halifax is i notice they are part of the Bank of Scotland Group and Natwest who i currently bank with are part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, are BOS and RBS linked?

[powelll]

No, completely separate:)

[sequenci]

My only concern with Halifax is i notice they are part of the Bank of Scotland Group and NatWest who i currently bank with are part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, are BOS and RBS linked?

 

RBS=Natwest

BOS=Halifax

 

[yaffsimone1]

I ask this because i dont want to move to Halifax to avoid Natwest pinching my money if they are all part of the same group!

[powelll]

Very wise - loads of them seem to be interlinked now it's very incestuos... perhaps that's why they mostly look and act the same

[Guest ArthurP]

I owe on a Barclaycard and I have a Barclays bank account and my account can be raided to take all money owed.

 

So I decided to get my bank charges back from Barclays and I opened an A&L account. It's a good account-just basic but I can go online with it, use the post office with it and not be charged for using the cash points they seem to have at shopping centres.

[Belaflat]

Had a LloydsTSB account and a loan and credit cards with them amongst others.

 

When I started getting problems, they wouldnt listen and excercised thier right to offset resulting in my account being nailed and me being unable to meet other commitments which ultimately is why I am on this site now.

It just set the ball of debt rolling until it became the avalanche i am trying to dig out of now.

[yaffsimone1]

I think its disgusting that the banks can clearly see we are struggeling yet at the first oportunity would take all your wages without warning, leaving us in a huge mess for then not being able to pay the mortgage, car, council tax etc.... because they have swiped the lot!