Terry v Natwest **WON**

[Matt T]

Hi everyone, had some great help on here reading through lots of threads, so thanks already but a few questions.

I posted a letter received by my local branch on 27/04/07 (used the template here) claiming £143 worth of charges (all unpaid D/D's). Got a response on the last of the 14 day period claiming they are looking into it.

Now i havent received anything since, am i right in thinking i can take this to court now? I gave them 14days in the original letter or court action and it has still not been resolved.

If so, im filling in the N1 form now, but a bit confused in the charges section. I have completed the spreadsheet and calculated 8% interest on the individual charges...

UNPAID D/D £35.00 14/09/2004 1002 £7.72
UNPAID D/D £35.00 14/03/2005 821 £6.32
UNPAID D/D £35.00 21/03/2005 814 £6.27
UNPAID D/D £38.00 15/06/2006 363 £3.03

TOTAL CHARGES: £143.00

TOTAL INTEREST: £23.34

TOTAL: £166.34

Now what do i enter on the N1 form in this format?...

Charges £143.00
overdraft Interest £xxx.xx
Interest under s.69 County Courts Act 1984 £xxx.xx
Court Fee £xx.xx

TOTAL £ xx.xx

Plus interest pursuant to S.69 County Courts Act 1984 from date of issue to date of judgement/settlement at £xx.xx per day [(enter daily rate here - (CHARGES+OD interest)x 0.00022 = pence per day)] OR at such rate and for such periods as the court deems just.

Thankyou for any help, i will keep this updated as progress is made

[charged-case]

Hang on a sec, have you sent the preliminary letter, and/ or the letter before action?

If you have sent the LBA before prelim one, that's a bit too harsh, you need to show the court you attempted to communicate with the bank to come to an agreement. You should have sent a prelim letter first.

If you have sent the prelim letter, send them a letter before action (give them 7 or 14 days to respond positively, up to you) before you fill an N1 form in and get it in to the small claims track.

Do I make any sense?

[Matt T]

Ok i sent the letter is....

Address
24/04/2007

Bank Address
Dear Sir/Madam
Regarding: Account details


Due to recent media coverage on bank charges I now believe that you, NatWest Bank have been charging me charges that are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e) of the said regulations gives a non-complete list of terms, which may be regarded as unfair, such as a term that requires me as a consumer who fails in his obligation, to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

I believe that your charges are disproportionately high and therefore they are contrary to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999. In addition I believe that your charges are a Penalty. Penalty charges are irrecoverable at common law. The precedent for this was Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co Ltd v New Garage and Motor co Ltd [1915] AC 79 along with Murray v. Leisure play [2005] EWCA Civ 963. It was held that a contractual party can only recover damages for an actual loss or liquidated losses. It is clear that your charges do not reflect any actual and or real loss.

Furthermore if you fail to comply with this letter, I request without further notice a breakdown and proof of all costs involved, in regards to your actual or liquidated losses involved in any breach of contract to which these charges relate with yourselves, and that these charges reflect your true costs in relation to the said charges, and are proportionate to the charges levied on my account as defined in Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Schedule 2 (e).

Therefore I require you to refund me a total of £143.00, representing the total, unlawful amount charged during the last 6 years. Copies of statements showing these charges are included.

I hereby give you 14 days to refund the charges back on to my account. For the avoidance of doubt, if this is not done within 14 days, I will commence my claim in the courts without further warning. This action will inevitably involve you in additional costs.

I also hereby request a detailed report of which clause in your terms and conditions each charge has been applied against.

Yours sincerely,



Mr M Terry

[charged-case]

Sounds good, is it a letter template from another site?

It may be worth following exactly the method used on CAG. The CAG has had a high success rate, (near 100%?) with claims.
FAQs :::::::::::::::::::::::::- PLEASE READ THESE FIRST!!! -:::::::::::::::::

Up to you, may be worth the extra time and effort to follow this.

[Matt T]

Yes its from the BBC website.

It seems fairly comparable to the prelim letter, so my next step would be lba yup? Saves me going through the court hassle just yet at least!

Cheers

[charged-case]

Go for it, though you may like to include a spreadsheet of charges claimed with the lba.

6. Interest calculation spreadsheets

Try and fill in the complex version, notes on LHS of sheet, will help you with statutory interest calculation at court stage. A lot to read I know, but worth it, whatever amount you are claiming.

[Matt T]

Ive already filled in the simple one.

Question regarding interest. I have an interest free overdraft, and the overdrawn amount was paid back after the fee had been placed (therefor incurring only a tiny amount of interest), as this is the case can i still claim 8% interest from dates of charges if it goes to court?

[hedgey06]

Simple answer - yes! The s69 8% interest is at the discretion of the courts anyway - so include this in the calculations on the N1 form.

[Matt T]

UPDATE:

Well i sent another letter, template off here threatening court action, and they sent a letter back, albeit after the 14day period, to deny liability, but in this instance will refund the charges. Whooooooo.

So a happy ending here.
Cheers guys

[hedgey06]

That's brilliant news!!!!!!!!!!........... ..

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Enjoy your winnings, best wishes, hedgey xxx

don't forget to complete the bank survey, and a small
donation to CAG would be nice if possible!!!

[Bookworm]

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[livelylad]

Thread moved to success forum.