Problem with NatWest please help
 

My husband came to Canada on an IEC visa in March 2012. At the time, he was not sure if he would go back to the UK or not. When he was arranging to transfer funds his natwest branch advised him to leave £100 in his account instead of closing it just incase he wanted to return to the UK.

He has not used the account since and one time about 6ish month ago when he tried accessing it online for the first time since he left, but it wouldn't work.

Fast forward almost 2 years and a debt collector shows up at his parents house saying he owes £600. They call him. It takes him missing two hours of work to phone them due to the time change.

Basically ALL the fees are bank charges. The bank never cancelled his monthly fee as he was advised they would. And that has put him into unarranged overdrawn. And they are continuing to charge him £6 per day to a max of £90 a month until it is paid. Ridiculous!

So after a two hour phone call talking to 4 different people he was basically told too bad. You never gave us your new address so we didn't know you moved?? He couldn't give them an address when he left because he didn't know where he would be living and he told them that!

If it was charges he actually like used (bought stuff etc) then of course we would pay it but it is ALL bank fees that in my opinion are ridiculous and excessive.

He filled out a complaint online so we will have to wait to hear back in the meantime occurring more and more charges.

My questions:

1) can they do this?
2) if they will not reverse any of the charges can he be forced to pay? He is not returning to the UK and has no assets there
3) will this in anyway effect me sponsoring him? Our application was filed in Sept and we are still waiting to hear a decision.

I want to make it clear, we are not trying to avoid paying debt or charges we think are fair. He paid all his debt before leaving the country. If it was a few pounds we'd pay it because it's not worth the hassle but 600 pounds and counting is ALOT especially considering the Canadian dollar sucks right now

Any help, advice, insight would be appreciated

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

If this was done over the phone, ask for the recording.

Otherwise, this looks like it is all your husband's own fault, for not providing any form of contact address IN TWO YEARS.

Where were the bank statements sent to? Why were they not forwarded?

If the answer to that is the account was paperless, then even more his fault in my opinion.

You will probably disagree.


I check my Barclays account weekly. It only takes one minute and can be done on my phone.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

There were no statements sent. I have no idea why, the bank says they had no address but they should have still had his parents. And if they didn't have the address then how would the debt collector have gotten it?

It was not done on the phone. He went into the bank before he left to find out how to transfer the money to a Canadian account once he had gotten one set up and to change from a gold account to standard. He remembers who he talked to, his name, but that person doesn't work there anymore.

He didn't really have a reason to check, to his knowledge the bank had his parents address, he received no mail, he left money in the account and was told it would be a standard account with no fees. Perhaps he should have done something's differently.

But if someone could help and answer the questions I actually asked that would be appreciated. Telling me it's his fault, or he deserves it or whatever else doesn't really answer any of my three questions. And sorry for making one mistake on the first time he moved across the world.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

And one more thing, we don't think he should pay nothing. We offered to pay the £12.95 monthly fees for the last 22 months. But they still said no we had to pay the unarranged fees as well. We offered to send £200 since he had left £100 in there so that would be half and in our opinion fair. They still said no.

He did make a mistake by not continuing to check on it. But he trusted the bank and the guy he talked to.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

I don't really understand, did the bank say they were switching his account to a fee free one? If it was the same account, then why would they cancel the charges? Most UK bank accounts are free (it's very rare to pay for banking there), so he could have switched to a free one easily.

I'd definitely ask for a recording of the call, although whether they'll have it after such a long time is questionable. But that's the only way to prove he was told the fees would be cancelled.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

His account was called a gold account? And it had fees and the guy at the bank told him he would switch it to a standard one with no fees. It was in person in March 2012

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

If it is in the terms of the account they can do it. If there were no statements, then they would have been available online.

The collections agency could have done some routing aronud and tracked him down, that's what they do.

They have the option of taking him to court for recovery of the debt. Which it seems he would lose and have a judgement against him if they did this. If he has any blongings in the UK a court baliff could sieze those. The collections agency could hound his parents until they put a stop to it. For a small amount is it worth it? He could also go to the agency and make an offer perhaps of half to settle the debt.They may take soemthing over going to court.

It is unlikley to affect your sponsorhsip, may affect the relationsip with the parents though.

Unless he can prove ther person told him what he claims, he is likley SOL.

If the bank won't take an offer, he always has the option of refusing to pay and telling them to take him to court. Of course if they do he could lose. Collections agents are usually open to offers more than the creditor. Ther is only so much it is worth to them. Of course it would have been prudent to have at least chcked the account once to be sure the mentioned changes had taken place.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Sorry it was £15 a month fee. Husband just corrected me.

Before he left he went in there and talked to a guy named Miles. The guy explained to him how he could transfer funds once he was in Canada, and that he would change the account to a standard. My husband orginally went in there to withdraw all the funds and close the account.

But this Miles guy convinced him transfer funds would be easy once he had a Canadian bank account and since there would be no fees it would be best to keep the account open with a small amount of funds so that of my husband returned to UK he would still have an account and bank history.

Does that clear it up?

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Would still make no difference unless this Miles guy confirms this or your OH has witnesses or written proof of the request.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

It does, but when you said your husband spoke to someone I assumed it was on a phone call, which would have been recorded. A face to face conversation isn't going to be able to be proved unfortunately.

What did your husband have in writing? If the account was being switched to a new one, then he'd have expected new terms and conditions etc, so did he ever receive those? If so, then he shouldn't have any issue.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Thank you for your reply. He has no belonging. We haven't tried dealing with the collection people. Gosh that makes more sense. They hopefully won't be as unreasonable as the bank. We have offered his original £100 and to send another £200 but that was denied with no counter. Well I guess they countered but saying no all of it.

We asked if they could stop charging the £6 a day while we send some money to the UK for a family member to deposit and was told no.

They have been completely unbendable or compromising.

Would he have to return on the UK for the court date?

I know to come people £600 might not seem like much but I am in school and he is working a crap job on his second IEC visa. So it would be financially difficult

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

He remembers signing papers but doesn't remember if it was about transferring money or new account. He remembers being told account number wouldn't change just the type of account, because the guy said he did not need a new card. But he has no idea what he did with those papers or if they were even about the account type change.

If they would stop the £6 a day and allow a payment plan then we could in maybe 6 months pay it off. But to continue incurring those daily debts is making it more difficult if not impossible.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

But he still would have needed new terms and conditions, normally they'd be sent via post after signing up to the account. If he didn't receive them and then didn't chase them up, then really I don't think there's a lot you can do tbh.

I'm still bamboozled as to why he wouldn't have checked his account regularly (or at least in the first month or so to make sure he wasn't being charged a fee still), so I'm not sure it's the banks fault tbh. Unless he's got any proof of the conversation he had, then I don't think you'll have a lot of option but to pay, but do negotiate a payment plan as that should be easily achievable.

Best of luck.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Thank you, he is going to contact the collections people on Monday and see if they would be more open to a deal or payment arrangement.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

How can they take him to court and issue a CCJ if he has no address in the UK ? I don't think it is possible for them to persue a CCJ or collect on the debt as he is now living abroad.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

They can use last known address and file a notice in the local paper. If he fails to respond, they can apply for a default judgement, which would be served on the last known address.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

And if he is not there to receive it?

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Then I suspect it would be useless to the new owners of the address they decide to use.

Calling the debt collection guys will make them think you are panicking and just keep trying for full payment. Plus you risk them saying you did not call?

Maybe an email letter stating you want the account freezing, and will pay 50% of the monies owed is the way to get rid of it? At least that leaves an electronic trail and an offer of payment you can use in defence.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Similar thing happened to me, but with Barclays. Went into branch, withdrew remaining funds, closed the account, handed cards over. A year later, living in Canada, a debt collector in the UK called me saying the account was overdrawn and was accumulating fees and penalties that I owed.

Long story short, I appointed power of attorney to my mother in law in the UK, who'd been present when I closed the account, and she went to the same branch to resolve it. Barclays admitted a mistake when they saw the paperwork they'd issued when the account was closed.

If you've kept nothing in writing to confirm what you were told or thought you'd agreed to, I think you're going to have to come to an agreement about repayment.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

He filed on online complaint form but in all out searching I haven't come across an email address that would help

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

https://www.natwest.com/global/conta...tact-form.ashx

https://m.facebook.com/NatWest?id=15....com%2FNatWest

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Yes that is similar to what he filled out. But it had a section for your complaint but he gets no record in his email that he sent it.

But an actual email address that would show up in his sent folder we haven't found. We did fill that out, but if they claim they don't get it we have no proof they do. Unless we fill one out everyone day over and over lol

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Copy and paste would be perfect for that :@)

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

How much were the bank fees? They must have been high since you left £100 in there.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Bankers !!!!

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

They add up fast. I had a zero balance, account closed. A 25 quid monthly fee was applied, which took the account overdrawn. 50 quid fee for unauthorized overdraft. So, month 1 the account already owed 75 quid. After 12+ months it was over 500.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

£15 per month. But once in went into an unarranged overdraft (which to a candian is silly) it was £6 per DAY fee to a max of £90 per month.

It seems to be that if you left a significant money in an account for an extended period of time they would say it was inactive or dormant. I even read on their website that they can collect the money after a certain amount of time. (Didn't read too indepth). But an account with no action for 22 months seems reasonable to them to charge now £90 in fees per month.

And they won't even stop charging the £90 until he gets out of the unarrangws overdraft.

This all just seems so insane to me. He withdrew no money, he didn't pale any purchases and it's like he is being treated like a horrible debtor with thousands of debt after a shopping spree

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Sorry for the typos I am on my phone

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

I think it would be better if your husband signed up here directly for advice on the question, there are some answers that you have given to questions from people trying to help that don't add up/make sense (I am NOT IN ANYWAY suggesting you are not telling the truth, just that "stuff" sometimes gets lost/misunderstood in the translation/transferral.)

Some thoughts/suggestions:

Go check out and read the information on the Citizen's advice Bureau site.

Then: (I'm not asking for answers here on the board, rather trying to give you/your husband some pointers)
1. The bank would have sent / would still be sending any correspondence (statements etc) to the last known address it had on file, the parents, if I understand correctly? UNLESS any such correspondence has been returned to them as "undeliverable". Even if it was a "paperless" account, once it went into the red, there should have been either/or both email/snail mail letter to last known address. The account holder needs to find out if any correspondence was received, & if not, chase it up with bank.

2. The account holder needs to obtain a copy of the lost paperwork signed concerning the change he made to the account. This shouldn't be hard to do via an email on the lines of "on such-&-a-date, I made xyz changes to my account at abc branch, in a meeting with Mr Miles. I am awaiting written confirmation of xyz ..."

3. At the *Very Least* the bank should have sent written confirmation that it was transferring the debt to a collection agency. See above regArding checking mail.

4. If the debt collection agency turns up at parental address, the parents should state (if true, obviously) "this person does not live at this address. Please leave & don't come back". Ideally, I'd try & hand over a written statement to this effect, but doubt any debt collector worth his/her salt would accept.

5. Do not talk to either the debt collectors, or the bank. No, I don't mean ignore them, I mean use only email or snail mail for all and any contact.

6. If by any chance the debt collection agency attempts to contact the account holder in Canada by telephone, get a fax number or snail mail address & send 2 letters : 1 stating that you require written correspondence only, 1 requesting all paperwork pertaining to the file. It won't get you out of paying a debt, it will buy you time to sort out what exactly is going on.

It is, however, highly unlikely that any possible debt will be pursued overseas through the courts, (too expensive), it may cause problems if not settled if the putative debtor ever wants/needs to return to live in the UK.

HTH

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

That helps tremendously!!

As for the missing mail it makes no sense to us either. The bank claimed they had no address on file to send any mail to but the debt collector went to his parents house. Which is where he lived before moving.

I have to say I am fairly certain in Canada a collector could not just show up at your house. I don't know for sure because I have never been to collections but it seems so bizarre.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Having said all the above, I have semi-regular dealings with the NatWest from Canada, & given how nitpicking they have been with me, I find it very surprising that they would allow an account with no address :-(

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Depends on your province. It is illegal in BC for a debt collector not registered in BC to try and collect in BC. Saying that, nothing stopping them phoning, just block their number if they call. A collections agency has to write to you before calling as well.

http://consumerprotectionbc.ca/consu...onsumer-rights

Unless the debt is large, they will do no more than phone. Once you tell them not to phone, if they continue to do so, they could lose their license if you complain. We don't use collection agencies at all, they have no more power than a few phone calls. We go straight to small claims or supreme, depending on where the debt is and the size of it. For $1000 it would go to small claims.

In the UK debt collection is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading. Only their practices, not debts.

From a legitimate debt perspective, unless you have something to prove and back up what you say, it seems you are stuck with it.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

And I do realize we may have to suck it up and pay, but it would be easier if they would stop charging interest while we do so.

They wouldn't even give us that! So we have to pay £90 a month just in fees and above that to try and pay it down is going to be impossible

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Email the office of fair trade and any other groups that may help. Make one letter up and paste it daily to everyone, take out the numbers and names and post it on NW Facebook page. I am sure a reply will be along before the next 90 quid comes out

possible contacts, seen on consumeraction site.. not sure how up to date it is though..

try:

firstname.surname @ natwest.com


John Cunnane
Manager
Customer Relations Unit - Depot Code 040
225 Shenley Road, Borehamwood, WD6 1TE
External: 020 8236 8007
Internal: 4040 8007
Fax: 020 8236 8010

Nigel Owen
Media Relations Manager - Natwest
020 7672 1932 / 0776 642 0981
020 7672 1934

Caroline Harris 020 7 672 1931

Customer.Relations@natwes t.com

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Getting a loan or line of credit to pay it off will likely be cheaper in the long run and easier on the mind.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Thanks so much. I really appreciate this help

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

The OFT won't do anything if it is a legitimate debt and within the terms of the account.

Facebook sometimes works, one needs to be careful what one says.

Bottom line, the OP is relying in the benevolence of the bank.

Another option would be to write to a senior executive of the bank rather than one of the phone operators, or try the call centre and speak to a supervisor.

I had a 12 month spat with an alarm company, perseverance paid of, but then I was not accumulating £90 a month of additional debt.

If a customer owes money within the terms of an agreement, I would always seek restitution.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

I gave my bank an address in Canada and have had no problems so far - no bank fees, account closed due to dormancy etc. I once walked in to a NatWest branch to convert some old £20 notes and they turned me away rudely. The Barclays branch I went to were far more helpful.

I've dealt with Canadian collection agencies while in the UK regarding Canadian student loans - not fun. I've not heard of them sending collection agents to the debtor's home though.

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Pretty straightforward, ask for their license number, tell them to contact you only in writing and all you'll get is letters (or nothing).

Re: Problem with NatWest please help
 

Here is my thought as a business. And I may be off track but I would like two ways: yes they don't care about pissing him off two much because they won't be expecting future business from him since he lives in another country.

But on the other hand, wouldn't it be in their best interest to try and recover some?
Making it impossible with continuing fees doesn't help them either. Ultimately people pay debt for moral reasons and to maintain good credit.

The more unreasonable they are being the less I am morally feeling the desire to pay them and two he doesn't really care about UK credit rating since he will never live there again.

So if I was business yea I could go to court apparently and get a full judgement but if they can't collect from him in Canada then they are still out all the fees.

Or they could try and be reasonable and get a good portion of the bank fees.

If I were a business I think I know what option I would pick.