Natwest

[snoopy1239]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

[sovietsong]

Not really relating to this, but

One of our business accounts is NatWest.  We get the statements through each month along with the months charges and this months charge was

£6.40 - for fees but we have a minimum charge of £10 so you have been debited £10!

Cheers for that, cheeky sods.

18 months free banking with my company for all business accounts, if you are paying such a low amount sure you could get on a fee free tariff with a proper bank...

[sovietsong]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

I'm shocked that they havent given you the charge back especially as its the first time it has happend, I have at some point or other had an account with the majority of the high street banks and have had refunds for similar charges from Halifax, HSBC, Barclays just by asking nicely.  At my place if a person is declined a refund over the phone and then the customer complains about the charge/attitude of staff or some kind of previous problem the policy is to refund.  At this stage I would write a letter, worth 10mins. 

Just checked around about Natwest and found this - http://www.blagger.com/db4/company_id/745/companyname/Natwest.html

Doesnt seem they are mad keen on refunding charges.

[Geo the Sarge]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

Snoops, i work in Pensions & Insurance, I have done complaint handling and for a year and a half my job was complaint root analysis (investigating complaints after the complaintsteam had dealt with them and compiling a montly report the causes.)

First thing I do here is as you have done, quick phone call to see if something can be arranged amicably.

The response given is not to your liking, and IMO the call handler has possibly mis-informed you as I doubt he was in a position to tell whether a reimbursement has ever been given in a similar case.

Your next step is to write, again politely, however do note that you were far from convinced that you had been given the correct information. Detail the day and time you made the call and also the call handlers name if you noted it. The reason I say this is that ALL calls SHOULD should be recorded and in my experience this is not always the case. If you are fortunate enough that they have not recorded your call and cannot examine part of your complaint then they should compensate you in some way. Not because the charge was incorrect but because they could not investigate your complaint fully.

Again, you may not get back all your charges, however the average ex gratia payment from our company is £25

Worth a shot mate, Freepost adress and the cost of a pen (which I'm sure you can borrow.)

Geo

[Indestructable]

Yes they were right to make a charge (although amount is up for debate) as you had no money in the account that you wrote the cheque on. Most of this process is automated ie no-one will look to see if you have money in other accounts.
If you had an overdraft then the cheque would have been paid, so presumably not. Best thing to do is to ask for an agreed overdraft to cover possible situations like this again. Assuming this bounced cheque hasn't damaged your rating with the bank.
As said above, if you write to the bank explaining the error they will consider a refund based on your reason and your record with them.
Good luck
 

I wouldn't waste time ringing call centres, as you have found out.

 

[snoopy1239]

Sadly, I don't know the exact time of the call and I didn't get a name. Should I ring again tomorrow and try a different person, or will they know that I already tried the day prior?

[Indestructable]

You could try tomorrow and you might get Carol

[tikay]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

Sadly, no, you are not. You are a high-maintenance, loss-making, nuisance. (To NatWest, or any other High Street clearing bank).

That's the truth, I'm afraid, & they don't give a monkeys. Why should they? They earn bugger all out of you.

Bin the cheque-book, get Online Bnking, & that way, obviate the need for personal contact or "human" interface.

As to your minor mistake, well, it was your mistake, & you have to pay for your mistakes. It was, after all, your fault. The fact they messed you about a while back is neither connected, or relevant, in practice, or in English Law.

Move on, & don't get obsessed by it.

[Geo the Sarge]

Sadly, I don't know the exact time of the call and I didn't get a name. Should I ring again tomorrow and try a different person, or will they know that I already tried the day prior?

Yes mate, the call handler should always give their name when taking the call, if not ask them. They may well know that you called before but just tell them you weren't convinced by the first answer. You'll be very unlucky if you get the same guy.

When you write in they have 5 days in which to make their first response, it's usually a holding letter but if you make sure you give them  telephone number then they may cal you. A wee tip.........All complaints are recorded (written or verbal)and are used as part of what we call SIGMA, it's a measuring tool as to how well we are servicing our customers. Complaints is one part of this. We are generally briefed that if we can have agreement with the client within 24 hours then it does not need to be recorded as a complaint. I suspect they will be no different.

As I said before, try it it's free.

BTW Indy, don't shop me off - lol

Geo

[snoopy1239]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

Sadly, no, you are not. You are a high-maintenance, loss-making, nuisance. (To NatWest, or any other High Street clearing bank).

That's the truth, I'm afraid, & they don't give a monkeys. Why should they? They earn bugger all out of you.

Bin the cheque-book, get Online Bnking, & that way, obviate the need for personal contact or "human" interface.

As to your minor mistake, well, it was your mistake, & you have to pay for your mistakes. It was, after all, your fault. The fact they messed you about a while back is neither connected, or relevant, in practice, or in English Law.

Move on, & don't get obsessed by it.

Well, with all due respect, if I can get it back, then I'll sure as hell give it a crack. We're not all TV superstars! 

[tikay]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

Sadly, no, you are not. You are a high-maintenance, loss-making, nuisance. (To NatWest, or any other High Street clearing bank).

That's the truth, I'm afraid, & they don't give a monkeys. Why should they? They earn bugger all out of you.

Bin the cheque-book, get Online Bnking, & that way, obviate the need for personal contact or "human" interface.

As to your minor mistake, well, it was your mistake, & you have to pay for your mistakes. It was, after all, your fault. The fact they messed you about a while back is neither connected, or relevant, in practice, or in English Law.

Move on, & don't get obsessed by it.

Well, with all due respect, if I can get it back, then I'll sure as hell give it a crack. We're not all TV superstars! 

Fine, & good luck, really, but if you enter the debate on a false premise - that you are "a valued customer" you have a shock in store - you are anything but! To them, Clients like you - or me, anyone like us - are just an irritant. They earn nothing out of us, & we can be high-maintenance.

But most of all, what I saying - trying to tell you - is don't get hung up on the matter, obsessed with it. We've all seen what an expensve thing dogma is. You've had £38 worth of loss. Don't spend £39 worth of your time chasing it. Life's too damn short, & myopia is incurable.

It was your fault, so you have no redress. Remember that. So you are throwing yoursef upon their, err, "good nature"......!

[snoopy1239]

I just rang Natwest and was put through to their 'lending' (I think) department. I told them the situation, was as nice as pie and asked them to take pity on me, but they were having none of it and just said, "Sorry, it's company policy to charge these fees unless it's a bank error." I asked for an address, and they gave me: customer relations unit, freepost, NAT 12685, London, EC3B 3JL. Before I left, I asked him, "Do you guys ever reimburse customer error related fees?" and he said, "No, we simply repeat company policy."

Can anyone advise me on the best course of action. Of course, it was my own error, but I'd imagine my error costs them very little in comparison to the £38 they have charged me. Plus, It was an honest mistake and I am a valued customer, so feel they could give me the benefit of the doubt on what is my first offence.

Sadly, no, you are not. You are a high-maintenance, loss-making, nuisance. (To NatWest, or any other High Street clearing bank).

That's the truth, I'm afraid, & they don't give a monkeys. Why should they? They earn bugger all out of you.

Bin the cheque-book, get Online Bnking, & that way, obviate the need for personal contact or "human" interface.

As to your minor mistake, well, it was your mistake, & you have to pay for your mistakes. It was, after all, your fault. The fact they messed you about a while back is neither connected, or relevant, in practice, or in English Law.

Move on, & don't get obsessed by it.

Well, with all due respect, if I can get it back, then I'll sure as hell give it a crack. We're not all TV superstars! 

Fine, & good luck, really, but if you enter the debate on a false premise - that you are "a valued customer" you have a shock in store - you are anything but! To them, Clients like you - or me, anyone like us - are just an irritant. They earn nothing out of us, & we can be high-maintenance.

But most of all, what I saying - trying to tell you - is don't get hung up on the matter, obsessed with it. We've all seen what an expensve thing dogma is. You've had £38 worth of loss. Don't spend £39 worth of your time chasing it. Life's too damn short, & myopia is incurable.

It was your fault, so you have no redress. Remember that. So you are throwing yoursef upon their, err, "good nature"......!

Yes, this is true, and worthwhile advice. I wasn't planning on taking it further than a phone call and a letter.

[snoopy1239]

Success. Rang them up again and 'Angie' said I could have it refunded in the next 48 hours. I took her name and time of call just in case they go back on their word. Must have been my manly charm.

Talk about inconsistency.

[steeveg]

n1, snoopy, i wonder how many give up after being turned down after the first call,always worth another go

[GreekStein]

yup well done that man, problem is too many people give up too easily. All you gotta do is throw the dummy out the pram a bit.

Sorry to divert the thread a bit but does depositing into gambling websites affect your credit rating? I like to cash out a lot and therefore have to deposit a lot aswell and was just wondering if this stream of activity into sites like Will Hill is bad for my credit rating.