LETTER 3 LearnMoney.co.uk Comment Things now get interesting because when you take someone to court (County Court) you are allowed to add interest to the claim. So a £25 charge levied on the 1st March 2002 attracts interest at 8% per annum (the court’s recommendation) until today's date which at the time of writing bumps it up to about £34.60. A preprogrammed spreadsheet is available to download at both of the websites (listed above) which will automatically work out the relevant interest payments. So the initial claim of £1,624 has been increased via £438.48 in interest to 2,062.48. The standard court fee is £120 (if you win this will get reimbursed) making for a total claim of £2,182.48. Note, that the court action is pretty simple to fill out and can be done online. Plenty of help is offered via the ConsumerActionGroup.com and PenaltyCharges.co.uk websites. 1 Blue Lane
Blue Town
Bluesville
BL1 6TT
Natwest Bank PLC
Your Branch
The Town
The County
The Postcode 3rd October 2006 Dear Mr Black Account Number : 12345678
Sort Code : 10 20 30
Note : This account has been closed Thank you for your letter of 2nd October. However as indicated in both of our previous letters we wanted this matter resolved quickly otherwise court action would be taken. There has been sufficient time to deal with this problem but unfortunately it has taken you nearly one month to even acknowledge our correspondence. Therefore court proceedings were recently initiated for £1,624.00 plus £438.48 interest plus £120 in court costs making a total claim of £2,182.48 (spreadsheet enclosed to break down these costs). We note that this claim has been acknowledged by Natwest. Of course, should you offer us £2,182.48 in full and final settlement of this matter we would be prepared to drop the claim. But if not then the matter must be resolved by the court. Yours sincerely Mr John Blue NATWEST THEN SENT THIS LETTER A FEW DAYS LATER Dear Mr Blue Thank you for your letter of 18th September 2006. I apologise for any dissatisfaction caused by the application of charges to your account. We believe that our charges are fair, reasonable and transparent. We consider that the amounts debited to your account have been applied strictly in accordance with your agreement with us and out published tariff, which we are satisfied complies with all applicable laws and regulations. We are also committed to ensuring the transparency of the information that we give out customers about the operation of our products. Against that background, we must differ to the views expressed in your letter. Accordingly, the charges that have been applied to your account must stand. However, than you again for taking the trouble to write. Yours sincerely Mr Black
Customer Care Team
Natwest Banks