font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by abbiesmum2003
I am sorry to read this has happened and at payday. Can i ask what sort of account it was? Im with Natwest and panic everyday they will do this. We had a select account to start with (pre-iva) and after iva was set up we got downgraded to a basic account without warning. I rang Natwest and was told because we are in iva they dont need to give warning. Id even read all their small print to quote it as saying they need to give customers x amount of warning before changing account however theyvsay as im in iva they could down grade without warning (also in small print...which its not...they say small print out of date!!!). I think basically banks make it up as they go along and because we cant have overdrafts etc they dont make any money from us so can treat us worse than normal.
Im glad you got your money back and hope new account is up and running soon.
Kelly, yes I have opened another account, and as I needed it quickly (literally couldn't have happened on a worse day, payday!) I ended up using a bank called secure trust as they could set it up straight away and send me my new bank details and card etc within 3 working days, and they charge £12.50 a month plus a £12.50 setup fee, but from what I could see I had no choice. Perhaps, I don't know, once I've got my wages and have a bit more time to look, I can cancel that account and go with a free one. Apparently though, from what I've seen, having an IVA doesn't give you much choice of bank accounts. I have applied for the co-op one but that was gonna take too long to setup. This is exactly what happens when a bank shuts your account with no notice.
abbiesmum - I had both of those accounts you mentioned. And they froze them both! Despite only one of the accounts being used. I had both accounts and used to swap money between the 2 after Natwest a couple of years ago decided you could only use their card at their branches and not at any cash machine. I know it's pointless talking to them too. I rang them on Monday morning to discuss the situation, and explained how they'd left me high and dry on payday, and they weren't interested, not a single shred of empathy or help was forthcoming. I even then took a walk down to my branch of Natwest, thinking someone would take me into a private office and explain to me what had happened, and perhaps help me sort out my finances, maybe even unfreeze the account until I had the chance to sort out a new one if i explained to them in person what they'd done to me. And all the guy on the desk did was ask me to take a seat in a waiting room, i waited for 10 minutes thinking he was sorting something, but he just called me over, handed me a phone and put me through to the exact same department i'd spoken to myself that morning, with the exact same response surprisingly enough. And then sent me on my way. Hopefully the same doesn't happen to you.