Questions of cash: NatWest wasn’t co-operative as we tried to shut accounts

Q: We decided earlier this year to close our accounts with NatWest and transfer to the Co-operative Bank to reduce bank charges. We completed the relevant switching request to close and transfer accounts. What should have been simple has been anything but. After a month, one of our accounts had been closed and transferred, but the other four remained open despite us writing to chase them up. We then lodged a complaint with NatWest, but despite having a conversation with our allocated case officer, the other accounts are still not closed. NatWest’s official complaints procedure states that we are supposed to be notified weekly of progress, but this has not happened. Our local branch is appalled at our treatment and has done the best it can but it has no control over account closures. Weeks later, three of our accounts still remain open. LM, Brighton.

A: All the NatWest accounts have now been closed. A spokeswoman for RBS/NatWest says: “Unfortunately, the details required to close [the reader’s] account were taken down inaccurately in the first instance. This led to a delay in processing the request. However all the accounts have now been closed and [the reader] has been refunded for costs incurred as a result of the delay.”