The real price promise challenge ... spot why it's impossible to claim

The real price promise challenge ... spot why it's impossible to claim

The NatWest advert currently splashed across our television screens screams: "Lower mortgage payments or pounds 1,000 - you can't lose". "Challenge Churchill" is another. Then there's "pounds 50 back" if you can't beat the Barclays insurance deal. But what happens when you try to claim?

Erika Carroll, who lives in Bristol, is one person who tried to claim NatWest's pounds 1,000 - and now doubts the value of these marketing campaigns.

When visiting her branch, the part-time teacher was strongly encouraged by the counter staff to take the NatWest mortgage challenge while she was paying some money into her account.

"Before we started, I asked the cashier clearly to confirm that if NatWest couldn't beat my current mortgage deal with Cheltenham & Gloucester it would give me pounds 1,000. She said it would, and it would take five minutes."

At this point she was ushered through to another room where she repeated the same question to a second member of staff and was given the same answer.

"As soon as they had done the calculations, and found that they couldn't lower my payments, they suddenly started talking about terms and conditions. They said they would not be handing over the pounds 1,000 because I had borrowed more than 70% of my home's value.

"The whole thing was a complete waste of my time. I gave the staff two occasions to mention the fact that there were conditions attached, but on neither occasion did they do so.

"I.....continued below

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have since complained to the bank and await a response," she says. According to Julia Harris of independent financial data provider, Moneyfacts, the terms of the NatWest offer make it virtually impossible to claim.

"The fine print means that NatWest is unbeatable against the small number of other banks named. It's little more than a marketing ploy to entice borrowers through the door."

NatWest told us this week that it regretted any "misunderstanding that may have occurred when Ms Carroll visited our branch" and said that at no point did a NatWest staff member say the challenge had no associated terms and conditions.

It said it paid a "very small number" of claims from the campaigns run in 2005 and 2006 - but none this year, apparently. "We're confident we can continue to lower the monthly payments of even more customers who take our challenge in 2007," it said. It's not just bank customers who are being lured in by marketing offers. Edinburgh-based freelance translator Marjorie Farquharson recently tried to claim on the power company EDF's price promise.

"On my bill it said it would be beat British Gas's prices until at least 2006 - which I took to mean until the end of the year. Price changes meant EDF was one of the most expensive in this area. When I enquired about it, I was told that no-one else had tried to claim."

Eventually, the company responded saying that offer ended at the start of 2006 and if she wanted to make a claim she would "have to fight it out with our lawyers".

She's now switching supplier.

m.brignall@guardian.co.uk

Churchill and Barclays? No thanks

The Barclays "price guarantee" looked seductive. It promises to beat rival renewal quotes or drop the price by up to pounds 100 and give away an extra pounds 50 if you switch.