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Alliance & leicester "best banana republic" bank.
capstain411
Posts: 268 Forumite
Before I start, I am sure many people would disagree with me. I would have done the same, noting the fact that alliance and Leicester are giving the highest interest rate, but I am gradually getting fed up with this bank.
It was a nice Tuesday afternoon last week, I entered Alliance and Leicester branch, broad street branch, Birmingham. Extended my card at the counter and requested for 3000 ( MY MONEY NOT OVERDRAFT) pounds in cash. The counter assistant got shock of her life. She now started the long session of consulting her colleagues on what is the procedure for large sum withdrawal. 10 mins still waiting on counter... she says.."ah sorry sir, but amounts like this you have to give us a week's notice, we do not keep sums like this in branch".....well, by now my grip on wooden panel on the counter was good enough to rip it out. Then manager came outside and suggested i wait for some time so that they can do something. Further 5 mins gone... manager comes out and tells me to show proof of identity, well luckily i flash out my driving license. The manager says well we can issue 3000 pounds but only in 10 and some in 20. I explained that i am flying out of country to a conference in India in 7 hours and carrying 3000 pounds in 10s that is 300 notes of 10 in my pocket, i think would not only be insensible but foolish. Finally as I made it clear that i would not budge without the cash, when the tried to persuade me to buy a demand draft paying 15 pounds...
Now i am in India, everything looks gr8...I come into my hotel, log into my computer, check into my acc with HSBC, Halifax still happy. Then i try A&L... I had issued couple of cheques before i left UK wanted to keep track of them when i was away. The A&L site does not allow me to log in. I tried it another day the same.. left 2 more days.. again same. Totally fed up i call the Uk help centre. Now I am kept on hold for 14 mins,(by now I had already spent all the interest which i earned by keeping my money in A&L) then a lady answers and the reason which she specifies blows my head off " having had security reviews, sir we decided that from certain countries, you can not log into internet banking".
With business world getting shrunk every second, how on earth can alliance and Leicester decide that you cannot operate internet bank from certain countries. I am appalled by the lack of understanding of innate nature of internet banking which in lay man's language is " access to your money from anywhere in the world" .
I think instead of moving forward alliance and Leicester have decided just to mindlessly increase their interest rates and compromise on staff training ( at branches) and virtual banking. I than had to use a proxy to log into my account. So is 5.5% int rate good enough to deny me my own money ( a week's notice to withdraw my money in cash) or make me log into my own account using 'hackish' ways ( using proxy to re-route ip address).
It was a nice Tuesday afternoon last week, I entered Alliance and Leicester branch, broad street branch, Birmingham. Extended my card at the counter and requested for 3000 ( MY MONEY NOT OVERDRAFT) pounds in cash. The counter assistant got shock of her life. She now started the long session of consulting her colleagues on what is the procedure for large sum withdrawal. 10 mins still waiting on counter... she says.."ah sorry sir, but amounts like this you have to give us a week's notice, we do not keep sums like this in branch".....well, by now my grip on wooden panel on the counter was good enough to rip it out. Then manager came outside and suggested i wait for some time so that they can do something. Further 5 mins gone... manager comes out and tells me to show proof of identity, well luckily i flash out my driving license. The manager says well we can issue 3000 pounds but only in 10 and some in 20. I explained that i am flying out of country to a conference in India in 7 hours and carrying 3000 pounds in 10s that is 300 notes of 10 in my pocket, i think would not only be insensible but foolish. Finally as I made it clear that i would not budge without the cash, when the tried to persuade me to buy a demand draft paying 15 pounds...
Now i am in India, everything looks gr8...I come into my hotel, log into my computer, check into my acc with HSBC, Halifax still happy. Then i try A&L... I had issued couple of cheques before i left UK wanted to keep track of them when i was away. The A&L site does not allow me to log in. I tried it another day the same.. left 2 more days.. again same. Totally fed up i call the Uk help centre. Now I am kept on hold for 14 mins,(by now I had already spent all the interest which i earned by keeping my money in A&L) then a lady answers and the reason which she specifies blows my head off " having had security reviews, sir we decided that from certain countries, you can not log into internet banking".
With business world getting shrunk every second, how on earth can alliance and Leicester decide that you cannot operate internet bank from certain countries. I am appalled by the lack of understanding of innate nature of internet banking which in lay man's language is " access to your money from anywhere in the world" .
I think instead of moving forward alliance and Leicester have decided just to mindlessly increase their interest rates and compromise on staff training ( at branches) and virtual banking. I than had to use a proxy to log into my account. So is 5.5% int rate good enough to deny me my own money ( a week's notice to withdraw my money in cash) or make me log into my own account using 'hackish' ways ( using proxy to re-route ip address).
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Comments
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Despite having my own gripes about AL, i think you will find that for the majority of banks, certainly ex bs's these days
1. Have a maximum daily cash on demand withdrawal amount and expect notice of larger withdrawals. This would have been in your account tandcs.
2. Do not allow access from certain countries, in fact in several cases it is a breach of the account tandcs to access the account from abroad.
3. Expect photo proof of identity.
After all, would you have been happy if for example someone found your bank card on the street and withdrew 3k from your current account in used 20s?
Cant have it both ways.0 -
capstain411 wrote:Before I start, I am sure many people would disagree with me. I would have done the same, noting the fact that alliance and Leicester are giving the highest interest rate, but I am gradually getting fed up with this bank.
It was a nice Tuesday afternoon last week, I entered Alliance and Leicester branch, broad street branch, Birmingham. Extended my card at the counter and requested for 3000 ( MY MONEY NOT OVERDRAFT) pounds in cash. The counter assistant got shock of her life. She now started the long session of consulting her colleagues on what is the procedure for large sum withdrawal. 10 mins still waiting on counter... she says.."ah sorry sir, but amounts like this you have to give us a week's notice, we do not keep sums like this in branch".....well, by now my grip on wooden panel on the counter was good enough to rip it out. Just looking at my face turn green, like hulk, the manager came outside and suggested i wait for some time so that they can do something. Further 5 mins gone... manager comes out and tells me to show proof of identity. I was of the understanding bank card is proof of identity,, well luckily i flash out my driving license. The manager says well we can issue 3000 pounds but only in 10 and some in 20. I am glad i have got good anger management capabilities... i explained with full composure that i am flying out of country to a conference in India in 7 hours and carrying 3000 pounds in 10s that is 300 notes of 10 in my pocket, i think would not only be insensible but foolish. Finally as I made it clear that i would not budge without the cash, when the tried to persuade me to buy a demand draft paying 15 pounds...just to get rid of me i was given 3000 in 20's. Believe me the money in my trousers looked as if i have a 'hard-on'. I thought the saga ended there.
Now i am in India... had a great breakthrough in business, everything looks gr8...I come into my hotel, log into my computer, check into my acc with HSBC, Halifax still happy. Then i try A&L... I had issued couple of cheques before i left UK wanted to keep track of them when i was away. The A&L site does not allow me to log in. I tried it another day the same.. left 2 more days.. again same. Totally fed up i call the Uk help centre. Now I am kept on hold for 14 mins,(by now I had already spent all the interest which i earned by keeping my money in A&L) then a lady answers and the reason which she specifies blows my head off " having had security reviews, sir we decided that from certain countries, you can not log into internet banking".
With business world getting shrunk every second, how on earth can alliance and Leicester decide that you cannot operate internet bank from certain countries. I am appalled by the lack of understanding of innate nature of internet banking which in lay man's language is " access to your money from anywhere in the world" .
I think instead of moving forward alliance and Leicester have decided just to mindlessly increase their interest rates and compromise on staff training ( at branches) and virtual banking. I than had to use a proxy to log into my account. So is 5.5% int rate good enough to deny me my own money ( a week's notice to withdraw my money in cash) or make me log into my own account using 'hackish' ways ( using proxy to re-route ip address).
First of all, Calm down!!!
Secondly, I very much doubt they said a weeks notice. With the ex building societies it is usually no more than 1 days notice that you have to give to withdraw cash over the daily branch limit. With regards to ID for the withdrawal, as the poster above says would you be happy if you lost your card and they gave whoever found it the money without asking for ID? I very much doubt it. With regards to the internet, on some banks websites, the encryption used here in the UK is not allowed in certain countries. Perhaps Alliance and Leicester are one of them?0 -
To be blatantly honest, these are most banks procedures. Surely you know that you can't just walk in to a bank and demand £3000 in high value notes and expect them to hand it over with just your bank card for ID purposes? I'd HOPE that my bank would not give anyone carrying my bank card £3000 in readies at the blink of an eye.
I think your bank were outstandingly reasonable, you DO have to order that kind of money in advance- it's standard procedure anywhere. Instead of a point blank refusal they tried to help you out, to which it sounds like you were very ungrateful. Throwing your weight around with the 'i'm going on business in 7 hours' reason probably just made them think that it was YOU who is unorganised. If you need £3k to go out on business with then you'd think that you'd sort out your affairs in advance. There's an old saying that 'a lack of planning on your behalf does not constitute and emergency on theirs'.0 -
Yup - you were right, most people do disagree with you. I had my wallet stolen a couple of weeks ago, with all my cards in it. Naturally, I cancelled them a.s.a.p. HOWEVER as it was pinched in my local high street, according to you, the thief should have been able to nip in to the local Barclays, Lloyds, A+L, produce the cards and get my hard-earned loot. I think not.0
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i don't see how carrying £3000 in £10 and £20 notes is any more foolish than carrying it in £50 notes...
I totally agree with the other posters I'm afraid, their security checks HAVE to be that stringent. Sorry you were inconvenienced but really it has to be this way, doesn't it? To be honest I think you were VERY lucky that you were able to leave with £3000 in the end. You probably cleared them out!
I would say though it is a shame that most people don't realise that you can't just get at large amounts of your cash UNTIL they desperately need it for some reason and can't wait! Don't think there's anything the banks can do about this though, its just one of those live and learn things...0 -
Well we will have to agree to disagree on couple of viewpoints. I never had any issue with the bank asking me id proof. Most of you who replied to my post just emphasized on certain relatively irrelevant points which i had posted .I had highlighted the main issues which i had with bank... unfortunately most of you overlooked it.
I do believe banks should keep sufficient funds in branch and certainly be able to cater to withdrawls like mine. I am not really interested in hypothetical situations wherein 20 customers come and demand cash in large sum....banks and atleast banks like A&L should know what is the top limit at any given normal day and keep sufficient funds. what if that was an emergency can the afford to say the same.
Some of you commented about me being disorganised.....well forums like this are meant to attract opinions,,,, but giving your opinion about somebody without knowing the actual facts is rather naive.It is a fast moving world and you can get deputized at the 'nth' moment quite often. And the same argument applies to questions on why so much cash is required while traveling.
The sole intention of posting my experience was to inform other fellow users the problems which they might face in similar situation and be prepared. As rightly said by morg-monster.. perhaps these are things which you live and learn. ( but believe me it is always advisable to carry legal limit of cash in highest denominations ... that is half in hand luggage and half in wallet.) Having cash you can exchange money in parts depending upon fluctuation in exchange rates...believe me there is massive change in rates on daily basis atleast with Indian rupees.0 -
Without giving the bank notice that you'd be doing this, I'd say you are being unreasonable in your request. They don't carry enough money to grant these sort of requests. A few car buyers have been bitten by this.capstain411 wrote:Extended my card at the counter and requested for 3000 ( MY MONEY NOT OVERDRAFT) pounds in cash.Conjugating the verb 'to be":
-o I am humble -o You are attention seeking -o She is Nadine Dorries0 -
capstain411 wrote:Well we will have to agree to disagree on couple of viewpoints. I never had any issue with the bank asking me id proof. Most of you who replied to my post just emphasized on certain relatively irrelevant points which i had posted .I had highlighted the main issues which i had with bank... unfortunately most of you overlooked it.
I do believe banks should keep sufficient funds in branch and certainly be able to cater to withdrawls like mine. I am not really interested in hypothetical situations wherein 20 customers come and demand cash in large sum....banks and atleast banks like A&L should know what is the top limit at any given normal day and keep sufficient funds. what if that was an emergency can the afford to say the same.
Some of you commented about me being disorganised.....well forums like this are meant to attract opinions,,,, but giving your opinion about somebody without knowing the actual facts is rather naive.It is a fast moving world and you can get deputized at the 'nth' moment quite often. And the same argument applies to questions on why so much cash is required while traveling.
The sole intention of posting my experience was to inform other fellow users the problems which they might face in similar situation and be prepared. As rightly said by morg-monster.. perhaps these are things which you live and learn. ( but believe me it is always advisable to carry legal limit of cash in highest denominations ... that is half in hand luggage and half in wallet.) Having cash you can exchange money in parts depending upon fluctuation in exchange rates...believe me there is massive change in rates on daily basis atleast with Indian rupees.
You also have to understand that places like Alliance and Leicester, Halifax and Abbey National and the other ex building societies are not the same as HSBC or Lloyds etc. They don't have huge vaults with millions of pounds like the big 4 banks do.0 -
capstain411 wrote:I do believe banks should keep sufficient funds in branch and certainly be able to cater to withdrawls like mine. I am not really interested in hypothetical situations wherein 20 customers come and demand cash in large sum....banks and atleast banks like A&L should know what is the top limit at any given normal day and keep sufficient funds. what if that was an emergency can the afford to say the same...
Sorry to get bogged down in a generalisation, but how do you know if you weren't the 21 person to enter the branch and demand a large amount of cash. What would your opinion of the account provider have been if they turned around and told you that the only had £250 left in the branch because of the hypothetical twenty customers in front of you? I suspect you would have been far angrier if you could not have accessed any cash than having to face a little inconvenience trying to get at your cash.
As an aside all deposit taking organisations, must retain some of those deposits as cash, and this reserve tends to be held is several central locations. When you place an order for a large amount of money, this is transferred to the branch on top of their normal daily amount to ensure that ordinary clients can access their deposit.0 -
I drew £5,000 cash from my RBS account last week. I didn't know the procedure, but phoned them to check there would not be a problem. I was asked to bring some ID, preferably my passport.
On arrival, I produced my card, then my passport. The cashier then produced a form and went through it. I had to pass a number of security checks, including the password (not the internet banking password) set up on the account when it was opened and the date the account was opened. I happened to know the full date, but an approximate date would have sufficed.
I have to say I was impressed with - rather than annoyed by - the level of security, even though I had phoned and given (2 days) notice of the withdrawal.
I have to admit, I wouldn't have expected to withdraw a huge amount (more than £1,000?) without (a) giving some notice and (b) jumping through some hoops.Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac
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