Alliance & Leicester Faster Payments out

emeraldbugle

FW16 wrote: »

Yea, I've just discovered the faster payments weren't working recently, to my cost!:mad:

Sent a payment to my MBNA credit card, on 28.01.2010 and it didn't go as a FP, so now I've got late payment fee and interest!

Another family member swapped money to her savings account from A&L on 01.02.2010, and that didn't go FP either

both were less than £250

What chance of me getting reimbersed from A&L do you think??

Write a complaint to their complaints email address.

I sent a FP last week for a mortgage completion, under the £250. They sent it as BACS. I had checked their help section before sending. I had to pay the balance on card at a cost. Now waiting for funds to be returned to me. I complained about the fact that their help section does not mention the 'first payee' issue.
I have had a result an ex gratia payment. :T
Why do Natwest and RBS have no issue with 'first payees', they also send £10k? A&L's £250 FP is crap.

The_Moog_2

I phoned A&L on Friday to close my account (with some trepidation after reading some of the comments about their customer service on here but it was fine lol). They didn't really try to persuade me to stay once I cited the "faster" payment service as my reason for leaving them, they said they hoped to raise the limit by the end of the year but acknowledged that didn't help me getting charged for late payments now. They offered to reduce my account to a standard current account so I wouldn't get charges for not paying in £500 a month so I could return to them when the faster payment system is better, I said no thanks and they didn't press it. I shall watch with interest to see if my account is closed in the 7 days I was told though.

I am guessing the faster payment service is a major reason for them losing customers. I wonder why they don't sort it out then.

Chris2000

The_Moog wrote: »

I am guessing the faster payment service is a major reason for them losing customers. I wonder why they don't sort it out then.

If it is losing them customers then I am sure they already know. But they are working on merging A&L accounts onto Santander's IT system and I believe they have an IT freeze in place while they do this.

c-m

I sent £12 to from A&L account to my Barclays Cash Card account recently and it took 3 working days.

This is way below their limit, why didn't it go faster payments?

I have since opened a co-op account and will be severing all ties with Santander.

blueberrypie

c-m wrote: »

I sent £12 to from A&L account to my Barclays Cash Card account recently and it took 3 working days.

This is way below their limit, why didn't it go faster payments?.

Was it your first payment to that account? First payments go by BACS.

c-m

yeah, but that is pointless, why do they do that?

masonic

c-m wrote: »

yeah, but that is pointless, why do they do that?

It is pointless. You can send £1, then the next day send £250. The £250 arrives instantly, 2 working days before the £1!

jadex

blueberrypie wrote: »

No you wouldn't. Transfers between A&L accounts, even if they're in the same name, aren't instant. If you'd sent the money from your new A&L accounts to your old A&L accounts, it wouldn't have been available until tomorrow.

maybe it has been changed only recently, but transfers between my and OH accounts are instant (i.e. balances change instantly but statements are updated overnight)

blueberrypie

jadex wrote: »

maybe it has been changed only recently, but transfers between my and OH accounts are instant (i.e. balances change instantly but statements are updated overnight)

They might show on your balance, but if you spend the funds on the same day they're received in the account, you're liable to be charged for going overdrawn. A&L require that funds are in the account by the end of business on the *previous* day. In other words, if you had £200 in your account on Tuesday night, deposited £500 on Wednesday (even in cash), then spent £300 on Wednesday, A&L would consider you to have gone overdrawn.

carpy

blueberrypie wrote: »

They might show on your balance, but if you spend the funds on the same day they're received in the account, you're liable to be charged for going overdrawn. A&L require that funds are in the account by the end of business on the *previous* day. In other words, if you had £200 in your account on Tuesday night, deposited £500 on Wednesday (even in cash), then spent £300 on Wednesday, A&L would consider you to have gone overdrawn.

is there any point contesting this with the FOS? has anyone done so and been successful?