A & L current account is rubbish !

g3mini_2

About 6 mths ago I switched to the A & L because it offered £100 & a 0% overdraft for a year. The switch didn't go smoothly & i had to chase up direct debits that hadn't been transferred & I didn't get an overdraft because I didn't fill in the initial form & when I enquired about it I was told it was too late.
I am now at the end of my tether with this bank because i have repeatedly noticed my account looking like it is in credit only to look again the next day (after i have made a payment or spent the money) to see that it is overdrawn, therefore incurring £5 overdraft fee per day !!
This account does not reflect what is actually in your account as it takes days to process debit payments.
I am now looking for another account, any suggestions?

withnell

Any account will take a few days to process debit card payments....

Jonboy1889

withnell wrote: »

Any account will take a few days to process debit card payments....

I agree that A&L are totally rubbish online system, and I disagree with this statement above (partly). HSBC instantly show and DDs, and your balance is your balance there and then, it doesn't change throughout the day. I.e. when you transfer money it instantly shows up in your transaction list.

This is why I've left A&L. You never really know where you are. I once transferred £100 out because it said I had £120 in the account, with £100 arriving at the start of the day. It then the next day retrospectively added a £100 debit BEFORE this £100 arrived, which meant I was in debt by £80, even tho when I looked at the start of the day it says I was in credit. Ridiculous. HSBC/Halifax far better.

Plus another ridiculous feature of A&L is that you can only send one payment to a person in one day, when you try and send another it says "you are already sending this person a payment, you cannot send another". Ridiculous again, and it would be sorted if it had an improved "live" transaction processing system like HSBC. Rant over! :-)

BigAndy_79

I agree - their online banking is very poor. Was hard to beat the £100 cash and 6% for a year, though....

Jonboy1889

BigAndy_79 wrote: »

I agree - their online banking is very poor. Was hard to beat the £100 cash and 6% for a year, though....

That's true! I did enjoy the 8%, and they accidentally paid me the £100 twice as well I would have reported it to them had they not in my first month taken out a direct debit worth £60 to a charity twice accidentally in one month. I couldn't really demand the £60 back from a charity (esp as I know the people i sent it to) - it's a little harsh!

bingy_burge

Lloyds is slow to update but if you get a rbs acc with full autho visa debit you will see it go through straight away.

To be honest if your a grown up keeping track of what u have spent is not difficult if you rely on the bank website to show you what you have or havent spent there is always a chance to come unstuck and get charge. Its time to take control of your finances and look after your own money. Some transaction can take something like up to 15 days to go through believe it or not as it happened to me once and the bank stated that it was all above board just took the maxium permissable time aloud to clear.

FreddieFact

How long did it take them to credit your account with the £100 new customer bonus?

Jonboy1889

FreddieFact wrote: »

How long did it take them to credit your account with the £100 new customer bonus?

Took 3 months for both (opened September, got it end of December)

Jonboy1889

bingy_burge wrote: »

Lloyds is slow to update but if you get a rbs acc with full autho visa debit you will see it go through straight away.

To be honest if your a grown up keeping track of what u have spent is not difficult if you rely on the bank website to show you what you have or havent spent there is always a chance to come unstuck and get charge. Its time to take control of your finances and look after your own money. Some transaction can take something like up to 15 days to go through believe it or not as it happened to me once and the bank stated that it was all above board just took the maxium permissable time aloud to clear.

Agreed, and I have no problem keeping track of my finances. But if I had the choice between a decent online system that shows everything straight away, or a rubbish one that is confusing and illogical, I'd probably choose the decent one.

butterfly72

Yes, I've had real problems with the A&L online system including not transactions showing up for days and not really knowing the balance. I've also experienced DDs going out twice!! Terrible account. The CS is just awful too. It took me 6 months to sort out a mistake THEY made.

I'm in the halifax and really like their online set up and CS. I'd recommend them.