My A&L bank charges are out of control!

16squash

Can anyone offer me any advice about my A&L bank charges, I'm so worried.

This is my fault for not sorting this earlier, but I have ended up with £500 worth of charges. Let me explain.

I opened a current account last year to get the £100 incentive, which I paid off my credit card, as I am trying to clear my debts. I had to have one direct debit set in my A&L account which I did, but my salary was still being paid in to my old account, so I was transferring money over each month. I was paid on the 16th July and my salary went in to my old account and my direct debit came out of my new account on the 17th. I transferred half of my salary to my new account on the 16th, but it takes 3 days to clear in to my A&L account. I was tied up at work so I couldn't get to my nearest branch (3 miles away) and I really didn't know at the time that you could deposit money in the post office. I thought I would just have to take the charge. The direct was for £40. The money in my account cleared. I was charged £25 which I paid straight away. What I really did not know was that I was charged £5 per day for being overdrawn (the 3 days that my salary was clearing). I didn't read my statement therefore the £15 came out of my account and took me overdrawn again! The first I realised that I was still be charged per day the charges were up to £50.

I phoned A&L and said I couldn't pay the charges, they weren't interested. I wasn't rude to them, but just said that I can't afford to pay these charges, they said okay and hung up on me.

It's a really poor excuse but I have just been so busy I still haven't sorted this and I now owe them £500. They have also said that they will be passing my debt on to a debt recovery agency. I spoke to them last week and they have said they will take £25 off. I just don't have the money to pay this. I just don't know what to do, can anyone help?

emmalock

A&L are doing the same to me i opened and account with them that i have never used and even tho i have not used the account put a penny in or out of it they are asking for £250 , which they first put on hold while they looked into and now declared i need to pay the full amount this cant be right can anyone please help me i do not want to make this payment, how can they justife charging this???

onlypaddy

emmalock wrote: »

A&L are doing the same to me i opened and account with them that i have never used and even tho i have not used the account put a penny in or out of it they are asking for £250 , which they first put on hold while they looked into and now declared i need to pay the full amount this cant be right can anyone please help me i do not want to make this payment, how can they justife charging this???

while its nowhere near justified, if you have never used the account you have broken the terms and conditions. You have to credit the account with at least £500 per month or you are charged a £5 underfunding fee. If this takes you overdrawn you're charged for that too. Its in the T&C's so unfortunately you'll have to pay it

benoit

emmalock wrote: »

A&L are doing the same to me i opened and account with them that i have never used and even tho i have not used the account put a penny in or out of it they are asking for £250 , which they first put on hold while they looked into and now declared i need to pay the full amount this cant be right can anyone please help me i do not want to make this payment, how can they justife charging this???

What do they say the fee is for? They must have told you why they want £250 for an account you've never even used.

benoit

onlypaddy wrote: »

while its nowhere near justified, if you have never used the account you have broken the terms and conditions. You have to credit the account with at least £500 per month or you are charged a £5 underfunding fee. If this takes you overdrawn you're charged for that too. Its in the T&C's so unfortunately you'll have to pay it

Does this apply for all thier accounts? The standard current account does not indicate a minimum credit each month.

Our Current Account is ideal if you are aged 18 or over and want to be able to get to your cash through a cash machine or post office branch in the UK. For those with busy lives, you can manage your account using the internet, by phone and by mobile banking. What is more, it is up to you how you run the account. You can decide how much or how little you pay into the account each month.

benoit

It looks like only the Premier accounts have a minimum monthly credit of £500.

Baldur

benoit wrote: »

Does this apply for all thier accounts? The standard current account does not indicate a minimum credit each month.

Our Current Account is ideal if you are aged 18 or over and want to be able to get to your cash through a cash machine or post office branch in the UK. For those with busy lives, you can manage your account using the internet, by phone and by mobile banking. What is more, it is up to you how you run the account. You can decide how much or how little you pay into the account each month.

Premier & Premier Direct accounts (i.e. the ones for which they tend to pay an inducement to open/transfer) have minimum monthly funding requirements - see paragraph 32.2 et seq http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/customer-service/pdfs/Current-Account-terms-and-conditions.pdf

benoit

Baldur wrote: »

Premier & Premier Direct accounts (i.e. the ones for which they tend to pay an inducement to open/transfer) have minimum monthly funding requirements - see paragraph 32.2 et seq http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/customer-service/pdfs/Current-Account-terms-and-conditions.pdf

Thanks, i was a bit worried for a minute because i have an account too & have not made the £500 this month. lol :eek:

xmaslolly76

What ever happened to not being able to charge you if it was their charges that sent you overdrawn or am i harping back to the good old days when banks were sometimes reasonable?

Mrs_Ryan

Theres no minimum credit for the Current Account - I've got that one. I pay in more than double the minimum required for the Premier but wont have the Premier again *shudders*