Could I complain about this

Scottishmummy

and how could i go about it?

Yesterday I transferred £600 from an A&L account to another account in order to pay off a debt. Normally the money transfers immediately although not normally for this much. The money did not show up immediately and was still not there last night so I tried transferring £1 to check there were no problems with the details I had put in - that showed immediately. This morning still no sign so I phoned A&L only to be told that it would take 4 working days as it was over £250!!! :mad: NOWHERE on the website does it state this limit - in fact the exact wording taken from the help section of the website is as follows -
Faster Payments

We are improving our service to you by taking part in a payment scheme called Faster Payments. This service is being introduced across the banking industry and means that when you move money electronically either by Internet or telephone banking it will usually be available for you to use on the same day*.
What this means to you
Currently, if you move money between accounts or make bill payments, it will normally be available 3 to 4 working days later. Faster Payments means your money will usually be ready to use on the same day as long as the bank (or account) you are transferring it to or from is part of the Faster Payments scheme.
We are now able to receive money by Faster Payments and have started to send money by the scheme. Certain conditions will apply**.
You can easily make transfers or bill payments securely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using our internet or telephone banking service.
The Faster Payments scheme will allow you to keep your money in your account for longer and still pay your bills on time. You don’t have to do anything – simply continue to make payments as normal via Internet Banking.
*Other types of payments such as Direct Debits and the time it takes for a cheque to be available will not change. Payments to Alliance & Leicester Credit Card will not be sent using the Faster Payments scheme. This means that the time it takes for these to go through will also not change.
**If the bank (or account) you have requested the money to or from is not part of the Faster Payments scheme, your money will continue to be moved using the BACS (Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services) scheme and will be available for you to use 3-4 working days later. The Faster Payments scheme limit is £10,000 for immediate transfers and one off transfers that are set for a future date. The limit for standing orders is £100,000. Standing orders move money to another account on a regular basis. To start with we will have lower limits. These limits may change at any time without us telling you first. Other banks’ limits may be different. Additional security checks may be carried out to protect you from fraud. If this happens your money may not be available on the same day.

As you can see absolutely no mention of the £250 limit. I read this out to the person and they still said ' yes but it takes 4 working days if the payment is over £250'. Aaagh! I said well the money was needed yesterday and put the phone down on them! Not having it yesterday will not have cost me any charges but I would have liked to have cleared that debt!

Is this a complainable offence on their part? Is it worth going to the ombudsman about this?

longforthesun

I understand your frustration but sadly as Faster Payment is never guaranteed then no you wont get far in complaining. I pay into an account that my bank confirms has been sent FP however the recipient bank takes 24hours to process the payment. FP is great when it works.

Very frustrating though when you want to clear a debt.

aliasojo

It does/did say something about £250 limit, I read it myself and only ever transfer £250 as I want my payments to go as FP. No doubt I'll not be able to find where it says that if I go look now, but it was there I promise.

Anyway, whether it's there or not, as longforthesun states, FP's are not guaranteed, so you have no comeback unfortunately.

Scottishmummy

Even the person I was talking to agreed it didn't say on the website.

aliasojo

Taken from the site 2 minutes ago.....

You said:
What type of payments can be made?

Our answer is:
Single immediate payments - a one-off payment to be sent within hours (immediately). Transaction limits apply (which are subject to change). Currently the limit is £250. Please note that payments may sometimes be delayed due to occasional fraud checks.

tyllwyd

Scottishmummy wrote: »

Faster Payments

**If the bank (or account) you have requested the money to or from is not part of the Faster Payments scheme, your money will continue to be moved using the BACS (Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services) scheme and will be available for you to use 3-4 working days later. The Faster Payments scheme limit is £10,000 for immediate transfers and one off transfers that are set for a future date. The limit for standing orders is £100,000. Standing orders move money to another account on a regular basis. To start with we will have lower limits. These limits may change at any time without us telling you first. Other banks’ limits may be different. Additional security checks may be carried out to protect you from fraud. If this happens your money may not be available on the same day.

I don't think you can complain because (in a very vague way) it does cover it here.