Is it Alliance & Leciester or is it me?

Not_Angela_Rippon

I've had what I think is a very bad experience with my A&L account over the past year with a number of times I have gone over my agreed overdraft on payday but my salary has covered the overspend on the same day so I thought that was OK. Some other times I've gone over by about under £50 in the middle of the month but each time this is corrected by my salary going in at the end of the month.

What I was shocked at was that each time this has happened A&L have put a 3 on my credit rating for that month for my credit rating.

I have complained but they have ignored the letter so I've written again.

Have I got a point - is this a strange practice or is it me?

opinions4u

other times I've gone over by about under £50 in the middle of the month but each time this is corrected by my salary going in at the end of the month.

If you are in unauthorised overdraft for several days each month I'd expect them to charge you an obscene amount of money and be quite within their rights to report your financial mismanagement to credit reference agencies.

Is it Alliance & Leciester or is it me?

It's you (assuming the overdraft is not authorised).

This from Motley Fool may help.

A delinquent account is one where repayments have been at least three months in arrears for two or more consecutive months or have been late for more than three months over the past year.

Not_Angela_Rippon

opinions4u wrote: »

If you are in unauthorised overdraft for several days each month I'd expect them to charge you an obscene amount of money and be quite within their rights to report your financial mismanagement to credit reference agencies.

It's you.

Not each month, but some months in 2010. There is reporting that to a credit agency but a 3? Isn't that the same as if I had borrowed from them and not paid it back for three months.

whatyadoinsucka

I have rang and complained to A&L many times, the problem is with the banking systems and technology in general, There clearing systems where inherited by girobank and even since the santander re-branding appear to be poor. I was hoping the rebrand would mean my accounts would go onto a santander (even abbey) system.

Another issue with A&L is a payment can never be assumed to have been paid, with hsbc i know if i tranfer money this minute i can log on to any other bank and i will see that payment in the time it takes to click 'make payment ' and log on to the receiving bank.
but i transfer money back to my hsbc it can be within a few hours or days (upto 5)
there system can't even handle making transfers on fridays, and money now goes saturday.

My advice ring up and kick off in a nice way. I keep telling them there systems should order items receipts first, payments second on a timely basis. The systems are not live and so cannot cope..

whatyadoinsucka

i used to have my wage paid in to A&L but was getting the same issues, so started reusing my HSBC to receive my monthly wage and now on payday i either set up transfers or log on to internet banking and transfer money across. with this bank i can send aprox £950 within minutes (faster payments) and then create another payment and send that instantly. With A&L 'faster payments' limits seem to change everytime i speak to them, but pretty much transfer over £250 and you won't see it for 3 days (ie its been sent by Bacs)

the once thing i love about A&L my 50 pence a day (10 day max charge per month, if used)
£2,200 overdraft

to get the premier account, all you have to do is transfer the £500 a month, it doesn't have to be direct from an employer

opinions4u

whatyadoinsucka wrote: »

My advice ring up and kick off in a nice way.

The OP regularly spends several days a month outside his/her overdraft limit.

While Santander may be a bunch of useless buffoons, sometimes customers have to help themselves by budgeting better and maintaining their accounts within agreed limits.

Ringing up and "kicking off" about something when you are operating the account poorly is unlikely to change much.

Not_Angela_Rippon

opinions4u wrote: »

The OP regularly spends several days a month outside his/her overdraft limit.

While Santander may be a bunch of useless buffoons, sometimes customers have to help themselves by budgeting better and maintaining their accounts within agreed limits.

Ringing up and "kicking off" about something when you are operating the account poorly is unlikely to change much.

Not regular, this has happened about 3/4 times this year, I've had a long term health condition this year which hasn't helped me manage my finances.

The main concern is those months where payments were going out the same day I got paid so I didn't think I was over my limit then as the salary was coming in on the day. The payments then without taking into account my salary were in the region of £10-20 over.

opinions4u

Me: The OP regularly spends several days a month outside his/her overdraft limit

OP: Not regular, this has happened about 3/4 times this year

OP: other times I've gone over by about under £50 in the middle of the month but each time this is corrected by my salary going in at the end of the month

We can disagree over the meaning of regular. 3 times a year or more displays a regular mismanagement of the account.

OP: What I was shocked at was that each time this has happened A&L have put a 3 on my credit rating for that month for my credit rating.

Experian: A delinquent account is one where repayments have been at least three months in arrears for two or more consecutive months or have been late for more than three months over the past year.

While you may be "shocked" from what you've posted it looks very much like you have spent at least three occasions in the past year outside your agreed limits. They credit reference agencies are reporting those facts.

YorkshireBoy

It's not good practice (especially with A&L) to have automated payments (SOs/DDs) leaving the account the same day automated credits (BACS Direct Credits) hit the account...as you have found to your cost. Suggest you move these automated payments back a few days. If you're paid weekly or 4 weekly then I'm afraid this probably won't work and you'll simply have to budget and/or pay better attention to your account!

As to the '3' on your credit file, perhaps this, from Experian, will explain...

• Agreed repayments are three or more months behind.

• Your overdraft balance has been greater than your overdraft limit for two to three months.
• Cheques, direct debits and standing orders may have been bounced for a third month to keep the account in order.

http://www.experian.co.uk/downloads/consumer/creditfileexplained.pdf (page 11)

thatsean

So you've breached the terms of your account, and are annoyed that they don't see it as not a bit deal? Really don't understand what it is that you're unhappy about. They have reported the account conduct, if this is a factual report then there's only one thing that needs to change....

Mrs_Ryan

This happened to me - things going out on the day I was getting paid and then having these markers put on. On one occasion they insisted that I had been paid on a different day and then gone overdrawn because things had gone out on the day I should have been paid. This was a clear lie - I had proof of this, I read out from my statement on the phone - pay date, the 12th, DD gone out, the 12th - they had tried to claim I had in fact been paid on the 14th which wasnt true.
They backed down and the FOS ordered them to remove the false markers but they refused even though they admitted they had been wrongly placed. A&L also tried to tell me to wait a week before spending any credits into the account :eek: to which I told them to get stuffed, that I didnt have the luxury of being able to afford to do that.