Alliance & Leicester (merged)

Bluebirdnick

Hello all.

I've got about £200 in bank charges, but I've not really got a good excuse. I mis-timed my debits, and I went over the overdraft limit by quite a lot, and not just a few pounds. It seems that most people on here have legitimate reasons for incurring fees, or they incur a fee for exceeding the limit by an immaterial amount.

My question is: does the reason for, or the extent of, my default make any difference when claiming repayment of bank charges?

Thanks!

Nick

EvilEdna_2

Nick

No, it doesn't. The fact isn't that people haven't deserved to be charged it's that banks are profiting from excessive fees which they aren't allowed to do. I freely admit that more than once I've completely mucked up my own finances through sheer idiocy, but I still claimed back my charges!

Bluebirdnick

Thanks Edna! I'll send Alliance & Leicester a friendly letter tomorrow morning, asking for my charges back! They will probably end up closing my account, but that is fine by me as I plan to close and then re-open in 6 months to get the 7% ISA. I'm a bit miffed that they don't offer their new improved products to existing customers anyway.

As a follow-up: will having my account closed for this affect my credit rating?

Thanks for the help. This is going to be fun.

Nick

Mark7799

Bluebirdnick wrote:

Thanks Edna! I'll send Alliance & Leicester a friendly letter tomorrow morning, asking for my charges back! They will probably end up closing my account, but that is fine by me as I plan to close and then re-open in 6 months to get the 7% ISA. I'm a bit miffed that they don't offer their new improved products to existing customers anyway.

As a follow-up: will having my account closed for this affect my credit rating?

Thanks for the help. This is going to be fun.

Nick

Given the circumstances you outlined here, you may find that A&L will refuse to have you back. Get another account ready just in case before you start tackling A&L.

Edinburghlass_2

Have a read through this thread regarding other A&L customers and then read Martin's article and you can start your claim.

Step-by-step Guides: Bank Charges: Reclaim Your Cash | Top New Bank Account Calculator: Charge them interest Template Letters: (right click and save) Ask for charge details |Initial letter | Second letter | Small claims note Get Updates On Important Changes: Free Weekly Money Tip

gwynney

I sincerely believe now that it isnt always your own fault with these charges. From the point they first charge you, it can be spiral. The charge leads to an unauthorised overdraft charge which puts you up to £70 out of pocket and then you still have to pay the debit that should have gone out which is probably only a third of what you have been just hit for in charges. The Alliance took most of a £200 cheque I deposited in charges and refused 5 debits all on the same day (the debits were refused first and they cleared the cheque after in the same day)

pete1888

Just a quick note on behalf of a friend. He claimed £600 charges from A&L and started the process at the same time I did, begininng January 07, (im claiming from Clydesdale) - he got the usual response to his first letter, terms and conditions of your account etc, then got a "we are looking into it" response to his 2nd letter. Few days later he has had an offer of half with a phone number if he has any queries. He is phoning them today to insist on the full amount. Will let you know how he gets on.

Thought it would be a bit of encourangement for those of you claiming from A&L.

Meanwhile Clydesdale are proving a nightmare!!.......

ChequeredFlag

Hi all,
First Post for me! – After reading the previous post from Karine, I too had been charged £5 for a ‘COPY STATEMENT CHARGE’. So this morning, I telephone A&L and after a couple of minutes wait, was informed the charge would be immediately refunded to my account.

To date, I have sent £30 cheque to A&L for 6yrs statements (3 different accounts with them), received back just on 40 days. Then sent 2nd letter with spreadsheet detailing charges (on 2 of the accounts only) and received 2 letters back from A&L stating “unable to agree a refund on this occasion”. Today have posted off 3rd letter together with the spreadsheet detailing charges, so will keep you informed of any progress.

I feel inspired by other people’s success and it is reassuring to know that others are out there to help and support – thanks everyone!

chain_chick

This is my first post Hello everyone

I was lucky they sent me 6 years of statements in a couple of weeks. I was amazed though, when I went through them. figured I was in for a few hundred quid. It actually worked out to £4593.27 including interest (used the thinghy on this site to work that out)

They had charged me £660 in charges in one month, I wasn't even using the account. So I paid them and miscalculated by £20 so they stuck another £100on for their trouble:mad:

I got a standard letter giving me a guide to bank charges, and instructions how to use online banking to pay into my account. Oh, you mean the one that has been closed for over a year!!!

Anyway, I am sure that I will be filing court papers on 15.02.07 as I sent a letter back saying that is just what I will do!

Flatsix

Hi,

I have today got a response to the letter i sent as advised in step 4 to claim back £1900.

A&L's response to my last letter is this:

I have noted your comments that you believe the charges that have been raised on your account to be unfair, please be assured our charges are reasonable and are competetive with the charges made by other financial organisations.

The office of fair traiding (OFT) has commented that they consider the level of late payment charges to be unfair, however they were actually referring to late payment fees for credit card payments, which are quite distinct from a banks charges on current accounts.

As yet, the OFT have not entered into any discussions with the banking industry regarding current accounts. However, should that position changein the future, then Alliance & Leicester will participate as approptiate.

Given the above, I cannot accept you have been unfairly charged as you suggest. I regret, therefore, that i am unable to agree to your request for a refund of charges on this occasion.

I'm sorry if you are disappointed with my response, but as the charges have been raised correctly in line with the terms and conditions of your account, they must stand.

Do i need to be worried about the (OFT) bit or should i continue with court procedings? (Step 5)

Thanks for the advice in advance.

Andy.