Alliance & Leicester (merged)

leicester1957

Hi all
This is my first post.
I'm trying to reclaim the bank charges (£3365+£911.89 intrest = £4276.89) on my old closed bank account with Alliance & Leicester. I've gone onto the letter saying that I'm going to take them to court this is what there reply is.

Thank you for contacting us regarding fees which you feel were unfairly debited to your account.

While I understand your concerns, please be assured our fees are reasonable and cometitive with those made by other financial organisations.

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

Discussions are ongoing between the banks and the OFT regarding current accounts and once the outcome is known, Alliance & Leicester will review its position as appropriate.

As well as making our customers aware of our fees when opening accounts, we also continue to do so through our website, our branches, by telephone and on the back of statements. In view of this, I do not feel that you have been unfairly charged and regret that I cannot agree to refund your fees.

It then go's on to say

I enclose a copy of our complaints leaflet which explains the steps we take to deal with complaints and what to do if you are unhappy with any aspect of our response. If you have any further enquiries regarding your account, our Customer Service telephone number is shown above.

This leaflet was omited from the letter.

This Letter has been signed by a third different person from the other two letters that I've recived from them.

Also now that I'm going to go through the small claims court the address that I sent the letters asking for my money back is different to what the court form says when you put the post code in it gives you their adderss as the townhall. Is this correct ?.

Leicester1957

dj9928

Well had a phonecall from this local solicitor, He was curious to know if I will be defending myself, and if I will have any witnesses present.

These *******s are planning something. I know other in Northern Ireland dealing with A&L and they haven't got there case transfered to this local solicitor yet and they are in court before me.

Anyone any ideas?

Robclinton1

Just get your court bundle ready DJ ..... get your papers, and send them to them, they will then realise you are prepared and have everything in place, provided you have a good claim, I think they will cave in ..... the whole court bundle maybe 100 pages all together, download 1 from the usual sites, and just make sure you understand the basics ...... charges not proportionate to work carried out ... Dunlop case .... OFT report etc.

Keep strong mate, remember they want you to be scarde. Im in court soon and to be honest, Im not worried at all. I see this as a life experience. **** em mate, stand up, dont worry, and say your piece. Remember, at worst (and it hasnt happened yet) you will lose £120 and a few stamps. If you win you get your money back and will always be empowered to take on injustices.

I cant promise we will all win, but the odds are SOOOOOOOOOOOO much stacked in our favour.

Keep strong mate!!

Robclinton1

Amethyst30 wrote: »

Have you got a direct link to the bundle on the CAG site as I can't find it :-(

Sorry cant find it on CAG site now, may have been here or penalty charges site, sorry, but i can mail it to you if you want .... send me your mail addy and ill do it, unless someone can give you the link.

My file on PC definitely says CAG though!!

melvin_2

Hi all Just had a reply from A&L re my bank charges saying that they are prepared to offer me £66 in full and final settlement.(claiming £624) They say it reflects the difference between the amount of charges for unpaid items actually applied to my account and the amount of charges that would have been applied if the charge had been £12.(being the amount that the OFT indicated was not unreasonable in relation to credit card default charges)
What a load of rubbish they are just trying it on.
I Have just sent my next letter giving them 7 days or i am going to take them to court. used the prepayed envelope they sent in their letter addressed to The manager in customer correspondance. Lets see if that makes any difference.

Dont give up folks its our money and we will get it back!!:mad:

Russjo

Hi Leicester1957,
The reply they've sent you sounds like a pretty standard one, with them waffling off about how they think they are fair. Ignore it completely and battle, bravely on. As for the address, not sure about that one, haven't got that far yet, but I will do

Stephen_Leak

Yes, the usual standard "No, you aren't getting your money, now f*ck off back under your stone like a good little customer" letter.

MCOL won't readily take the A&L Bootle address because of the non-standard postcode, GIR 0AA. Just put it in the last address field, leave the postcode field blank and either tick or untick the box, so that it doesn't try to match the postcode.

williams31

Hi,

I have taken A&L to court over £750 of bank charges, and they replied within 7 days, with a letter offering a sum of £164, which includes the court fee of £80.

What do I do now ?


Please could somebody advise me.


Thanks.

asterisk_2

I too am chasing A & L for charges 436.50 plus as £86.41 interest -total amount of £522.91. They have offered £127.50 - what they claim is the difference between the amount of charges levied for unpaid items and if the charge had been £12 each time (ie the amount they claim the OFT indicated was not unreasonable). I was about to file a claim in the small claims court as per Martin's guidance but now am not so sure - A & L seem to be clamping down so should I just take the money and run?

Stephen_Leak

williams31 wrote: »

Hi,

I have taken A&L to court over £750 of bank charges, and they replied within 7 days, with a letter offering a sum of £164, which includes the court fee of £80.

What do I do now ?


Please could somebody advise me.


Thanks.

If the offer is acceptable to you, then accept it, but don't close the court claim until you actually have the money. (If I were you, I would then use the money to book myself into a mental institution!)

If the offer is unacceptable, then you don't have to do anything. Just continue with the claim for the full amount, plus the statutory interest and the court fees.