Best Current Accounts Discussion Area

YorkshireBoy

Sponge wrote:

Were there any requirements to get the od matched?

I'm in the middle of receiving the paperwork for my new A&L account, but the od they have offered is £1000 whereas my LTSB is £2000. I'd like them to match it and wondered if a simple email or telephone call would sort it.

Answered on the A&L site...

1. Overdraft limit matching

Overdraft limit matching is only available if the Alliance & Leicester Switching Service is used...

adypem

Quick question regarding best current accout -

I want to open a new account for salary to be paid into, and then transfer money into my "current" current account for all the direct debits, standing orders etc....
That way I only need to notify payroll about the new account and create a standing order to cover the outgoings.

Which account ?

whibbled

adypem wrote:

Quick question regarding best current accout -

I want to open a new account for salary to be paid into, and then transfer money into my "current" current account for all the direct debits, standing orders etc....
That way I only need to notify payroll about the new account and create a standing order to cover the outgoings.

Which account ?

Alliance & Leicester Premier Direct current account pays 6.1% on balances up to £2,500

From this account, you can then also transfer £250 per month (Max £3,000) into their Premium Regular Savings Account which pays 12.0% gross AER (fixed) for one year!

http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/home/index.asp

Contact me if you need an introduction, I will share my intro 50/50 :beer:

JDAdams

JDAdams wrote:

I'm very disappointed - I applied for an A&L account online on 30/08, and now they've raised the rate (changed on 01/09 for online applications) and refuse to let me have the new rate.

I've not used the account yet, or even received any T&Cs in the post, and it seems a bit off they won't let me switch to the higher rate or just cancel the account and open a new one. There is a 14 day cancellation clause but apparently they won't let me have a new account if I use it.

Following on from this previous post, I sent a moany letter to A&L and today they responded by confirming they have raised my rate to 6.1% as a goodwill gesture. They've also matched the £1600 overdraft I had on my Barcalys student account (which was just about to turn into a regular account with no interest-free OD).

Big thumbs up to A&L!

Edit: For reference, the terms to get them to match your old bank's O/D are:

1) Must use their own Premier Switching Service
2) Must provide a bank statement for one complete month of the last three months showing the following:
A) No paid referral fees
No going over the authorised overdraft limit
C) Positive balance for at least two days

M_Thomson

whibbled wrote:

From this account, you can then also transfer £250 per month (Max £3,000) into their Premium Regular Savings Account which pays 12.0% gross AER (fixed) for one year!

Hi there,
You can't have the 12% regular saver if you have the 6.1% current account. You can only have the regular saver if you take the 1.5% premier current account.

69xians

Because I receive my pay by cheque each month and because I work in a remote town with very few banking facilities I decided to move my banking to Alliance & Leicester (A&L) because they own Girobank which is linked to the Post Office and therefore by paying my hard earned cash over the counter at the PO it should clear in 3-working days rather than the 5 with my previous bank via the same facility. Of course I also took the recommendations from this site.

Be warned; just because they dangle a carrot offering money, a higher rate of interest (not guaranteed to remain competitive) does not mean that they are good when it comes to banking, please read my experience:

On the 24th August I deposited a cheque with A&L at the Post Office and subsequently went on holiday, 10-days later I returned and checked my bank account and was horrified to find that I was massively overdrawn and payments had been bounced and charges applied to my account. I checked the bank statement and found the problem; my cheque had not come through. After 4 telephone calls to A&L they told me (paraphrasing) that it was not their responsibility it was either my fault for using the wrong envelope or the Post Offices' fault and would I like a personal loan to cover my expenditure, which was not the most sensitive of suggestions but probably the most lucrative so far as they were concerned.

I checked with the Post Office who told me that all deposits are itemised to A&L when sent and they should have tallied the items upon receipt with the check sheet and any missing items would have been picked up. Incidentally, I had a receipt for the deposit, for all that did. The direct debits that bounced were for my mortgtage (it would be) and consequently I was charged by my lender and interest accrued daily for the late payment.

It took several calls, managers returning calls a day later (my missing money not terribly important to them obviously) and then 6 letters to A&L before notice was taken and responsibility sort of taken.

I then received a deposit into my account for £100 which covered all the charges but no element of good will. This really stressed me out, corrupted my impeccable credit file and damaged my credibility not to mention wasted a lot of my time when I should have been working. I could not believe that it took so much effort for anyone to take any notice. I even clocked up 60-miles depositing funds directly into an A&L branch to help bolster the account until a replacement cheque was cleared. The 'lost' cheque turned up the same day as replacement cheque cleared.

On the other hand my previous bank: Smile have always been brilliant, they are only let down by the fact that they don't have many branches and for me that depositing funds at the PO takes a couple of days longer but I'm switching back bearing in mind this was the only reason for switching in the first place.

On the only occasion I have had to complain to Smile and it wasn't anything that caused me a loss of money, they apologiesd straight, gave me £20 goodwill and even one of the directors/ partners wrote to me personally 2-weeks later apologising and sent me a bottle of whisky. I asked for none of that, I just wanted them to resolve my issue swiftly which they did and more.

Money isn't everything, honesty, morals and having some ethics in this day and age count for a lot, whereas the banks (not Smile/ Co-Op) are there purely and simply for their own self preservation and making profits for shareholders. That's why Waitrose are ethically sound and treat their suppliers fairly and Tesco screw theirs - allegedly.

Hope that helps if you're deliberating.
Happy banking.

EagerLearner

Interesting post 69xians - I am considering moving from First Direct to A&L but worried about scenarios like yours. FD have always been great so it's a big risk for the sake of a dangling carrot...

69xians

EagerLearner wrote:

Interesting post 69xians - I am considering moving from First Direct to A&L but worried about scenarios like yours. FD have always been great so it's a big risk for the sake of a dangling carrot...

I agree, I work in the financial sector and have come across many clients who have only had good things to say about FD I'm only sorry I ever moved. I used to work for one of the big 4 and I know only too well how inconsequential they think we are and how much they want to try and flog us ('share of the wallet' they call it).

Good luck.

Mrs_Wossinge

Has anyone else had this experience?

I opened an A&L account, referred my husband, and we have credited both accounts with the required £500 at the appropriate times. We used the voucher for £50 each at http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/currentaccounts/CA2312.pdf . But they've only credited our accounts with £25 each, not £50.

I phoned to complain last week and the girl on the other end said she'd let customer services know. Today I had a letter which just says 'Your account was credited with £25 on 11 September'. I told them that, and they've not said anything about the remaining £25 each! :mad:

So I've composed One Of My Letters. Just wondering if anyone else is in the same position, because I gather their customer service is not exactly exemplary.

Thanks!

YorkshireBoy

Mrs_Wossinge wrote:

So I've composed One Of My Letters.

Before you send it, give Group Customer Relations a ring on 0116 200 4444.