Appalling service from Alliance & Leicester

TREVORCOLMAN

If A&L screw up an account for someone that works for them as mentioned earlier what chance have the rest of us!!!!!!!!!!

URGGGGGGGGGGG

AY-JAY

I have now completed the transfer of my current account! It only took 5 and a half months.

To be fair to the people at A & L when I finally got to speak to someone they were always polite, apologetic and knowledgeable. The main problems were with the 'system'.

I think they have been a victim of their own success. Sites like this one have promoted their good interest rates and they were inundated with applications.

On the dedicated transfers phone number there were only 6 people working (I believe there are now 10).

I would recommend the account to people but would say spend an hour or two ringing round and changing your own standing orders and direct debits.

zcaprd7

I'm having a right nightmare with this lot - their online service is awful.

The online saver attached to my account 'appears' to transfer money straight into the current account (as you would expect?) but actually it clears the next day.

So after setting up all my payments from my current account, I made sure the cash would come in from my online saver (not unreasonable to keep the money in there until the last possible day).

Bang, £25 fine, then another and now a £34 fine for trying to pay bills on an overdrawn account.

Obviously the fact I had loads of money in my connected saver account doesn't appear to have been taken into consideration - its hardly the case that I wouldn't be able to pay this money (after all its due to come into the account soon?).

The woman on the phone basically blamed me for being so stupid and said that I'd have to write a letter to their customer services - sent that off today stating that I want both accounts closed if I don't get my cash back.

MarkyMarkD

Set up an authorised overdraft limit - free of charge - and then this problem will not arise as long as the payments are within the overdraft limit.

But I almost NEVER experience this one day delay. Are you always making the transfer late at night, or something like that?

amarillo_2004

The account is fine - had it for over two years and internet banking works great.

The branch staff, on the other hand, drive me crazy.

Not sure if it's policy or just my local branch but they chat nice & friendly to every customer. A lovely service that the old dears appreciate - but it results in enormous tooth grinding queues for the rest of us listening to them drivel on. And when you finally get to the front of the queue if you withdraw £ you're asked what you'll be spending it on.

Quote: "£400. No problem madam. Are you going shopping for some new clothes today?"

GRRRRRRR!!!! :mad: :mad:

Irritating in so many ways. Not least because the subtext is probably "you look a mess dear"

I rarely go into a branch.

zcaprd7

Well no response to the letter but it seems to have worked, all the charges have been refunded back.

I guess I'll have to be more careful, but if the payments aren't moving from the saver to the current account straight away, they could at least keep it as a pending payment and not credit the account 'online'.

Ho hum.

EDIT: Also the saver account is 5.35% but the interest is paid annually, how does this compare to a monthly interest repayment with the benefit of compounding?

AY-JAY

As it took 5.5 months to finally get my account up and running I asked A & L for an extension on the promotional interest rate os that I had the benefit for a year. I received a letter offering a one off £30 payment. Since I got £2.47 interest in the first full month and I was asking for a 6 month extension I took the £30 (more than 6 x £2.47). So again I have to commend A & L on their customer relations.

I know I started this thread and called in 'Appalling service from A & L' I would like to rename it 'Appalling initial service from A & L'. From my own experiences anyway.

MarkyMarkD

zcaprd7 wrote:

Also the saver account is 5.35% but the interest is paid annually, how does this compare to a monthly interest repayment with the benefit of compounding?

Compare AERs, which have to be quoted, and take account of the benefit of compounding. That benefit is not as much as you might think - e.g. the A&L Premier Account 5% AER is actually 4.89% which compounds up to 5.00%.

Basil_Fawlty

A&L are rubbish. They lost a £300 cash deposit and then blamed me for not depositing it in the first place.

They weren't so smug when I produced the ATM deposit confirmation slip!

No compensation offered at all. Do you reckon I should ask for some sort of goodwill gesture??

Swattie

I've also had appalling service from A&L so much so that I had the local Branch Manager trying to sort out what started as a relatively minor problem which proved almost impossible to get resolved.

The Branch Manageress, although trying to be helpful, was almost powerless and had to contact their customer services teams using the same number that customers use - which proved to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience for her as well. She was over 2 hours on the phone being passed from pillar to post in her own organisation (just as I had been - which is why I went into the Branch) and not able to sort out my problem.

I ended up closing both my accounts.

No apology was ever received for me wasting 3 hours at home and over 2 hours in the branch over a really minor problem.