Alliance and Leicester bank charges - any help?

PinholeCamera

Hello - some advice would be appreciated:

I had an account with A&L years ago (around 2006) and paid several hefty charges for being overdrawn during the years I held the account. At the time I was pretty hard-up anyway but never really thought about claiming for bank charges. I realise I've probably loooong missed the window by now but anyway wrote to Santander recently and asked to see records of charges (as per the MSE template).

They replied saying "we can confirm that this account was not regulated by the Consumer Credit Act and therefore does not have a credit agreement".

I'm not quite sure what that means - given the length of time I've left it, and their response, should I give up spending any more time thinking about trying to reclaim any payments?

Thanks for any help.

Intoodeep

Errrrrrrr Yes

PinholeCamera

Do you mean because of the time involved? I took my guidance from that from the MSE website, so didn't think the fact that it's an old/closed account would necessarily mean it was pointless ...

Atidi

PinholeCamera wrote: »

Do you mean because of the time involved? I took my guidance from that from the MSE website, so didn't think the fact that it's an old/closed account would necessarily mean it was pointless ...

The latest MSE guide says you need to be in genuine financial hardship in order to even have half a chance at recovering any bank charges. (unless they were a one-off or mis-appropriately applied)

There is no guarantee the bank will refund any bank charges, even to those in current financial hardship, and even if you are, I'm not sure how the return of bank charges from so long ago would be a positive step, hence why banks don't do so.

Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for life.

Are you currently in genuine financial hardship?


(The response you have been given by the bank suggests you used a template letter asking for a copy of a credit agreement ... but you may not have done as any template style letter now generally gets answered by a template style letter of the bank and sometimes they can pick the wrong one)

PinholeCamera

Currently I am struggling to get by, but mostly because I'm now self-employed and work's not easy to come by and I'm living month-to-month on very little. I suppose, to an extent, that's my own choice - it might not count as genuine hardship to anyone else :-)
I get the impression I've missed the boat - and that I'm unlikely to be taken seriously in any case ... which is at least a reality check.
Thanks for taking the time to reply; much appreciated.

dunstonh

Some of the MSE guides are out of date. You need to make sure you are reading the right one.

Current financial hardship is the main area. an old A&L account is not current.

I get the impression I've missed the boat - and that I'm unlikely to be taken seriously in any case ... which is at least a reality check.

Yes. The banks won the court case in 2009. So, the boat has well and truly gone.

Atidi

PinholeCamera wrote: »

Currently I am struggling to get by, but mostly because I'm now self-employed and work's not easy to come by and I'm living month-to-month on very little. I suppose, to an extent, that's my own choice - it might not count as genuine hardship to anyone else :-)
I get the impression I've missed the boat - and that I'm unlikely to be taken seriously in any case ... which is at least a reality check.
Thanks for taking the time to reply; much appreciated.

I wouldn't bother then.

As I said, you need to be in genuine financial hardship as explained in the MSE article to have even a hope of any chance really (except for the other specific cases I've described earlier).

Even then there is no guarantee. Banks are not required to refund even those who are in genuine financial hardship, so if you're not as defined by the lending code, you should have realised where the chances of success lay before you even started to embark on this.

simpaticoten

Hi I have a similiar situation. I have a closed bank account with A &L. I was caught in a spiralling of charges upon charges over £2000 of charges - some £35 for being £1 overdrawn were crazy. At the time - say approx 2007 I wrote letter upon letter to A & L - which they kept blanking/ignoring/losing. after about a year they offered a stupid amount which I responded that I expected more. (roughy £500) Then - the rug got pulled on bank charge reclaim and I got nothing !! IA &L were then taken over by Abbey then Santander I think. I visited a branch in person and met the same communication problems re complaints. Iwish to reopen my complaint and expect that they even match theinitial offer made at the very least. Have i a leg to stand on ? What can I do ? Who to I write to ?

[Deleted User]

simpaticoten wrote: »

Have i a leg to stand on ? What can I do ? Who to I write to ?

No. Nothing. No one.

[Deleted User]

simpaticoten wrote: »

Iwish to reopen my complaint and expect that they even match theinitial offer made at the very least.

You already acknowledge that the "rug was pulled on bank charge reclaim", so why would the passage of time make it any more likely today?

Read the rest of this thread, refunds of historical bank charges ended in 2009.

You should have forgotten all about this years ago.