Alliance & Leicester making there own rules!

Shaun_Devon

Well where do i start?

1st thing was i set up this online account to start fresh from Abbey for things that seem mild to this, but i have made a massive mistake! A&L seem to want to make charges for them selfs!

It all started last month when my silly car insurance company messed up my DD date and tried to take it late in the month when i had no money in my account, so A&L took £34 just to send it back to the insurance company. I got paid the end of the month, paid the silly charge and got on with my monthly banking.

By the 17th of sept i had 9p in my accout as i have paid all that i owed for that month. On the 27th of sept i had two letters from A&L saying that i had gone over my limit which shocked me as nothing was due to come out. So i had a look on my online statment and clear as day it said that A&L had taken £25 for going over my limit the month before (9th Aug - 8th sept) and this made me go over my limit for this month so they took another £25 for being over my limit this month! Point is they made me go over my limit with there "Timing" and charged me again!:mad:

So a little stressed at this point i phoned them up and ask why they think they can take money with out even informing me first! They told me that a letter was sent to me 2 weeks before (which i never had or i would of done some thing about it! and not to mention its an online account, where was the e-mail warning me? Plus they took this months "over limit" charge the same day i was over my limit and i had the letter a week and a half after!!! So its rubbish!) So i told the young ladie on the end of the phone, that i didnt recive any letter informing me that this charge was coming out. Just to be told that it wasn't there problem it didnt get to me because they sent it! So i asked her "so i have to take your word it was sent? (as £50 is a lot to pay for some ones word!)" Just to be told "WE SENT IT!" (how did she know did this ladie post it her self?) So knowing that i wasn't getting any where, i asked to be put though to the complants dept, just to be told "we dont have one you have to put it in writing!" surprise surprise! (just so that cant be "lost" in the post as well or ignored for months!).

As you can tell im not happy at all with there service! And there making rules up as they go along! So im going to my local branch on Saturday and going to kick up a stink! I will keep you posted of what happens (no doubt i will move all my DD back to Abbey and Close the A&L account all together! Idiots!)

If any one knows any info that will help me on my quest please let me know

Cheers

Shaun

wannabemedic

I can't really help sorry, but it seems their call center staff have a green card to be openly rude to customers, their complaints dept are useless and never even apologied when i was spoken to rudely a few months back (so I just took my account to nationwide). I think you are right to go to the branch and discuss it there, i bet they'll take notice when other customers hear about it, I'd be interested to know how you got on (wish i'd done the same)!! :T may the force be with you :rotfl:

MarkyMarkD

Why are you moaning about A&L?

If your insurer attempted to take an insurance DD on the wrong date, that's their error and any related charges are down to them. Claim it off them, not moan about A&L.

nikk1776

Shaun_Devon wrote: »

Well where do i start?

1st thing was i set up this online account to start fresh from Abbey for things that seem mild to this, but i have made a massive mistake! A&L seem to want to make charges for them selfs!

It all started last month when my silly car insurance company messed up my DD date and tried to take it late in the month when i had no money in my account, so A&L took £34 just to send it back to the insurance company. I got paid the end of the month, paid the silly charge and got on with my monthly banking.

By the 17th of sept i had 9p in my accout as i have paid all that i owed for that month. On the 27th of sept i had two letters from A&L saying that i had gone over my limit which shocked me as nothing was due to come out. So i had a look on my online statment and clear as day it said that A&L had taken £25 for going over my limit the month before (9th Aug - 8th sept) and this made me go over my limit for this month so they took another £25 for being over my limit this month! Point is they made me go over my limit with there "Timing" and charged me again!:mad:

So a little stressed at this point i phoned them up and ask why they think they can take money with out even informing me first! They told me that a letter was sent to me 2 weeks before (which i never had or i would of done some thing about it! and not to mention its an online account, where was the e-mail warning me? Plus they took this months "over limit" charge the same day i was over my limit and i had the letter a week and a half after!!! So its rubbish!) So i told the young ladie on the end of the phone, that i didnt recive any letter informing me that this charge was coming out. Just to be told that it wasn't there problem it didnt get to me because they sent it! So i asked her "so i have to take your word it was sent? (as £50 is a lot to pay for some ones word!)" Just to be told "WE SENT IT!" (how did she know did this ladie post it her self?) So knowing that i wasn't getting any where, i asked to be put though to the complants dept, just to be told "we dont have one you have to put it in writing!" surprise surprise! (just so that cant be "lost" in the post as well or ignored for months!).

As you can tell im not happy at all with there service! And there making rules up as they go along! So im going to my local branch on Saturday and going to kick up a stink! I will keep you posted of what happens (no doubt i will move all my DD back to Abbey and Close the A&L account all together! Idiots!)

If any one knows any info that will help me on my quest please let me know

Cheers

Shaun

hi, aint they in court today to show the true cost of there charges along with yorkshire bank.

cheers

Shaun_Devon

Think you missed the point Marky, its not that i was charged i paid that and got on with things its the fact they felt they could take a charge for being over my limit when ever they felt like it (over a month later!) with no warning, which made me over my limit again and took another load of my hard earned cash!

Shaun_Devon

And i had no idea they were in court today! That fills me with joy!

YorkshireBoy

Shaun_Devon wrote: »

Think you missed the point Marky, its not that i was charged i paid that and got on with things its the fact they felt they could take a charge for being over my limit when ever they felt like it (over a month later!) with no warning, which made me over my limit again and took another load of my hard earned cash!

If it's a Premier, or Premier Direct, account it doesn't look like they send you a letter. They say...

<SUP>††</SUP>We will tell you on your transaction record of any unauthorised monthly charges at least 14 days before deducting them from your account.

http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/currentaccounts/index.asp?page=all-rates&RateTable=home&ct=curraccrates#l4

...which I take to mean via your statement. Are you saying you didn't get a statement (if you have the Premier), or didn't 'view' your statement online (if you have the Premier Direct account) when you were notified by e-mail that it had arrived?

Shaun_Devon

Yeah its a Premier Direct account. No word of the charge went on my online statment til the 23rd of this month for being over my limit last month, and 2 letters 4 days after about both charges that went on my account on the 23rd. and i have had no e-mails about charges.

MarkyMarkD

I wasn't going to get into the issue of whether the charges were correctly notified or not, as it is irrelevant if you aren't going to bear them yourself (and you certainly shouldn't do so if a third party made an error leading to the charges).

But, as YB says, whenever I have incurred charges on my A&L account they notify you 14 days in advance on your previous month's statement. And you get an e-mail telling you that your statement is available for viewing online - if you don't look at it, that's your own fault.

If one £25 charge makes you go over your overdraft limit, you need to sort your finances out - either by running a higher account balance, or getting a higher overdraft limit authorised. Then the issue of "charges upon charges" won't arise.

BANKBANDIT_2

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

I wasn't going to get into the issue of whether the charges were correctly notified or not, as it is irrelevant if you aren't going to bear them yourself (and you certainly shouldn't do so if a third party made an error leading to the charges).

But, as YB says, whenever I have incurred charges on my A&L account they notify you 14 days in advance on your previous month's statement. And you get an e-mail telling you that your statement is available for viewing online - if you don't look at it, that's your own fault.

If one £25 charge makes you go over your overdraft limit, you need to sort your finances out - either by running a higher account balance, or getting a higher overdraft limit authorised. Then the issue of "charges upon charges" won't arise.

This site is to help people not to judge them which seems to me you are doing :eek:

Shaun_Devon

i think your still missing my point as i have said a few times above, i WAS NOT notified in any form (e-mail, Statment, letter.....) til days after the charges occured! So its not a case of me "sorting my finances out" as i didnt know that the charges were coming! And im afraid my crystal ball is broken at the moment.