A + L Switching service

wilburpig

I recently opened a Premier Direct Account and authorised the switching service, but A+L have written to me saying they can't switch the direct debits from my old (Nationwide) account as it is a joint account and this new account is in my name only. I am closing the joint account as I am divorcing, with full permission from my soon to be ex, how do I switch these DD's then? Do I write to Nationwide, Do I write to A+L with my husband's authorisation, or do I have to contact each payee separately?

YorkshireBoy

You'll need to contact the originators (or payees as you termed them).

Be aware though, that DD's generally take 2-3 weeks to change over so make sure you leave enough in both accounts (or have agreed overdrafts in place) until the first payments have been collected from A&L.

cindy100

I'm not sure how you have to do it in your case but... i recently tried to transfer all my dd's from Abbey to A and L and it seemed to take ages, especially when my money going in had been transfered to my new account too, even though Abbey said it would all be done before my dd's were due i still got charged for unpaid dd's. i rang them today and nearly fell of my chair when he said he would take the charges off, i was ready for an argument too lol. maybe it would be safer just to cancel them all and phone the companies yourself to tell them.:money:

Stephen_Leak

I had the same problem when I switched from a joint account with RBS to a solo account with A&L.

I would strongly recommend doing it yourself, writing to each payee, with your ex-husband-to-be's authorisation. This way, you know exactly who you've advised, and can check whether they've actually actioned it or not.

Some firms are also a bit "naughty" in not giving the "full amount" DD option over the 'phone and even setting them up for just the "minimum payment" regardless. Therefore, I also advise ringing up for mandate forms, filling them in, taking copies and posting them back. I'd also do this just after the relevant DD is taken, to give them as much time as possible.

Then, when their written confirmation arrives, check it is correct. If not or it doesn't say, ring them up. If there is a problem, "unleash hell" and let them know that you not only requested it in writing but also have a copy. GE Capital was unwise enough to try this trick on me - it cost them £5 goodwill!

Keep the old acount open, with enough funds in it to meet the DD's if they aren't switched in time. Only close it when all DD's have been successfully taken from the new account.

This does not constitute any critisism of the A&L account switching team - it is just that, with the best will in the world, they cannot check whether every payee involved on each account they are handling has actually done what they should have done.

MarkyMarkD

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

Some firms are also a bit "naughty" in not giving the "full amount" DD option over the 'phone and even setting them up for just the "minimum payment" regardless.

Whilst most credit card companies (and I presume that's who you are referring to) offer the option of minimum payment or full balance DDs, I don't see anything forcing them to do so - if they chose to only offer minimum payment DDs, that's their choice.