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Alliance & Leicester - please somebody help me!

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Im currently sitting in tears after receiveing mail from alliance and leicester informing me I have been charged £5 per day for every day I have been overdraugn.

I decided to take u the online account after hearing good word that they can meet your existing overdraught and a lower rate. So I was all for switching. Filled in the forms, asked to reinstate my direct debits with them etc etc and received wonderful letters about how my account was going to be marvelous! They never contacted my employer to switch over my bank details which they stated they had so I contacted them and was told they had done this and due to postal strikes it may have ben delayed. two weeks still nothing received so I called again and they informed me they would send out another letter with the request. This never turned up either.

I then received a letter stating they wouldnt give me an overdraught as I was overdraugn on the statement that I sent them!! When I rang to discuss they told me I had to stay out of my overdraught for 14 days in order for them to give me an overdraught. I told them if they couldnt match it now as they had agreed in all the previous letters that i would like to close the account. Which they agreed.

Next month. Direct debits coming out and being returned as now money in the account. Was told that I would need to pay the charges that had occured before I could close the account - EVEN THOUGH THESE CAME OUT AFTER I CLOSED IT! I told them in nicer terms fo F Off!

And now ive logged onto my online account ive seen that the old charge of uncleared direct debit has shot up as they are still trying to take direct debtis out even though they are cleaning through my old Abbey account!

And to top the lot of I cant find my phone pin to ring the !!!!!!s up so im going to have to take a day of work tomorow and go into the branch and probably kill the manager.

This is just so unfair as they shouldnt be taking direct debits out if ive cancelled them and if they've never asked to transfer my wages into here or inform me to close my old account.

Any advice what I can say to the sods tomorrow? politely?

Look at this -

Date Description Running Balance
13/12/2007EXCEEDING OVERDRAFT LIMIT FEE 32 DAYS AT $5.00-160 -278.80
7/12/2007UNPAID DIRECT DEBIT 07DEC CAPITAL ONE10.96 -118.80
7/12/2007DIRECT DEBIT CAPITAL ONE-10.96 -129.76
07/12/2007FAILED DIRECT DEBIT CHARGE 07DEC 10.96-25 -118.8
07/11/2007FAILED DIRECT DEBIT CHARGE 07NOV 10.81-25 -93.8
01/11/2007FAILED DIRECT DEBIT CHARGE 01NOV 108.74-25 -68.80
9/10/2007FAILED DIRECT DEBIT CHARGE 09OCT 10.76-34 -43.80
6/09/2007DIRECT DEBIT -9.8 -9.8

How on earth is this justifiable?
Money's our first priority, it doesn't make sense to me -Simple Plan - Crazy
Debt at lightbulb moment 13/12/07 £13820. Debt now 20/02/09 £11316:confused:
'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' DFW Nerd #665'
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Comments

  • welf_man
    welf_man Posts: 564 Forumite
    Try calling Head Office (sorry, don't have the number in front of me but it's 0116 something) and ask to be put through to Complaints. They will actually listenand give constructive help.

    I have had a lot of problems with A+L, including d/ds not being transferred (I filled in two request forms!), letters not arriving and charges being imposed becase charges took me over the o/d, because they take debits into account before credits. I finally extracted the Head Office number from a branch (you're only supposed to write!!) and got some sense out of someone.

    Can't wait until after the test case so I can get some of those fees back!

    Good luck -

    Mel.
    Though no-one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.

    (Laurie Taylor, THE no. 1864)
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    welf_man wrote: »
    Try calling Head Office (sorry, don't have the number in front of me but it's 0116 something) and ask to be put through to Complaints. They will actually listenand give constructive help.
    From their website...
    Alliance & Leicester plc,
    Group Customer Relations,
    Customer Service Centre,
    Narborough,
    Leicester,
    LE19 0AL
    Tel: 0116 200 4444
    Fax: 0116 200 4150
    Textphone: 0870 010 0161
    One of the most useful people I dealt with can be contacted on direct dial 0116 200 2272.
  • KTF
    KTF Posts: 4,848 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    A&L do not match overdrafts unless you have been in credit for x number of days over x months with your previous bank. This is explained in the literature.

    As you has asked them to switch over the direct debits, etc they would have been taken out of the account unless you told them otherwise. Asking to close the account would not have stopped this.

    Be aware that as it is an Internet based account the branch may not be able to help so you would be better to call them as above and explain the situation. They may waive some or all of the charges once you have explained it to them.
  • Do you have to switch your overdraft to get the 0% deal at A&L (and provide all the docs from your old place), or, is the initial overdraft they give you (assuming they give you one) 0% from the outset?

    I got an initial £1000 O/D, so was wondering whether that is at 0%.
    My old bank had £1,500 OD, but I haven't sent the docs across to try and match the extra £500 yet. Is the £1000 at least at 0%?
  • KTF
    KTF Posts: 4,848 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Any overdraft they give you is 0% for one year.
  • Oh god, you"ve got me really worried now as I've just opened an account with A&L in the hope that I could save some money rather than forking out 8.50 a month for an overdraft I never use. Do you think it would be better to transfer all dd"s and so"s myself rather than trusting them to do it?
    loobylou2.Proud to be dealing with my debts and aiming to sort out the mess in 2013!!!!:eek:
  • KTF
    KTF Posts: 4,848 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    You only get the matched overdraft if you use their switching service otherwise its in the region of a few hundred pounds (or whatever they decide based on the credit score).
  • Hey all,

    I have an Alliance and Leicester Acc. and i have checked online today to see that i have been charged £70 for going OD in October, when they let me go overdrawn. I was also charged £120 for that same period.
    I was very specific about not want an OD on this account and yet they have let me slip into the red. What can i do to get this money back? or am I going to have to wait until this case is over?

    Please help, its not exactly what you want before xmas.
  • Hey all thsnks for the comments i'll give the head office a call today.

    As said, OH and myself went into local branch today and the woman in the branch was a complete diamond i kid you not. She argued and argued over the phone to credit control department and the switching department and then passed the phone onto me when we were again put through to credit control. The girl on the other end of the line was the most cheeky and ignorant sod i have ever spoken to! I explained it was a bank error that they let the direct debits go through after ive cancelled and she was stuck on her goal in telling me that ive screwed up and my employee had screwed up!!!

    Well I passed the phone onto my OH who was just as polite as she was 'listen here you theiving cow' hehe and he brought her into a offer of only haivng to pay for the first direct debit and a charge of £50 on top of that for unauthorised use of overdraught and for them clearing the direct debit.

    I was happy with this but the woman in the branch literally snatched the phone of my partner and gave what not down the phone to the credit controller and im at this moment 4 hours on still waiting for her boss to call me back on the hope that the only payment i have to make is the £9.80.

    Fingers crossed and this account is gone by the close of today!

    Pheeeeeew im stressed out
    Money's our first priority, it doesn't make sense to me -Simple Plan - Crazy
    Debt at lightbulb moment 13/12/07 £13820. Debt now 20/02/09 £11316:confused:
    'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' DFW Nerd #665'
  • KTF wrote: »
    A&L do not match overdrafts unless you have been in credit for x number of days over x months with your previous bank. This is explained in the literature.

    As you has asked them to switch over the direct debits, etc they would have been taken out of the account unless you told them otherwise. Asking to close the account would not have stopped this.

    Be aware that as it is an Internet based account the branch may not be able to help so you would be better to call them as above and explain the situation. They may waive some or all of the charges once you have explained it to them.

    None of the paper work i was sent detailed about being in credit for x amount of days, otherwise i wouldnt have bothered attempting switching. All i know is they are a robbing set of !!!!!!s and when waivering some of the charge she told me it would be £9.80 plus £60 charges which was her minumum she could offer, and then when speaking to my OH she reduced this down to £9.80 plus £50.00 charges...They obviosuly try and get you for as much as they can!
    Money's our first priority, it doesn't make sense to me -Simple Plan - Crazy
    Debt at lightbulb moment 13/12/07 £13820. Debt now 20/02/09 £11316:confused:
    'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' DFW Nerd #665'
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