A&L's Shocking Creative Accountancy

MarkyMarkD

I agree with you that it's a shame, but I believe that it is the case.

And the Bank can easily explain how the account went over limit - because the Ts & Cs state that cash deposited is NOT available until the next day for bill payments. Like I said, Ts & Cs can say what they like, whether it seems sensible or not.

CrazyChemist_2

Not sure why people still use A&L these days... do you enjoy paying 8p per minute to phone for account queries and listening to music? I refer to their 0870 number which is NOT "National Rate". Their reps are very rude and it is for this reason I and most of my friends and family now do not use them.

MarkyMarkD

Because they pay 5% on their current account and give a 0% overdraft for a year, maybe?

You don't need to phone them up very often - I do 99% of my A&L transactions online. 0870's 8p in the weekday, but 4p in the evening and 1.5p at the weekend - so phone offpeak!

A&L's not 0870 for premier account anyway - it's 0845, which I believe is a maximum of 4ppm.

IJJoseph

Sorry Mark...T&Cs or not...as far as I'm concerned the fact that they don't have a system to cope with real time transactions is not my problem and I see no reason why I should be penalised for their inability to get a system that operates in a logical way.

Fortunately I do have the time stamped receipts and the computer system will have the time stamped bill payment so it won't be hard to prove.

We'll see what response they come back with next week.

MarkyMarkD

I don't think you understand the way business works, IJJ.

You agree to transact with a company, according to the terms and conditions they define. If you don't want to transact according to those Ts & Cs, you can transact elsewhere.

You can't unilaterally expect a bank to operate your individual account according to Ts & Cs different from every other customer.

Proving that one transaction happened earlier than the other isn't the point here.

Rafter

Remember you get what you pay for too!

If you want sexy interest rates, 0% offers and cashback on a current account, don't be surprised if you get clobbered on fees or get bad customer service. You can't have your cake and eat it!

Either stick with good value, good customer service providers like Smile or First Direct or don't expect to be treated as well by someone you are getting much better rates or deals out of. You don't get valet parking at a travel lodge or amazing sound from a £20 stereo so why should you bank be any different?

R.

IJJoseph

The charges I don't mind. When they are justified. I begrudge the falsification of accounts in order to charge me when they couldn't otherwise. I've checked the T&Cs and it stipulates that online transfers will debit my account he next working ay so it looks as though they were extremely trigger happy on debit front

Spoke to A&L last night and it is under review as they believe they have made a mistake! So we shall see.

gingerdad

on the subject of thier phone charges, i just dial the 0113 number on my cheque book, and it avoids both the automated system and the 0870 charges. works okay only been asked where i was phoning from once. as i think the leeds number is for international, but they always help. (they are pretty crap at service though)

Regards

GD

MarkyMarkD

IJJoseph wrote:

The charges I don't mind. When they are justified. I begrudge the falsification of accounts in order to charge me when they couldn't otherwise. I've checked the T&Cs and it stipulates that online transfers will debit my account he next working ay so it looks as though they were extremely trigger happy on debit front

Spoke to A&L last night and it is under review as they believe they have made a mistake! So we shall see.

Well done, IJJ. I thought I'd read every word of those Ts & Cs through and through, but I'd missed that point. I rather suspect my outgoing bill payments have been debiting the account same day - but I never realised they weren't meant to, before. Thanks for that.

monkeylugs

I just want to add that I don't phone the customer services number. If you go to the say no to 0870 website and type in Alliance, it will bring you up a whole host of landline numbers so I just use the Leeds one.

I have this same problem with them all the time, they claim that their system updates first thing in the morning for debits, and at close of business for credits. Whenever I get my bank statement all the debits for a day are done first and then the credits last. Quite often I have glanced at a figure that is larger than my overdraft limit and had a heart attack until I realised what has happened.

The last time I did this was on a Tuesday evening when I realised a £25 DD was coming out the following day and I only had £18 credit. I phoned them and they agreed to force the DD payment through but I had to credit the account the same day, so I went along and paid £30 in (so more than enough) only to find they had charged me a £26 'paid item' fee. When I rang to ask them to drop it - seeing how I had been queing outside the post office waiting for it to open so it was paid in by 9am - they said NO and that if the DD had bounced I would have been charged £32 instead of £26.

I hate banking with them and would love to go to Smile or First Direct (I like being able to pay cash in at the post office) but I have an overdraft I can't afford to pay off, and a default from December 2000 but still on my credit history.

Oh and they have also reduced the kids savings account interest from 5.something % to 3. something %