A&L Soooo Frustrating

BabyDragon_2

I have had an A&L direct saver for about 10 months and as the rates have dropped the rate is now terrible and one of the lowest around so I emailed them and asked if I was to open an new eSaver account - could I transfer my money over to get the much better interest rate as I rely on the monthly income - Yes no problem at all....
I apply and they want all my certified ID documents sending in again!!!! :eek:

I can't beleive it - I even rang them to see if I really had to as they have had them all once and they do. I said "you already have my money and I just want to transfer it to get a better rate" and she said they still needed them.

I said it was a shame and that if I had to go thru that, that I might as well go elsewhere to get an even better rate - Ok she said!!!
I asked if there was anything that could be done to keep my business with them - "no I'm sorry they are the rules!!!"

Needlesss to say I will be taking my money elsewhere - I'm so frustrated and very dissapointed.

jcl_2

what she told you at AL was garbage i opened an esaver account and transfered my money from my direct saver into it over the phone same day
sent them 3 R85 forms they lost 2 and initiated the 3rd 1 after paying 2 months interest deducting tax, they refused to compensate so i closed the account. I have never dealt with such a bunch of incompetent idiots like
the ones at A&L they are totally useless.


regards
jcl

Rob_07

Are you not on the electoral roll? When i opened my eSaver i didn;t have to send any ID to them they simply did an identity check on my credit report - can't you ask them to do the same?

Hope this helps
Rob

molerat

I, and Mrs Molerat, have in the past 18 months opened / transferred accounts with A&L, Northern Rock, Nationwide, Birmingham Midshires, NS&I and Kent Reliance and never once had to supply documents. Most of these accounts have been as a first timer with those organisations so something must show up as not 100% on one of their searches probably down to a typo somewhere.

Tyx

A&L lost me and all the people that will listen to me as customers last month, after my experience trying to open an eSaver account. They first sent me a letter saying that I had to send certified documents for ID purposes. With big bold letters they assured me that only Group A documents were needed (Group B were the address verification ones, i.e. bills and bank statements).

So I went to a branch with my passport, but I took as a precaution a bank statement summary page with me, which had my address. Surely enough, after waiting for half an hour, the lady told me that I should probably send the address verification as well. I showed her the big bold type on my letter saying it wasn't needed, but she said 'eh...just send it, you have nothing to lose'. So she certified them both and sent them off.

I waited for TWO weeks before calling them. I then spoke to this 'advisor', who told me after putting me on hold 3-4 times while he called the main offices, that the problem was my non-UK passport (I am Greek), which meant that they needed two proofs of address, not one. When I told him that their letter said I actually needed none, he called them again, and told me 'Well, they said they have no idea why they sent you that letter, you still need two. And actually, they said that what you sent was unacceptable, since it was the first, summary page of your statement and not the entire statement'.

When I asked, baffled, why they wanted to see my day-to-day transactions for a month in order to verify my address, he answered that he would not argue with me, and that's what the rules said. When I also asked why they had not sent me a letter telling me that my application had problems for such and such reasons, hence forcing me to call them, he said that he didn't know, they should have, and he was sorry.

I then explained that I do not pay utility bills where I live, so finding a second proof of address would be more difficult, as they do not accept mobile phone bills or tax forms. He then suggested I phone the Inland Revenue and ask them to send me a different form than the ones they don't accept (P45 and P60). I then decided that this was too much of a hassle..

I also asked if it was possible to speak to someone higher up, and he just said NO. I asked, can I not speak to the person who sent me this letter, asking me for only my passport in the first place? He said, 'No sir, you cannot. I am the only one you can speak to'. I then said 'Fine, could you at least get back on the phone to the office and ask them if they could send me a letter with exactly the forms that I need, for example the number of pages of my bank statement that you require, and the IR form that would be acceptable? So that I have something in writing, as I should have, anyway?

His answer: 'No sir. I see no reason for that. I am the advisor, and I am advising you now on what you need to do.'
I thanked him for his "advice", and hung up. I mean, honestly. I am trying to GIVE you my money, people, I'm not asking for a loan.

Two days later I opened an account with Kaupthing Edge. Quick, efficient, amazingly polite customer service, no problems with my documents, and everything was up and running in a few days.

I would steer clear of A&L. Incompetent idiots, like jcl said above.

oldfella

had a similar situation with Coventry - sent them a tax calculation from the Inland Revenue which is on their list of accepted docs - they wouldnt accept it - I asked why - they said its not a tax calculation - so I said - its from the IR, its got my tax code name and address, it calculates the tax I owe, therefore its a tax calculation - response - no it isnt !

Tyx

Hahaha, I just received today (the 12th, a month later), finally, a letter, explaining that my application was not succesful. The letter said what the guy told me on the phone, that I need two items of certified address ID from group B because my passport is not a UK one (even though their initial letter said it was fine).
Then they say: If you don't reply within 7 days of the date of this leter, you will need to reapply for the account.

The date of the letter? The 5th of June.

I can't help but laughing at how incompetent they are... what a joke.