Arkanara v A&L ***WON***

arkanara · 9th June 2006, 14:07

After hearing from my boss about what we can now do regarding our bank charges i became an avid fan of this site, hearing about everyones experiences and victories has me hooked!

Myself and 2 other members of staff have come together to challenge our banks and wow am i excited...

Our Data Protection Act'S were in the post yesterday, i hope we can be as successfull as all you other guys.

Watch this space!!

Em.

caro · 9th June 2006, 15:02

Good luck to you all! Are you all with A&L or do your colleagues have different banks?

arkanara · 9th June 2006, 15:19

Thank you.

No were all with different banks, weve got Barclays and NatWest here too so will be an interesting time to see how each responds. Somehow i've got a feeling A&L will be the toughest nut to crack but hey, i'm up for the challenge and ready to play!

Em

fivelaws · 9th June 2006, 15:31

A&L seem to be the slowest of the lot to reply to Data Protection Act requests. I sent one to them, HFC and Nationwide on the same day. The £10 cheques were all cashed on the same day and I've now gotten to LBA with HFC and about to go LBA with Nationwide next Monday. As for A&L - no sign of the statements yet!

Anecdotal evidence suggests they use up every last drop of the 40-day maximum ... and maybe even more.

Good luck though!

arkanara · 9th June 2006, 15:36

Thanks.

Good luck with yours, hope they all pay off very soon for you.

I'v been loyal to A&L for 8 yrs, i get the feeling a new account could be on the cards!

Do you know if this can be done with building societies too or is it just banks?

Em

fivelaws · 9th June 2006, 15:47

Banks, building societies, credit cards, loans, mortgages ... anything you can think of, you can do.

arkanara · 9th June 2006, 16:57

Brilliant! Data Protection Act to the Cumberland Building Society this afternnoon then!

Thanks for the advice.

Em

caro · 9th June 2006, 20:27

Sorry, but up until now Clydesdale have been far worse with Data Protection Act requests. See the Yorkshire Bank forum if you don't believe it, especially JMio's thread. They have now seen the light.

A&L's thing is closing accounts so make sure you have a parachure account with another bank ready.

arkanara · 13th June 2006, 13:15

Thanks for the advice, searching for another account has commenced.

Does anyone know if A&L have just 'not bothered' to respond to Data Protection Act requests?

Em

caro · 13th June 2006, 13:22

I am sure that if this has happened they would have been reported to the Information Commissioners Office who would look into it. They cannot legally "not bother".

arkanara · 14th June 2006, 13:17

Just a little update...

Along with me, and two other members of staff my fiance also sent a Data Protection Act letter to his bank the Cumberland Building Society.
Yesterday we received a letter asking him to confirm that it was him requesting the information and that it is that particular information he wants, (as the letter had his name and address on it's a very strange question to ask)!! If that isn't time stalling I dont know what is. A letter will be in the post today confiming the original and also stating the original timescale still applys.

NOW THE BEST BIT....
A colleague who has also sent a Data Protection Act letter to the NatWest has received a letter thismorning informing her they are applying a £28 charge as she has gone a few pounds overdrawn. The amazing thing about this is the only reason she has gone overdrawn is because they have applied an overdraft interest charge to her account!!

Unbelievable!!:o

Em

arkanara · 26th June 2006, 17:24

Alliance & Leicester have finally cashed the £10 cheque i sent with my letter but as yet still no reply. They are half way into their 40 day alloted time scale.
They do like to take their time don't they, hopefully thats because there snowed under with requests!!

Keep you posted.

Em.

arkanara · 12th July 2006, 16:38

Hi all,

Just a question, was wondering if anyone could help.

I am still waiting for my statements from A&L, they have 6 days before their 40 days has officially expired. As the time of the next step is closing in I have been doing lots of reading and swotting up, however one thing is still confusing me.

In the next letter there is a sentance...
"I enclose a schedule of the charges which I am claiming with this letter"

...as we are not to mention the interest part yet i am assuming that the spreadsheet in the forum is not the one i should be using.

How do I detail these charges and send them with my letter? Is it just an ordinary excel doc with them listed or is there a template for this?

This may just be a blonde moment as I have read and read to find out this answer but as yet I am no clearer so any info would be great.

Thanks all,
Em.

fivelaws · 13th July 2006, 10:32

I've been using the spreadsheet, with the 8% interest column still showing. I've just said in my initial letter that the claim was for "£xxx as detailed on the attached list", but only quoted the total of charges rather than the charges + interest.

In the LBA, I've used the same list of charges, but this time stated that "I intend to claim s.69 interest as detailed on the attached list".

At least that way, they know you're serious...!

arkanara · 14th July 2006, 16:29

Thank you for that.... I did wonder about doing it that way but didn't want to make a mess of things by doing it wrong.

Thanks again.

By the way, still haven't received statements. Time is almost up!!

Em

caro · 16th July 2006, 01:29

You cannot claim section 69 interest until you reach the moneyclaim stage. Use Vampiress' spreadsheet in the bank templates library at this stage, and then the 8% goes on when you do the court claim.

nagumos · 19th July 2006, 16:54

Its Arkanara here, i'm logged in on my colleagues user name - didn't realise!

Thats it then 40 days from the day I posted my letter, NO STATEMENTS!!! However I have just learnt that they have 40 days from when they cash your cheque, so if I was being fair they do still have a few more days. Who wants to be fair though, they havn't been fair with us have they, charging £34 for an unpaid dd even if you are just a few pounds short!

Anyway, got on the phone today and attempted to explain to some robot why I was calling. After her asking alot of pointless questions like 'why did you send a cheque? We would just normally debit your account' (What is she talking about!) she did tell me she could see that a request for copys of statements has been received, alas I finally got through to her! She has assured me she will follow up this request with the correct department. Blah Blah Blah!!!

Waiting game again then!!

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