Thread: Redbull vs A+L

Hi all,
Thought Id just post a summary and hopefully an ongoing account of my claim against the alliance and leicester. I'll just summarise the situation.

In November I cancelled all my direct debits using the online banking service with my current account and basically stopped using the account, including making any payments or withdrawls. For some reason I was unaware of the fact that I was seemingly £65 overdrawn. I assume I must have used my card at some point and accidentally gone overdrawn, not checking that my account was at £0.00 before stopping using it.
Since 8th November I have been charged £5 per day for the priviledge of being overdrawn by this small amount of money. I was unaware this was happening until I finally opened a "Last demand for payment" which informed me they were going to take me to a debt collecting service a few days ago.
At this moment up to the 8th January I am now overdrawn by over £400 and the daily charges are still accumulating.

I immediately rang them and said I would look in to the matter.
I have since sent a letter, by recorded mail of course, stating that I wish to have copies of my statements for the last 6 months and sent them a cheque to the value of £10.
I have yet to hear from them but expect Ill get a reply soon.
Now I am fully aware that I shouldnt have been so silly to leave all my monthly statements unopened, but I was genuinely unaware of the gravity of the situation until recently.
Does anyone have any advice for me concerning this? I have had a similar issue with Natwest which I was succesful in my claim so I am used to the general process of claiming this money back. However I was wondering since I have made a claim against another bank that this could be used against me perhaps.
Any feedback would be appreciated and I will keep this thread updated as the case continues.

I also just wanted to ask what qualifies for 'hardship' status? Ive been unemployed while these charges have been incurred and have no means of income to even pay it off in the mean time while Im issuing a claim! Since I have no income and am in severe financial turmoil will that give me any support? Just a thought...

Thanks all,
Redbull

Hi redbull and welcome to CAG

Firstly, the fact that you've already had a successful penalty charges claim against another bank won't have any bearing on your situation with A&L, so don't worry about that.

Secondly, with regards to proving hardship, I have to say that this has been incredibly difficult (almost impossible even) for most claimants to prove. We've had people relying solely on benefits for their income coupled with severe health issues whose claims have continued to be rejected by the banks and subsequently 'stayed' at court.

However, I'd advise you to proceed to reclaim these charges back as soon as you have your statements from the last few months anyway. And as soon as you send off your prelim, it may also be worth sending the 'account in dispute' letter (see the A-Z guide linked to my signature for this) to prevent A&L passing your account onto a DCA.

Best of luck, and keep us posted.