Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
Thought that I would join this group as currently am owed a little from Alliance & Leicester.
Being a very new customer (infact this was a parachute account from Lloyds my main account) I have all of my charges, totalling £102.00 for non payment of DD (three in total)
Sent a letter giving them 14 days to put money back into account (deadline yesterday) from the Library section of this website. This was the letter before action. I only did this because I knew how much they owed and did not need to contact them for any further statements (which most people seem to have to).
Now I am on the Money claim website to start the next part of my claim.
Alliance & Leicester did acknowledge my letter (kind of) by sending a standard " we are sorry to hear you are not happy with the service you have received, ....we will get back to you" blah blah.
Will keep you all posted......
2nd letter arrived from Jan Smeaton Customer services advising me that the charges are clearly shown in their literature and that they are unable to make any adjustments to my account.
Money claim here i come
Visited Money claim - Notice of Issue Claim no 6QZ26588 in Northampton county court issued on 26th April 06, deemed to have been served 1st May 06. Defendant has until 15th May 06 to respond.
Saw a familiar typeface on a white envelope in my mail this morning - that of Alliance & Leicester. Got excited as with all of these quick turn arounds of full refunds occuring on this site (well done all!) I was hoping for the same.
Mind you the postage pre-paid was 1st Class so I really should have guessed that it was not a refund, but infact a letter telling me (six weeks after the request) that I would not be getting the £250 overdraft I had requested.
I had applied for the o/d before I had really dealt with this fantastic site, now I have submitted a claim, so not surprised that I have had the knock back.
I can see some more unlawful charges heading my way - hope this will go in my favour for any potential court action, as I am trying to run my account effectively, and stay within my t&c's haha
At least I have the relevant letters on my desktop thanks BAG!
Settled in full. Cheque for total claimed including court costs.
Normal non-admission covering letter from the bank.
Thank you all!!
Helpful message for all of you dealing with Money CLaim on line, you cannot change the information stating that Defendant has paid in full on that site. You must send the claim number and date of payment by e-mail fax or letter to the Court,and they will update accordingly.
[COLOR=olive][SIZE=1]If you feel that we have helped you, or you would like to help keep this web site running so that others can continue to get their money back, please click the donate button at the top of the forum.
Advice & opinions of Dave, The Bank Action Group and The Consumer Action Group are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability.
Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.
------------
Add me as your friend on FaceBook - I need all the friends I can get
Once I've digested the FAQ I'll do the same, I too am looking for £102.00, I could go further as I've had an account with A&L for over 15 years.
Its only a basic cash account and the problems always arise due to them taking 8 working to days to clear cheques ( is it fair that current accounts only take 4 days ? )
Since winning my claim I have been advised by A&L when my account is teetering over with unpaid direct debits that they will not be charging me on this occasion as my accounts are in the process of being switched!
Think this is because I swapped over to A&L after starting legal biz with my premier account Lloyds, rather than the fact that they dont want me threatening court action with them again!
Good luck everyone, keep going or start your claims...its worth it
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
Hi again everyone - thanks for your messages. This forum gets more exciting with every day that passes, and I hope you all will be grinning like me soon!
Sparol - have you received your cheque yet?
Fuz - if you need any help getting started then pm me, A&L claim was quite straight forward, go back for the full 6 years of charges, and start with asking for a DPA request - contact info is in FAQs/other threads.
Spoke to A&L today to ask them to cancel a DD, which should be coming out of my account and asked them if they would charge me tongue in cheek! They said no (good, saves me a letter!) oh, and I phoned them on their cheapy tel no which is not the 0870 / 0845 number so money saved all round! Yippee
Hi, I just got my umbrella account set up but
it doesn't allow any online banking ( Lloyds TSB basic crap a/c ).
So time for a re-think.. I need to be able to pay creditors online, I need to be able
to recieve payments from clients online.. can't afford to have the account closed before I have another to replace it and the Ltsb just doesn't cut it. I will only use that for cheques coming in.
FUZ - the Natwest Step Account allows you to set up DD and SO online (not sure about Bill Payments though). I have only just opened mine, but used to deal with them donkeys years ago, and have been the best bank i have used (don't mention this to anyone from the Natwest threads!!)
Fuz it sounds as if you need a good business account. Unfortunately my business account is with Lloyds so I can't advise you on that issue (although I can say that Lloyds have kept the business account open even with the late stage that I am at with them and my impending court case for unlawful charges on my personal account - separate thread under relevant bank action group forum) . Lots of people on this site have been opening a Natwest parachute / umbrella account, but again I have not so can't tell you what facilites they have!
There have been various comments/discussions regarding bank account closures, although I have not actually read of anyone being forced to close their account, although some banks have flexed their muscles say asking for cheque books etc to be returned, how this affects on line banking i don't know, maybe any moderator could assist here????!!!!
I like your comment regarding using the Lloyds account for paying cheques in.....for example cheques for unlawful bank charges!
I know I need a good business account but I won't be getting one anytime soon
I went to Lloyds with someone who was " a good friend of the manager " .. expecting to be waived through the hoops and get a normal current a/c.
No such luck so rather than say " forget it" I allowed myself to be lumbered with an account with half the usability of my A/L account
I guess if I try for a Natwest a/c they see all the searches etc and ask why I need so many
So not really ready to send THAT letter to the A/L yet .
Have received notification that A&L will be closing my account on 30th June 06 because I have refuse to abide by their terms and conditions.
Has this happened to anyone recently? What do I do now? Do I have any grounds to challenge.
A&L seem to have had the last laugh, and I am furious.
PLEASE REPLY!
what a bunch of b*****ds a & l are...my advice to you is write to a & l saying that you are not happy about the acct closure and say that you will be sending the letter you recd from them to the office of fair trading as you believe this to be a retalitary action by them regarding unlawful charges...then see what happens...good luck paul
Paul, thanks for your words. I am a little calmer now, after all of my posts regarding the unlikely event of the bank threatening closure, and then as if by magic it happens to me!
I will make a decision over the weekend, but I think i need clarification from A&L as to which t&c's i have not agreed to. Also i have another current joint account with them, which they have not YET threatened to close. Better not bring that one up!
A & L have done this to a few people. Take a look through the forum as I am sure this is covered somewhere, and others in this situation have started taking action. From memory McUth is one of them, so look for his posts in the A&L forum. Sorry I can't be more specific but this is just why it is recommended that you have a parachute account. Don't let them get to you.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
Should you be offered help that requires payment please report it to site team.
Alliance & Leicester Moneyclaim issued 20/1/07 £225.50 full settlement received 29 January 2007
Smile £1,075.50 + interest Email request for payment 24/5/06 received £1,000.50 14/7/06 + £20 30/7/06
Yorkshire Bank Moneyclaim issued 21/6/06 £4,489.39 full settlement received 26 January 2007
Advice & opinions given by Caro are personal, are not endorsed by Consumer Action Group or Bank Action Group, and are offered informally, without prejudice & without liability. Your decisions and actions are your own, and should you be in any doubt, you are advised to seek the opinion of a qualified professional.
A little owed from the Alliance & Leicester
from Lloyds
Reply With Quote
Re: A little owed from the Alliance & Leicester
Settled in full. Cheque for total claimed including court costs.
I have been advised by A&L when my account is teetering over with unpaid direct debits that they will not be charging me on this occasion as my accounts are in the process of being switched! 
A&L have given me notice for account closure
