hi everyone

Heard about these illegal bank charges yesterday and after a short search on the internet i came across a couple of very useful sites to help claim back my money. I've just been reading some very interesting threads here and i am very encouraged by what i've read.

I gave a & l a ring this aft telling them that i wanted a list of all charges made to my account in the last 6 years. They agreed to this and told me there would be a £10 charge for doing this (how ironic).

I took the opportunity to check my statements going back to October 2005 (the furthest i could go back online). I have had a few difficult months since Christmas but i was still suprised to see that i had a total of £781 charges since October:-x. £340 of these charges were because a&l failed 2 direct debits and as a result of there instant £34 charge per failed dd, i had insufficient funds in my account to cover the following 8 direct debits due in the following 3 or 4 days.

when i rang them to question this ridiculous amount of charges they told me that they were entitled to make the charges as i did not have enough funds when the first direct debit was due:evil: . Obviously it has been very difficult to recover from these charges but i am getting there, now it looks like there could be a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Im not sure exactly how much the bank have charged me over the last six years but i bet it is in the region of £2000. i cant wait to receive the list of charges so i can get the ball rolling and get my money back

i dont care if they close my account down in the end, it'll be more than worth it to open another account with another bank, i'll be looking into this asap.

will keep you posted

watch this space

Hello and welcome.

Be sure to read, read and read some more on this site.

FAQs, step by step etc.

You are on solid ground.

Thanks Mindbomb.

All i seem to have done in the last day or two is read posts on this site ( very useful) and read a lot on other sites such as www.moneysavingexpert.com

Already printed off the necessary templates provided so i can familiarise myself with the forms etc.

just waiting now for my blood sucking bank to send my list of charges so i can get on with it.

knowing that so many people are in the same boat and getting success is definitely a bonus, i think this could be good fun, not afraid of taking the bank on one bit. with all the help and support from people on this site i hope more and more people are encouraged to fight for what is rightfully theres. (THERE HARD EARNED CASH!!!)

Don't hold your breath.

The A&L seem to be the slowest of all the banks when it comes to responding to the DPA letter, taking very nearly the 40-day maximum allowed to respond. I sent 3 DPA letters on 16-May; one responded in 8 days, one in 14-days and despite cashing the £10 cheque after 3-days, I'm still waiting for the A&L response 21-days later... Twunts.

Yeh i know what your saying but this is money i never thought id see again so if i have to wait a 3,4 or 5 weeks to get things going then so be it. they owe me a lot of money and they can stall all they want as long as they dont go over the time allotted to them. if i get my money back in the end then it'll be worth the wait.

i only rang them yesterday requesting a statement of all charges made to my account, they said they would send me it but i don't trust them too much so i'm sending the DPA form today.

i hope they're choking on all the DPA's and LBA's they're getting right now.

Just A Quickie

Do I Send My Letters To Liverpool Or Leicester???

I've sent mine to;

Customer Contact Centre

Bootle

Merseyside

GIR 0AA

I think Leicester is just the registered office.

cheers fivelaws

i did some more looking around and found that people had sent their letters to Bootle.

thanks

when i send the dpa with the £10 cheque, is the cheque made out to "ALLIANCE & LEICESTER PLC "???

That should be fine. Please send the letter recorded delivery as things get "lost" in the post.

Thanks.

I work at the Post Office so i'll be sending it Priority Service. I'm not taking any chances if i can help it

Its going in the post as we speak, so they will have it nice and early tomorrow morning.

i'll keep you posted as soon as i hear from them.

cheers

I have today sent my DPA to A&L, i haven't sent it as recorded delivery so hope it doesn't get 'lost in the post'.

I will keep the updates coming for all those looking for encouragement when it comes to getting back what is rightfully ours!

Taking on the A&L is gonna be so exciting, i cant wait and am with you, 'Bring 'em On!!!'

I will keep the updates coming for all those looking for encouragement when it comes to getting back what is rightfully ours!

That would be good. If you start your own thread we can follow your story through. You might be surprised at how exciting it can be.

Good luck to you both.

HA HA. dont know what you mean " things get lost in the post":D

just checked track and trace, A & L have received my Data Protection Act this morning (sure it wont be the last they get). just gonna sit back and enjoy England winning the world cup now. What a summer this could turn out to be!!!

a friend told me yesterday that she went to her local branch (not sure which bank), when she asked for a list of charges to her account they told her that it would cost £5 per page!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!

Iv started my own thread now, i'm sure new starters will appreciate the information people are providing, i know i did.

Were around the same stage so i will be watching your thread anxiously to hear what excuses to expect from them in the near future.

Bring on the world cup and bring on the bank!!!

Still waiting!!!!

just checked my bank account, the £10 cheque was cleared on the 16th so will hopefully hear something in a week or two or three, maybe four weeks.

glad to see more and more people taking on A & L and winning.

Think of all the extra interest you will be able to claim when you reach Moneyclaim.

not sure how to work out the intrest bit yet, but im sure there will be plenty of help when i need it.

just filled in an online application for a Natwest Step Account, do they help when it comes to getting my wage changed from A&L to Natwest??

Also do they help getting my direct debits changed over??

Really can't wait to get my money back and get out of A&L

not sure how to work out the intrest bit yet, but im sure there will be plenty of help when i need it.

It can seem like a long wait getting your statements, but it is a useful time to prepare for the next stages, and really get to grips with the processes and understanding the legal side of it, as you will need to go to Moneyclaim.

i know it will probably be a long wait for my statements judging by the time its taken everybody else to get theirs, but at least i've got the world cup to take my mind off the wait.

i've already had a little look on Moneyclaim to try to familiarise myself with it, i've also got all the other letters printed off so i can get my head around it all.

i'll be keeping track on everybodys progress on this forum as well so i can be as prepared as possible when the time comes.

Can't get enough reading done on this forum, recommend everybody to read as much as possible, especially the FAQ's

Can't get enough reading done on this forum, recommend everybody to read as much as possible, especially the FAQ's

Not sure about the World Cup bit (groan), but well said for this bit.

Not sure if it's a good indication or not, but my DPA letter dated 16-May was replied exactly 30 days later on the 17-June.

If that holds true for yours, you'll get them on the Friday just before the World Cup Final - what a weekend that could be!

yeh, that could be a great weekend but not if we carry on playing the way we are. should be better tonight though.

as for my bank statements, i'm not holding my breath. i fully expect A&L to take the full 40 days. They make you laugh don't they, they manage to send a nice letter out to you telling you they haven't paid your direct debit (and charged you £34 for the pleasure) within a day or two but it takes them 6 weeks to send you a few statements.

they're just a bunch of petty "bankers":-D

where did you get the template letters from,your more confident than me,ive sent my own letter but waiting,didnt send £10 so def wnt get my list of charges without that will I,wish you all the luck you need

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk - Bank Templates Library

that should be Bank Templates Library at the end, didnt come out right for some reason

click on the 3rd one down the list, all the templates you need are there

Good Luck:)