Unfair Bank Charges

[marionf]

I recently joined Alliance & Leicester Premier Direct Current Account internet banking. They transferred both my direct debits and employee monthly wages. Prior to my joining they guaranteed to meet the same overdraft limit of the person's bank who was transferring if proof of the limit could be given to them. I requested this after joining and was refused as they stated that as I was a new customer that I would have to wait 4 months to see how I managed my account. I had £1000 overdraft with my previous bank therefore I began to encounter problems trying to stay within the £500 limit they gave me. In the first month a direct debit was bounced back to my credit card company which incurred a £20 charge. I discovered that the balance of my previous bank account had not been transferred and I had to do this manually myself to cover other direct debits. They refused to refund me when I told them that I was not aware that my balance had not been transferred. I had also been assured that during the transition period that any overdraft over the limit would be waived. They overcame this by bouncing the direct debit back to the company as stated so that I was charged by the company.

 

This month I have been trying to monitor the direct debits and the balance of my account to ensure I was not going over the £500 limit. I was monitoring the direct debits and the dates of payment and noted that not all my direct debits seemed to be listed therefore I was finding it difficult to keep a check on them being due for payment. On hindsight I should have looked at my previous bank's statements but at the time this did not occur to me as Alliance & Leicester had notified me that all of them had been transferred. I noted last week on Friday night that a direct debit due on the Monday had been put on my statement and noticed that there would not be enough to pay it. As it was on the weekend I was unable to put this money into the bank so I went first thing on Monday morning and put the required sum into it. I was also advised that another direct debit had been taken off on the same day so I covered this by depositing the required amount. I was advised then by the bank teller that the bank had charged me £50 although it should have been around £66. I asked why this was the case as it was due to be paid today, and she told me that the companies had taken the direct debits off at midnight the previous night and was outwith the control of the bank themselves so this was why the charges had been made. I later tried telephoning telebanking and the person I spoke to was extremely unhelpful and told me that there was nothing that could be done as I should have had the money into the bank the previous day. I explained that I was unable to do this as it was Sunday and was not aware of this regulation. She said that I should have made sure that there was sufficient funds in my bank to cover the direct debits which amounted to around £89. I also explained that I was a new customer and had only been with the bank a few months and that I was continually monitoring my account and that not all the direct debits have been put on to the internet banking account. She was very abrupt so I thanked her for being so unhelpful and put the telephone down. I then looked at my previous bank's statement and discovered that another direct debit was due to come off tomorrow so I telephoned the telephone banking service again. This time I spoke to a more pleasant assistant and asked if I could make a payment into my account in order that I did not incurr another £30 charge for a payment of £14 which was due the next day. She said that there were not facilities to do this but if I wished she could try to cancel the direct debit but could not guarantee that this would be effective. I did this but somehow do not expect this to stop the DD from being taken off so expect to have another £33 fees incurred.

 

I am peeved that I was not aware of the regulations that the DD payment had to be covered the previous day as my previous bank accepted a deposit to cover it the same day, and also that the bank statement on the internet is anything but clear to understand. It took me about 4 hours tonight to work out what all the balances meant. I am also angry at the refusal to meet my previous banks overdraft which has caused all the problems that I am experiencing at the present time. I feel that their promise to be helpful and the bank themselves was recommended through uswitch which said that they were had the lowest charges and highest interest rates. All that seems to have happened to me since I joined is that they have been taking significant amounts of money from me in charges to the tune of a third of a week's wages which I can little afford.

 

I am new to the group so I have not had the opportunity to look around it. I have read some posts from others with the same problem and it would appear that there are occasions where I have read that it is not legal in certain circumstances for banks to take these charges. I would be grateful for some advice and for some help in navigating the site.

[caro]

Hello and welcome. You have come to the right place. This site is all about empowering people to help themselves but there is usually someone who can help out if you are stuck.

 

You seem to be yet another victim of A&L taking money out, before taking account of money going in.

 

If you click on the big Consumer Action Group logo you should then be able to see better how to navigate. You made it to the right forum, so that is a good start. Take a look at the FAQ's and step by step instructions as well as the bank templates library. It takes a few days to get your head round all the information but is well worth it so you understand what to do and why it works. The Search button is also helpful. From what I have seen I can see no reason why you should not get your money back but expect to do a court claim, and expect your account to be closed. You will need what we refer to as a parachute account.

 

Good luck.

[marionf]

Thanks for the advice. I have spent the last 4 hours reviewing the site and I have found it extremely helpful.

 

I discovered today that the charges that the A & L have taken from me have put me in an overdraft and I am expecting another £25 charge on to my account tomorrow. I was also advised to cancel another direct debit yesterday by the telephone banking service as I had no means of transferring money into my account to prevent it bouncing today. I was not told that there is a fee for cancelling transactions of £10, and I am expecting that despite cancelling it will have been taken off anyway so I will probably be charged another £25-£35 for not having the necessary funds tomorrow.

 

I am so disgusted that I do not care if they close my account. I intend to take them through a small claims court if they do not reimburse me plus I will claim loss of wages and any other financial losses I may incur. I still have my previous bank account opened fortunately as I could not close it because I have an ISA account with them.

 

It will have cost me around £100 or more by the time they take out all the charges they will levy and I have only been with them for 2 months.

 

I would also add that one of the incentives for opening the account was that they said they would match my previous banks overdraft as long as I could give them proof of it. They gave me an instant £500 and when I asked for an increase to £1000 which I had with my other bank they refused stating that I would have to be with them for 4 months to let them see how I managed my account.

 

I have been heartened though by reading so many other peoples similar problems and their successes in recovering their funds. I do not care if I have to pay more in expenses than I get back from them I am just so angry. Thanks again and your I will certainly take your advice.

[marionf]

got a letter today from A & L to say that they paid two transactions on the 24th and as sufficient funds were not available a paid transaction of £25 has been raised for each transaction in line with their published tarrif. They also followed by saying that as a result of this my account may exceed its authorised limit and if this happens the account will be subject to overdraft charges and/or debit interest for which I will be liable. They say they will notify me of this in my next statement. I do not know why they are waiting until my next statement as it is just the start of this month and they were quick enough in putting the charges in for the above DD's, which put me in an immediate overdraft.

 

I have sent a letter requesting the charges to be reinstated with a complaint that there was sufficient funds deposited on that day to cover the DD's. I will be giving them 7 days to reply and then send them your initial letter.

 

Could anyone advise if it is wise to close the account before the charges have been refunded or to leave it until they kick you out ? I am so p!!!!d off with them I am considering looking for another bank via uswitch again and if they are going to be so brash about the whole situation I do not want to do business with them for any longer than I have to, or for them to take any more of my hard earned cash.

[caro]

It makes no difference to your claim if you want to close the account. You need a parachute account anyway so just set it up and close this account when you are ready. I can't imagine why anyone would want to do business with them.

[marionf]

Received a letter on the 27th July with the standard 'G. Bartley was sorry to learn of my disappointment with the service I have received and thanking me for taking the time to highlight my concerns. They say they are currently looking into the situation and will write to me with a more detailed response. They in the meantime sent me a leaflet explaining the steps they will take to handle my complaint.'

 

Have not yet sent the official letter but am interested to see what their more detailed reply will be, although know that they ,as with everyone else, send a standard reply stating they have done nothing wrong.

 

I have not yet tried switching accounts as I have been looking for a decent bank and have compared the 'so called' best banks with possible complaints found on your site and all have people claiming against them for unfair charges.

 

I have though remained with my previous bank and can always change back to them.

 

As they have told me they will be making a charge for putting me into an overdraft on my next statement I await to see if they do this over the next few days.

 

If anyone has any advice as to a decent bank I can parachute to please let me know.

[marionf]

Hi,

 

Just to keep up-to-date on my position. I received a letter from Alilance & Leicester about above charges. They gave a lengthy explanation as to why they were in the right to take the charges but as a gesture of goodwill have refunded these charges. They have not though said anything about the overdraft they put me into. I have not had these charges taken off my account as yet and await to see if this happens when I will contact them again to complain and ask for a refund.

 

They advise me that if it occurs they will not refund any penalties. I believe that most banks tell you this. I will postpone closing my account to see what they will do about the overdraft charges which they told me would come out of next months statement which I thought should have been the August one although I do not know what day of the month their statement commences as it was aroound the 10th of the month with my previous bank. I will await with anticipation and withold my judgement until then.

 

Marion

[lesleyN]

Hi Marion, I know exactly how you feel. I have never understood the fact that when you pay cash into the account you can take it out again virtually straight away on the same day but they will not use it to cover direct debits that are coming out that day!! I had a conversation about a direct debit that i didn't have enough funds to cover on the day it was due and phoned them to make sure they would pay it as I had a regular payment going into my account the following day and I was told that all DDs are looked at by one of their departments at 2.00pm each day and someone in that department would decide on whether to pay it or bounce it. I asked then that if this was the case why I couldn't deposit cash in the account to cover it and the person I spoke to could give me no explaination at all!! I got to the point with them where I just excepted the way they treated me and put up with it until I found this site. I am now at the last stage of reclaiming all my charges as I filed my court claim on the 27th July. I can nearly see the light at the end of the tunnel and I cannot put into words just how gratifying it has been giving them a taste of their own medicine!!

I wouldn't wait to send them the first letter and reclaim your charges, they usually add their exceeding overdraft charges on or around the 26th of the month. As far as they are concerned they are totally within their rights to take money from you left, right and centre.

Sorry for ranting but they really are the worst bank I have ever dealt with and i'll be so glad to see the back of them as most of their telebanking staff have a way of making you feel like a second class citizen and that you virtually have no say at all about what happens with your own money.

Anyway good luck with your claim, Lesley

 

P.S I was just wondering who your previous bank was as you said in an earlier post that they would let you pay money into your account the same day as a direct debit was due to cover it! Sounds like the sort of bank for me!

[marionf]

The bank which let me put funds in the same day to cover a direct debit was The Royal Bank of Scotland. I had been to the bank to deposit it the day it was due but it was closed due to bad weather and I was going on holiday the next day so my sister explained to them that I was unable to get it deposited the previous day and put it in for me. This meant it was a day late for payment but they said they would not charge because they had been closed the day it was due. I have also complained to them before about what I saw as unfair charges and have had them returned to my account. I have been with them for 25 years and their customer service has been fine and they are more flexible than I have found Alliance and Leicester to be. The reason I moved is because their interest rates are higher on overdrafts and they give lower interest rates on deposits.

 

I have been waiting to see if Alliance & Leicester were going to charge me for being overdrawn on the overdraft, which they caused as they applied charges for 2 direct debits which were supposedly late. I have just discovered from my online account that they intend to charge me £25 for being overdrawn. I intend to send another letter to them again asking for this to be withdrawn but am not expecting any satisfaction.

 

I have had so much trouble with the transfer of my direct debits from my other bank account to Alliance & Leicester that I dread having to again get them transferred to another account. I have had charges applied from some of my direct debit companies because initially Alliance & Leicester had bounced some of them back as they had not transferred my funds from my other bank at the same time and therefore there was not enough funds to cover them. I am afraid that this will happen if I try to switch them back to another bank and end up with more charges to contend with. All of my monthly bills are paid by direct debit therefore I have quite a number coming off my account each month.

 

I'm not sure at this moment what to do. I will see what sort of reply I get from them when I ask for a refund of the £25 overdraft charges.

[Michellemc]

A & L do seem to be a nightmare and I agree Marion, the internet banking is hopeless. We got a letter today to say they had bounced a cheque. I had checked the internet banking and it showed £20.00 available even when the cheque had been taken out but then even though additional money was deposited the next day they bounced it! When I spoke to somebody today they said the DD's / SO's are processed overnight so they take the balance at the close of the previous working day.

I am at the LBA stage as received the standard letter but can not wait to get away from them. Have to say the only positive is you can deposit / withdraw money at the PO because our nearest branch is miles away but still, can not wait to clear my o/d and get out!!!

Will monitor your progress. Good Luck!