Failed Direct Debit

[purplepenguin]

Hey there. I've just had a letter from A&L telling me that as I didn't have sufficient funds to cover a £29 DD they're charging me £34. Obviously I'm rather annoyed, especially as the payment was for scammy card protection which I didn't want anymore - I only signed up because at the time I had the money and wanted them to stop hassling me. Anyway, I'm about to print out the letter and will report back on just how rude they are to me. I spoke to them on the phone first and was told to read my Ts and Cs and that if the charges were unlawful then "I'm sure we wouldn't charge them".

[Bookworm]

A classic answer from someone who obviously has not heard of the OFT's statement last week, lol.

 

Welcome.

 

Do let us know how you get on.

[purplepenguin]

Haha...yeah, I'm tempted to phone her back and tell her in more detail, I was still sleepy and although I was calm I wasn't as informative as I would have liked.

[BankFodder]

Make your claim and get yourmoney back.

the if you can be bothered phone her nad say that if the charges were lawful you are sure that they wouldn't repay them - or everyone else's either

[purplepenguin]

Thanks I'm feeling quite happy at the prospect of enlightening bank employees!

[purplepenguin]

Right. I had a letter back telling me they will not be refunding my charges, and now I've looked at my account and they've only just charged me for the second day I was overdrawn. I had about £1 in there and they've charged me £25. So no doubt they will now be trying to charge me AGAIN. I'm changing accounts as soon as possible and will be telling them exactly why they're losing me as a customer after 13 years. I am so angry with them.

[bram stoker]

Go for it.

 

Don't forget to follow the step by step guide in the FAQ's and keep us all informed in this thread so we can help out.

 

Best of luck.

[purplepenguin]

Thanks for the support. The problem now is that I've been overdrawn for a couple of days, so any money I put in there (which I will have to borrow until I get paid) will probably be taken in yet more charges.

[bram stoker]

Is there any way you can avoid paying money in? Can you cancel your DD's and pay your bills by giro over the counter? If you do, speak to your creditors first to inform them of what you're doing.

[purplepenguin]

I don't have any DD's or any bills to pay out of that acount now, the only thing is my pay is due to go in on friday. But, if I just stay overdrawn and pay no money in they I'll get more charges anyway. Argh?

[bram stoker]

Is the balance large? You could pay it off and then claim them back of course.

 

Wow, this hurts my brain so late at night.

 

Just remember, any charges you get, you can claim back. You must make your decision on what to do.

 

It's just a real pain that they put you in this position to start with.

 

Good luck.

[purplepenguin]

It's only about £24 overdrawn. The problem is that whatever I pay in might be taken in charges in the future because I've been overdrawn. They have only just charged me for day two of being overdrawn about 3 or 4 weeks ago, as far as I can see. It's too late at night to deal with this

[purplepenguin]

Right...I'm going to be charged another £50 (which will bring the total charges to £110) on friday for two of the days I was overdrawn due to their charges, I telephoned customer services to ask if there was anything that could be done about this and was told in a very short manner that they are allowed to do this and the charges are correct. Was planning to have a big rant but thanked them for being so unhelpful and hung up instead.

 

Now, I am going to write another letter but just wanted to update things here...I'm not going to leave any money in my account for friday if I can help it. This will mean more charges or whatever I suppose but I'm not letting them take half a weeks pay in charges.

 

Opinions?

[bram stoker]

I suggest you quickly open another account elsewhere and have you salary paid into the new account, then start claiming again for the new charges.

 

Be careful, as constant claiming of current charges is likely to end up in a letter from your bank stating a commercial decision to close your account, giving you 30 days notice, as Spiceskull found out.

[purplepenguin]

Mm...I have filled in an application form for a Nationwide account, for the next time I get paid I might get it paid into my boyfriend's account if I don't have my new one set up by then.

 

You're probably right and I should wait to send to letter til after that, I just hate the idea of having more and more charges applied, as I will not be leaving money in there for them to take, which will result in being overdrawn again and yet more charges. And that's scary for me.

[purplepenguin]

Right...I have now got myself a Nationwide account. So far all is good. They have even given me an overdraft.

 

Alliance & Leicester have sent me a reply saying that They consider their charges fair but are offering me £50 refund as a goodwill gesture. The amount they have taken means that my account is now about £96 overdrawn.

I've also had one of those automated system letters saying that the situation is now "very serious" and there is a risk of my account being closed if I do not repay the overdraft by 10th July.

 

I'm thinking that the righ thing to do is reply saying that I'm not debating how competitive or fair their charges are, but that the only thing which has taken me overdrawn are those charges. Therefore I will accept the £50 as part payment and continue to persue the rest as I am right.

 

Right?

[barracad]

Don't do that - you are disputing that their charges are fair. You don't want to make it seem as though you are not disputing that.

 

Just a simple letter will do:

 

 

Dear Mr Banker

 

Thank you for your offer of £xxx.xx as part settlement of my claim.

 

Your offer is not satisfactory, although I am prepared to accept this sum, unconditionally, in part-settlement of my FULL claim of £yyy.yy.

 

I shall continue to proceed with my action to recover the remainder of my claim.

[purplepenguin]

Mm, I was mentally correcting myself after posting. Thanks for the advice - I will do that. If they cave in and give it all back then so much the better, if not, what's my next step? (I have read through material on this, just not recently and it's so hot and sticky I need pointers at the moment!)

[caro]

Mm, I was mentally correcting myself after posting. Thanks for the advice - I will do that. If they cave in and give it all back then so much the better, if not, what's my next step? (I have read through material on this, just not recently and it's so hot and sticky I need pointers at the moment!)

 

I will therefore point you to the FAQ's and step by step instructions, where you will find the information that you need. (I am also hot and sticky - phew). Reading your thread I cannot tell what stage of the process you have reached.

[purplepenguin]

Ok...I replied to A&L saying that I would go on to claim back my full charges. I received a letter saying that "having looked at our records, we see you have received a refund in goodwill" and they aren't willing to pay me anything else. They have since charged me again for being overdrawn. Now, do I need to send a letter before action, or can I go straight to Moneyclaim now? I'm not sure as I've already been in correspondence with them.

[caro]

If you have not sent a letter before action, then you need to do that first. You seem to be letting things drift so you need them to know that you are serious and will take action.

[purplepenguin]

I'm not intentionally letting things go or not taking it seriously, I just have other things going on in my life which also need attending to.

 

Thank you very much for your reply, I will do that tomorrow.

[caro]

I know what you mean. I wasn't having a go. I should have done my MCOL for A&L over a month ago and haven't got round to it due to life taking over, so I should probably take my own advice.

[purplepenguin]

Thanks. I wasn't sure how seriously I was being told off! This life thing really gets in the way of productivity, doesn't it!

[dede123]

I stopped my direct debit contribution to a UK charity because my bank charged me £35 failed direct debit charge, meanwhile my monthly support to the charity was £5, and I had only £3.48 in my account. But that was then, no bank will ever do that to me again as I am now in full control. I use a text messaging reminder service from (Edit) directdebitalerts.com, I setup all my direct debit and payment dates, and schedule the system to send me SMS and Email reminders 2 days before my direct debit due dates, it never fails, and that helps me to make sure there is enough money in my account even if it means borrowing from someone. The service cost me only £15 per year, and it works every

Edited August 26, 2010 by maroondevo52
Removed commercial link.