Alliance and Leicester - Progress to date:

[packjoker]

Well. I sent off the initial letter (from the BAG library) to A&L on 7th February demanding that they refund all my charges for the last 6 years etc.

 

Exactly 7 days later (14th Feburary - my only Valentine ) I received a reply that said:

 

______________

 

14th February 2006

 

Dear PJ...(or words to that effect)

 

I am writing in response to your recent communication and was very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the service you have received.

 

Thank you for taking the time to highlight your concerns, we are currently looking into the situation and will be writing to you with a more detailed response.

 

In the meantime, I am enclosing a leaflet which explains the steps we will take to handle your complaint.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

C Johnson

Current Account Back Office

 

________________

 

Hmm.... let's see how we go from here. I'm not letting this one go.

 

Just one question: Should I start legal proceedings now, or wait until they get back to me?

 

I will, of course, keep you all posted.

 

 

PJ..xx

 

[packjoker]

Well. I sent off the initial letter (from the BAG library) to A&L on 7th February demanding that they refund all my charges for the last 6 years etc.

 

Exactly 7 days later (14th Feburary - my only Valentine ) I received a reply that said:

 

______________

 

14th February 2006

 

Dear PJ...(or words to that effect)

 

I am writing in response to your recent communication and was very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the service you have received.

 

Thank you for taking the time to highlight your concerns, we are currently looking into the situation and will be writing to you with a more detailed response.

 

In the meantime, I am enclosing a leaflet which explains the steps we will take to handle your complaint.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

C Johnson

Current Account Back Office

 

________________

 

Hmm.... let's see how we go from here. I'm not letting this one go.

 

Just one question: Should I start legal proceedings now, or wait until they get back to me?

 

I will, of course, keep you all posted.

 

 

PJ..xx

 

[BankFodder]

Presumably you know how much you are claiming.

Use the preliminary apprach letter in the library - 14 days. Modify it so that you acknowledge their letter but say that you do not accept their open-ended commitment to respond and so you are laying down your own schedule.

Then letter before action

Then the Good News.

[BankFodder]

Presumably you know how much you are claiming.

Use the preliminary apprach letter in the library - 14 days. Modify it so that you acknowledge their letter but say that you do not accept their open-ended commitment to respond and so you are laying down your own schedule.

Then letter before action

Then the Good News.

[Miss T]

Exactly the same has happened with me, gonna send them anothr letter stating still not happy. The letter I recieved states that they are looking into it, surely this is just a delay tactic.

[Miss T]

Exactly the same has happened with me, gonna send them anothr letter stating still not happy. The letter I recieved states that they are looking into it, surely this is just a delay tactic.

[Miss T]

Confused now,

sent them a letter stating wanted money back within 7 days. (already got statements from last 6 years).

They sent me reply, I was all ready to go for the court direction but got the impression from other threads that I was best sending them another letter stating not happy with the standards blar blar letter I recieved.

Damn just sent new letter giving them 14 days for full refund,

Advice please!!!!

Got to wait the 14 days now havent i? Or could I just go straight to the court.

[packjoker]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't totally clear in my first post.

 

I don't actually know how much I am claiming back from them yet. I have only sent them the initial letter from the BAG library requesting a refund and asking for a breakdown of the charges levied against my account for the last six years under the DPA.

 

The only communication I have from them to date is the letter above.

 

How long should I wait for them to get back to me? As I understand it, they have 40 days to provide me with the information I have requested. (i.e. copies of my bank statements for the last 6 years) Is that correct?

 

I'm clear about what I need to do once I have the bank statements.

 

Thanx.

[BankFodder]

Confused now,

sent them a letter stating wanted money back within 7 days. (already got statements from last 6 years).

They sent me reply, I was all ready to go for the court direction but got the impression from other threads that I was best sending them another letter stating not happy with the standards blar blar letter I recieved.

Damn just sent new letter giving them 14 days for full refund,

Advice please!!!!

Got to wait the 14 days now havent i? Or could I just go straight to the court.

I've just noticed this post. It wasn't answered more quickly because you hijacked a thread and it became confusing.

Please do not Hijack threads. Start your own.

 

You have sent a 14 day letter - wait the 14 days.

[packjoker]

Received another letter from A&L today (4th March)...

 

28th February

 

Dear PJ (or words to that effect)

 

Further to our previous letter, I am writing to let you know that our investigations are taking longer than expected.

 

I am sorry for the delay and would like to assure you that we are dealing with this as quickly as possible. A detailed reply will be sent within the next 28 days.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Peter Connolly

Current Account Back Office

 

How long does it take to print off a list of charges..!? They only have about 14 days left to supply me with the information I have requested under the DPA...since my original letter of 7th February (below)

 

Alliance & Leicester plc
Customer Service Centre
Carlton Park
Narborough
Leicester
LE19 0AL

 

7th February 2006

 

WITHOUT PREDJUDICE

 

Dear Sir,

 

Penalty & unfair charges – request for refund for XX XXXXXXX – Acc. No: XXXXXXXXX – Sort Code - XXXXXX

 

I have held the above-mentioned current account with your bank for at least the past 6 years. During this time I have incurred charges for exceeding my overdraft limit due to cheques/BACS being cleared at unfortunate times, unauthorized overdraft fees, direct debits and standing orders being dishonored (and in some cases honored) due to insufficient funds.

 

It is my opinion, and that of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), that these charges are punitive in nature, not a genuine pre-estimate of cost and not intended to re-imburse your losses for a breach of contract occurring. Further to the 1999 Consumer Credit Regulations quoted by the OFT, there are numerous cases in law that prove that punitive charges in contracts are unenforceable at English law:

 

• Murray v. Leisure play (2005) EWCA Civ 963

• Dunlop Tyre Company v New Garage and Motor Co. (1915)

• Bridge v. Campbell Discount Co. Ltd. (1962)

 

There are many more cases of this type – far more than I have room to list here.

 

Further to these cases, I also believe these charges to be a direct breach of the 1977 Unfair Terms (contracts) Act which require that contract terms be reasonable. I do not believe these charges are reasonable as outlined in the aforementioned act.

 

With this in mind, I respectfully request that you return to me ALL charges made on this account in the last 6 years within 7 days of receipt of this letter by way of personal cheque. If you choose not to do so, I will start proceedings for recovery in the County Courts, as I believe that legally I am entitled to this money back. By doing so, you will be eligible for my court costs and for an extra 8% APR as allowed by the County Courts Act (1984). This money would be used in some way to clear my overdraft on this account.

 

Further to this, if you decide NOT to accept my offer of settlement of this issue, I would like to make a formal request under the Data Protection Act (1998) for a complete and exhaustive list of all charges made on this account over the last 6 years. As you are no doubt aware, you are afforded 40 days to comply with this request or you must request an extension from the Information Commissioner. If you are of any doubt that this information is covered by the act, may I respectfully draw your attention to the case of Durant v FSA 2003 where the judge ruled that bank statement information is indeed personal information and thus covered. In any event, this information is requested with a view to prospective legal action on my part and therefore would be covered under the same act.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

Will keep you posted...

[djweeble]

Nice one matey, go for the jugular :twisted: If you don't mind I just might make use of that letter in my claim

 

May I respectfully suggest though that you change your spell checker to English-British, not English-Yank

[packjoker]

Got so fed up waiting for them to get their arses in gear, so I have sent them this letter (from the BAG library) with the last paragraph amended.

 

Peter Connolly

Current Account Back Office

Customer Contact Centre

Bootle

Merseyside

GIR 0AA

 

 

7th March 2006

 

Your Ref: xxxxxx

 

Data Protection Act disclosure request

 

Dear Peter Connolly,

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXXXX

 

As a follow up to my original letter of 7th February 2006, and your responses of 14th and 28th February, I am writing again to request you supply me with a complete list of transactions and charges relating to my bank account since February 2000. Alternatively a complete set of bank statements for that period will be acceptable.

 

Additionally where there has been any event in my account history over this period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which have either caused or resulted in that manual intervention or other evidence of that manual intervention in relation to my banking business with you.

 

If you are unable to supply data relating to manual intervention because there has been no such manual intervention then please be so kind as to confirm this in your response to this request.

 

As you are no doubt aware, you have 40 days in which to comply with my request. As it appears you have decided not to accept my settlement of this issue within the time limit I have specified, I expect to receive the complete list of transactions and charges (or bank statements) relating to my account on or before Monday 20th March 2006 as per the Data Protection Act (1998) disclosure request outlined in my letter of 7th February 2006.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

PJ

 

Not convinced it will make the slightest bit of difference, but as ever, I will keep you all posted

[Sophie-Jane]

PLEASE START YOUR OWN THREAD, YOU'RE HIJACKING SOMEONE ELSE'S AND MAKING THINGS VERY CONFUSING FOR EVERYBODY!

 

 

Hi Everyone

 

I was with the A&L just over a year ago, and due to their charges - DD's Failing etc, and inconsistant Fee taking, i.e Monthly charges.

 

I do not know exxactly how much they have charged, but at one point, the charges were around £1000, I stopped recording them at that point, it was worrying.

 

So how do I go and find out about How much they have exactly charged me over is it the 6 years?

 

I am quite willing to take this so much further, and if I do get a result, I will be also fighting for my partner, who due to wages not going in, 10 DD's failed on the same day, and Hey £300 into the A&L pocket, and a month of extra hell to add to that, I am not pulling your leg here, IT WAS 10 DD's in 1 Day.

 

Your help in starting proceedings and advise whilst we go thru proceedings will so helpful.

 

Thanks for listening

 

Sophie

[Sophie-Jane]

Hi Everyone again

 

I have found the Data protection page, I have printed it out - edited of course with my details, and will send it off today

 

Lets now wait till I hear back from them, probably it will be the usual standard letter explaining that they are unhappy that I am not happy.

 

Too True - Not happy, never have been with the A&L

 

Regards

Sophie

[Anned]

Hi Sophie, I to am just trying to take all the info in about where to start have got the letter printed out but as yet still reading everything that people are saying it look like A&L are being there usual helpfull selves & believe it or not we have been with them over 20yrs one of the reasons being it was easyer for my husband to get to the bank as he works for Royal Mail & it was Giro bank but they have never been that good, but now they are no help at all ,the charges are what it pulling us down , they can send letters out on the day they know our wages are going in so then it is just down bank all the way , so I think it is time they started being a bit more helpfull to the customers , will Keep reading through till I am confident in what I am doing Thanks everyone for the help .Anne

[Antigravity]

Where is this DPA page????...I can't find it, or the librabry!

 

Any help would be great.

 

AG x

[richardc]

You will find the Library in the Index - 2nd from bottom

[Antigravity]

Duh!!!!!...just found it

 

Thank you for the post tho. I think I have data blindness trying to follow threads and subjects!

 

AG x

[packjoker]

 

Please start your own thread(s).... and don't hijack MINE!!!!

 

I was trying to keep things nicely ordered...looks like that has gone out of the window.. Had you bothered to read the FAQ's, you would have found all the information you needed...you're just being plain lazy....

 

PJ

[richardc]

Thank you PJ

[Sophie-Jane]

Dear PJ

 

Please accept my apology, I am new here, and did not realise

 

Hope you can forgive me

 

Hugs

Sophie

[spanky]

packjoker i am in the same boat as you with A+L, i got the same reply as you on the 7th day of the 14 day limit (i think) will follow your progress to see how you get on... good luck mate!!! hope we can both be successful.

[packjoker]

sophie - ur forgiven

 

spanky - let's keep our fingers crossed!

 

xx

[packjoker]

Here's a further update (similar to A&L responses posted by others):

 

11th March 2006

 

Dear PJ etc..

 

Thank you for your letter of 7th February regarding charges that have been debited to your account and please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

 

Having noted your comments, I must advise that our charges are clearly shown within our literature, they reflect the market and are in line with our competitors. We make no secret of our charges, which are detailed on the reverse of your statement and are contained within the terms and conditions of your account.

 

Whilst I appreciate your dissatisfaction regarding this issue, I regret to tell you that I am unable to make any adjustments to your account.

 

Turning to your request for a list of charges raised on your account over the last six years. Due to the work involved there would be a charge of £10.00 for this service, please confirm in writing that your agree to the charge and we would be happy to comply to your request.

 

I hope we will now be able to draw this matter to a close and if I do not hear from you within the next 8 weeks I will assume this is the case. However, in accordance with regulatory requirements, I am enclosing our leaflet which explains the steps you would need to take should you with to pursue this matter further, including the ultimate availability of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

 

I trust that our service will meet your requirements in the future. However, should you need further assistance please don't hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

C. Johnson

 

Also enclosed was a (dodgy photocopy of a) A&L Data Protection Act Information Disclosure Request Form. (A basic form that asked what information I required, my account details etc..and looked as though is had been thrown together in a hurry...

 

I have since completed the A&L DPA Request Form and returned it with my £10.00 fee. I now have to wait for them to get back to me with a list of charges or my bank statements before I can proceed further.

 

As ever, I will of course keep you all updated.

 

PJ

[packjoker]

Received a parcel from Alliance and Leicester this morning, containing about 700 sheets of A4 paper detailing all my transactions since September 1999 and information about all customer service calls/requests I have made.

 

There was no covering letter, it was left on my doorstep and the parcel didn't even have my name on the front (just my address).

 

On first sight, it was pretty daunting to think I would have to trawl through that lot to try and work out how much they have fleeced from me over the years, but once I started it wasn't so bad.

 

The grand total is £541.50 (not as much as I had expected!)

 

I will now get on with entering the details into the excel spreadsheet in the library, to put the charges in order and work out the interest before I send A&L the 'letter before action'.

 

I will, of course, keep you all updated.

 

PJ