Alliance & Leicester 8/3/06

[sparol]

I sent my letter to request refund of 260 on 8/3/06, had the standard letter back a day later and have been charged 102 in the last week alone and am now overdrawn again because of their charges!

 

Do I acknowledge their letter or just send the letter before action after 14 working days? I haven't found any details of anyone who's been successful against the A&L yet, are there any of you out there?

 

Carol

[sparol]

I am so angry, just checked my accounts and there is another 75 due to go out at the beginning of April in overdraft fees. That's 177 in one month - 20 more than the DD's they refused in the first place.

 

I really hope they will have to pay it back, they can't be allowed to keep doing this.

[colinalred]

http://www.govanlc.com/bankcharges.html

 

One person from that website has been succesful.

[kirstmcc]

I was at a training session with Mike Dailly from the Govan Law Centre in Glasgow who advised me about what the A & L were doing was illegal.

 

I phoned them yesterday as i was due £50 in charges on the 28/3 and the lady refunded the £50 straight away as she claimed that she was unable to stop charges being taken. I then asked for a refund of the rest of the charges and she advised i would have to write to them. I posted letter from Mike Daillys website to A & L and am awaiting a response.

 

I am prepared to take this to small claims court if necessary as although the charges amount to £300 it is better in my pocket than theirs!!

 

I hope we we both get the result we want

[Miss T]

I have put a court claim in with Alliance & Leicester, their solicitor wrote to say they intend to defend. So now waiting for my questionaire and their defence in writing. We will see where it goes from then.

[sparol]

Had a letter through the post yesterday saying that their charges are in line with their T&C's, have gone over my initial 14 days as I had to wait for some more charges to be applied to my account but have sent my letter before action today stating the new amount.

 

It's very encouraging to see the success that other people have been having.

[BankFodder]

You may not have noticed but Miss T's claim was settled in full.

 

Keep on claiming.

It is scarcely imaginable that any Bank is not going to settle since the OFT's ruling.

 

I think that it is a home run for everyone - at least for the moment.

Now we have to deal with defaults for unlawful debts and claims older than 6years.

[sparol]

Thanks for the encouragement, I'm definitely going to press on with the claim. It is now over a week since I hand delivered the Letter before Action and I haven't heard anything so it doesn't look like they're giving me a choice.

 

Out of interest, does the 14 day limit have to be extended to account for bank holidays?

[sparol]

I received a letter from A&L yesterday stating that they would look into my query and reply within 14 days. I presume it's just a stalling tactic so I am allowing an extra 2 days for the bank holidays so will be submitting my claim tomorrow.

[sparol]

Have submitted my claim today, feel a bit sick now! Do I need to send them copies of anything?

[benmills]

snap- me too - it will be fine, don't be scared of the banks,they're not worth it.

[sparol]

I know, it's just the way I've been brought up - to respect bank managers, doctors etc - not that they deserve it.

 

Best of luck with your claim - not that you'll need it!

[benmills]

I know what you are saying - it is scary to take a bank to task - and you've cracked it, you’ve been brave, especially as they’ve have been treated with deference in the past. Pour a big glass of wine for yourself!

[sparol]

Having issued my claim on 24/4 received the following letter on 26/4:

 

Dear carollawton88,

 

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding charges that have recently been debited to your account, which I am sorry to lean have been the cause of dissatisfaction.

 

On reviewing our records it would appear that you have previously received a goodwill payment to your account and that were advised at the time that any further charges raised correctly in future would stand. I can confirm that the charges in this instance have been applied to your account correctly and therefore, I am unable to consider your request on this occasion.

 

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 or our website as well as the terms and conditions of your account.

 

I am very sorry that you have been disappointed with our service on this occasion and trust that we will meet your expectations in future. In accordance with regulatory requirements, I must advise that if I do not hear from you within the next eight weeks our file on this issue will be closed and I am enclosing our leaflet explaining how to progress this matter, either through our internal procedures or, if necessary, via the Financial Ombudsman Service, should you remain dissatisfied.

 

I do hope, however, that we have now resolved this situation and if you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Miss H Monaghan

Senior Customer Advisor

[anarchist]

Now I'm no expert, but surely that means nothing seeing as in the UK we are legally unable to sign away our statutory rights.

[civicwalker]

carollawton88

I received an identical [word for word] letter from Miss H Monaghan today; how they can reasonably claim that their charges are lawful simply because they're in line with their competitors and advertised is beyond me. However, I will be submitting my MoneyClaim claim on Monday on expiry of the notice of action I issued.

[sparol]

It sounds like Miss Monaghan is a very busy lady. It gives me a warm feeling inside to know that we're keeping her in a job!

[djh1697]

It sounds like Miss Monaghan is a very busy lady. It gives me a warm feeling inside to know that we're keeping her in a job!

 

I met Miss Monaghan a couple of years ago at an A&L training course. She is a lovely liverpool lady

[sparol]

Received acknowledgement of claim on Saturday. A&L have ticked the box to defend the claim in full. I know they are in the wrong but it still makes me nervous. Have had a look through other people experiences though and notice that this is the norm, maybe they need to buy the extra time to get the cheque signed by the right person!

[sparol]

Have just been on my account to cheque my wages are on and have another charge of 25 due to be applied to my account from when they took me overdrawn last month - any ideas what to do about this?

[Guest Lueeze]

Im afraid you have to start all over again,

 

1st call them and remind them that you are currently claiming and therefore will expect this to be refunded or you will claim this back too!

 

If they dont refund, then im afraid you will have to start again, writing to them Prelim,LBA and court!

 

Its not an ideal solution but whilest the banks are still charging you dont have much choice!

 

Good Luck!

 

Lou xx

[djweeble]

I've been thinking about the above (no it didn't hurt ! ).

 

Maybe it would be an idea in the future to include something in your claim along the lines of " Plus any further unlawful charges that may be applied to the account up to and including the date of the court hearing"

 

Would this be allowed I wonder ?

[Guest Lueeze]

Nope it wouldnt, as you have to set the amount you are claiming on the form at the court!

 

Its not variable! So that would make no difference im afraid!

 

Lou x

[sparol]

I think I'll wait and see what the outcome of the current claim is before I chase this one down. They must know that I'm not scared of claiming and my account is being run a lot better now I seem to have got out of the cycle of having over 100 pounds charges every month. Maybe it will only require a phonecall.

[sparol]

I'm starting to sweat a little now as people who have had their claim acknowledged at the same time as mine have been paid. I know it's a bit late to be worrying about this but the account I'm claiming for is a joint account. I was advised that because I am able to be a sole signatory that also means I can make the claim in just my name which is what I've done. Does anyone know any different?