I had banked with Alliance and Leicester for around 8 years and until recently had been very happy with them. When I initially set up the account it was easy and straightforward. I had a Premier Current Account. This included an overdraft, debit card and cheque book. Setting up direct debits and standing orders was straight forward and a monthly statement kept you up to date. The reason I initially chose the account was that you were able to pay in and withdraw money from the Post Office, handy to someone who didn't have a local branch. The account earned interest on the credit balance and there were freebies with the "Premier" account which included free travel insurance which was good. The account came with telephone banking which allowed you to check your balance and pay bills. Internet access was also available but I didn't use that so can't comment. When I first setup the account I was very happy with the service and found them to be very flexible and the staff friendly. In fact I frequently recommended them. After a couple of years I did feel that perhaps they were getting too big and the staff weren't quite the same as when I first joined but it wasn't really an issue to me as I very rarely had to speak to them. I would never have thought of changing banks until I had a problem when they started duplicating debit card transactions. The first I knew of this was back in September when I had used by card to pay for groceries. The debit went through my account twice. I called the customer support line and was told it was an error by the shop and it would be refunded within 3 days. This happenned so I didn't worry too much, one of those thing. Then it started happening regularly with respected shops - whsmiths, mothercare, the co-op etc. If I used by card the money would vanish out of my account twice and a week later the second entry would reappear. Realising this was a big problem, I stopped using my card and wrote to Customer Services. Nothing. Four weeks later I sent a recorded delivery letter. Nothing. Finally I located an email address for the Chief Exec. After 5 days a phone call to tell me it wasn't their fault.... Now why didn' t I believe them. A few weeks later a phone call to say yes there was a problem. In conclusion I feel it a great shame that Alliance & Leicester appear to have lost their way and that I have now in fact had to change banks. When things go without a problem they are good at what they do. However they seem to lack any ability to handle complaints\problems which I personally don't find acceptable of a bank who has my money.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Better, so I've moved the rating up a step. There's still more that you would need to include if you were looking for Very Helpful ratings and maybe Excellents but that kind of thing comes with practice.
blaupraust 18.12.2005 01:10
Hi, I also still think you need to add more information.
sashaholness 16.12.2005 18:55
A bit better but you need to still add more info on the company
Dec 9th, 2005
(Dec 14th, 2005)
helpful by (23%):
somewhat helpful by (77%):
