... After looking at what other building societies and mortgage companies could offer us we made our decision, The Alliance and Leicester.
The Alliance and Leicster building society were great, they helped us every step of the way, even when we were gazumped.
As we were first time buyers ... Read review
Advantages: Good customer service, discounted rstes Disadvantages: None
...we made our decision, The Alliance and Leicester.
The Alliance and Leicster building society were great, they helped us every step of the way, even when we were gazumped.
As we were first time buyers we did have the 5% deposit needed, but our figures were tight, but this didnt seem to bother them, they agreed to extend the term of the mortgage to 30 years rather than the standard 25 year period.
We ... ...which Alliance and Leicester provided, the explanations, the flexiabilty, the term etc.
As this is my first mortgage i have had no other examples of banks or building socities, so i do not know if they offer similar services, i assume they do.
... more
When we decided to buy our own (first)property we were up against a mind field of mortgage companies offering us so many types and varities, we just didnt know what to do.
We decided to take some advise form an independant (and i do mean independant) financial aadviser. At the time we were buying our house (Jan 2000) the market was booming in the South, house prices were going up by £1,000 a week, we were slowly being priced out of the market. After looking at what other building societies and mortgage companies could offer us we made our decision, The Alliance and Leicester.
The Alliance and Leicster building society were great, they helped us every step of the way, even when we were gazumped.
As we were first time buyers we did have the 5% deposit needed, but our figures were tight, but this didnt seem to bother them, they agreed to extend the term of the mortgage to 30 years rather than the standard 25 year period.
We were advised to go with a "base rate tracker mortgage", a six month tie in, discounted for the fist six months (4.5%),a mortgae which is 1% below the rate at which the building society would normally be offereing (after fist 6 months), but variable so the if the bank of Englands interest rate reduced, so would our mortgage. But we were also advised that if this rate were to go up then we would need to change our more and fix in at a more appropriate fixed rate deal.
For those of you reading this you may think this is all common sense, but for fist time buyers out there it can be very daunting to even start looking, let alone understand what all the jargon means.
It was'nt just the mortgage deal that was sold to us it was all the other services that came with it which Alliance and Leicester provided, the explanations, the flexiabilty, the term etc.
As this is my first mortgage i have had no other examples of banks or building socities, so i do not know if they offer similar services, i assume they do.
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Poor customer service and policies
...applied for a Mortage with Alliance & Leicester and was assured that everything would go smoothly so I put an offer in for a house.
After three weeks of phoning the branch each day my application was rejected. I was told that the Head Office would write to give me a reaosn, but they never did. I have now written to the Chairman and the Ombudsman to see their response. I know each bank has their own credi rating system, but along with my mortgage ... ...and an unsecured personal loan for 15,000 pounds! All of these other applications were approved and sent to me immediately. There is obviously something wrong with their credit scoring system.
Fortunately everything worked out in the end, I didn't lose the house I put an offer in for, as I got a mortgage with Skipton, who sorted everything out within 5 days and offer a much lower APR! ...
RajG 28.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages
Advantages: None Disadvantages: They steal your money
Alliance & Leicester. What a bunch of con men.
DO NOT set up a bank account with these guys, they are a complete pack of swindlers. They STEAL your money.
Let me explain.
They hide behind antiquated rules for clearing cheques, so you are put in the red when in fact you have plenty of money in the account.
In case you missed that, I will give you a breakdown.
Say for example I had £5 in the account on Thursday evening, and my wages are due to ... ...cash machine at five past midnight and the money is in my account, I ignore it and come back home and log on to their internet banking. It also says my wages are in the account and clear. So I go back to the cash machine and lift £10.
Two weeks after I look at the account, they put it through as if I had withdrawn the £10 before the wages were in the account.
I asked them about this, and they said it takes 3 days for a cheque to clear. I said that ...
donley 10.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages
Advantages: Quick, and highly rated by financial advisors Disadvantages: If you don't have a premier account,you cannot have special offers (scraping the barrel!!)
...time researching mortgages, and found Alliance and Leicester to be among the top 3 places for a mortgage i could find. In my opinion, theye were a good option for me. The fixed rate mortgage i got was a good rate at the time, and the situation I was in, I needed an offer quickly. This is what happened with A&L. My tip would be to find the best offer you can, and see a financial advisor who doesn't charge a consultation fee, and let them know. Then, ... ...is best for you. There is mutual advantage in this, as the financial advisor (FA) will fill in all your paperwork for you and sort out any problems, and in turn, A&L will give the FA a commission. I was told by my FA that A&L really look after you, and when it comes to the end of your fixed period, they offer you good deals to keep you on. Also, they are quick (not the quickest) in tyhe application process. I even had a change of heart and wanted ...
jamesbt 06.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages
Advantages: quick and easy application Disadvantages: sometimes arnt as competative as other companies
...have had a mortgage with Alliance for just over a year now. I got a fixed rate deal with £250 cash back. So far I have been more than happy with it.
Prices
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When i was looking for a mortgage, at the time this was the best by far although on other occassions when ive needed a mortgage the deals available werent particually attractive. I would suggest using an independant advisor to find the best deals available.
Speed
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My ... ...quickly and had the correct information on.
Overview
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Alliance &Leicester are a good choice for service and speed. They are a company i would trust but sometimes their deals arnt as competative as other companies. I would definately enlist an independant advisor to check out all the deals. ...
johanna18 26.02.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Slow customer service and unusual policies
...had a bad experience with Alliance & Leicester. I am not writing this as I am bitter towards them for declining my applicaton for a mortgage, but because I am confused by their polices. Along with my motgage application, I applied for a Personal Loan, a new Current Account and a Gold Visa card. Everything was accepted and came through within a few days except for the mortgage. They sat on this for three whole weeks and I had to call the branch to ... ...was rejected, but given no reason. I was told Head Office would write, but they didn't.
It is strange that a company like this can behave in such a confusing manner, as I now have almost 20,00 pounds of unsecured credit from them, yet they would not lend me any money using a house as security of which I already had a 10% deposit for!
I have written to the chairman and the banking ombudsman, and will keep you posted. ...
RajG 28.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Alliance & Leicester Mortgages
Promptness of service
Efficiency of service
Competitiveness of char...
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Top of the range current account from an established Uk Bank.
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? Children receive a passbook in their own name (whoopdeedoo)
? Minimum opening balance of £1
Interest rates - £1+ = 4.40%
WOULD I RECOMMEND THEM?
Yes I certainly would. Service was very fast, and staff are incredibly helpful. A telephone helpline is always there ready to help you if you need it, and I?ve only ever been on hold for about two minutes, although in that time they did play this really annoying AllianceLeicester song over and over until I was ready to throw the phone at the wall. On the positive side, the interest rates are pretty competitive, and the online banking facility is kinda cool (I?m only little, leave me be).
AllianceLeicester do a huge range of different accounts, as well as mortgages, personal loans, credit cards and motor finance.
Website: www.Alliance-Leicester.co.uk
Any comments are very welcome. ...
