I wish to make it known of my disgust with the way in which I have been recently treated by Alliance Leicester. I have been with them for nearly three years and have been a very good customer of them for most of the time. When I applied for a Current Account with them, unfortunately they were only able to offer me a Basic Account (probably because of my poor credit rating). I was working full time until up to 12 months ago but unfortunately owing to my ill health I had to take early redundancy, and have been registered disabled since. At the moment I am still not working.

As my account was in good standing I applied for a Current Account six months ago, with a small overdraft facility in case of emergencies. I explained to the Customer Service Representative that I did not intend to go overdrawn but there may come a time when I may go slightly in the red. However I was turned down and had to stick with a Basic Account.

I had a bad month in October, and had a number of outgoings. In anticipation I phoned the bank to explain that I may be slightly overdrawn but it would hopefully be a one-off. I even cancelled a Direct Debit to ensure that I stayed in credit. Unfortunately I went about £10.00 overdrawn as the Direct Debit was still taken. I was then charged £34.00 for a failed Direct Debit, and was informed that an additional £25.00 will be taken for going overdrawn - making a total of £59.00 just for being £10.00 overdrawn! The annoying thing is that money was being credited the following day, which took me way back into credit. As it stands now I cannot afford to pay my mortgage because of these ridiculous bank charges, and will probably end up overdrawn again!

I think that these bank charges are totally unjustifiable and the bank has been very unhelpful, stating that the charges will still stand. I would be grateful if anyone could advise me as to the best way forward, as there doesn't seem to be any way forward. I have read that these bank charges can be contested, and if necessary a small claim can be made through the County Court (Small Claims). Am I correct in understanding this?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any help will be greatly appreciated.

Simon