Update:

I rang the Alliance and Leicester and asked to speak to a manager, after being refused for 15 mins by 2 agents who stated there were no managers around (Working as a manager in a call centre myself I knew this not to be true as you can't run a call centre without a manager present for health and safety reasons not to mention you can not refuse a customer who asks to speak to a manger hense there is always at least a minimum of 1 present) and that they could only raise a complaint I simply stated it was a breech of Data Protection and I didn't care if I was on hold for 10 mins or 1 hour its a free phone number and I have all the time in the world to deal with this, around 5 mins later a manager came to the phone and advised me that as part or A&L's online application process you have to agree to them giving your details out to complete the application, I asked him at what point this was needed to continue, he advised me he would check with the web technical team and call me back, he rang me back a moment ago and told me it is right after you enter you employment details, I went through the application over the phone and at no point did we come across any section relating to passing your details on, the only partners they will pass details onto are within the A&L group as stated by there T&C's, the manager has now arranged another call back this evening before 6:30pm as he doesnt even know what is going on so needs to look into it further.

I would advise anyone who made an application to A&L online and who's details were passed onto UCC or any other company not part of the A&L group as per its T&C's which UCC is not to do the same, there free phone number is 0800 051 5584, if they refuse to get you a manager advise them its a breech of Data Protection and ask for there ombudsman and complaints process, this always gets the attention of any company you have a dispute with as it can end up costing the company far more in the long run.

Sheriden.

Join the club... read the thread below, it seems Alliance & Leicester may have handled your case in a similar fashion to the OP of this thread ..by passing her details across. !

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/community/forums/t/alliance-amp-leicester-and-unsecured-credit-compa-38127.aspx

I applied for a loan with the Alliance & Leicester and it seems my details have been passed on to this company, it struck me a little odd as they contacted myself before I had recieved any responce from Alliance and Leicester directly, something i'm not to happy about but i'll be taking both these concerns up with A&L very shortly.

What I found rather odd was the fact that after filling out my application they advised me I could have a £15,000 loan over 160 months at £202 per month, ok sounds great whats the catch? Well they wanted me to pay an upfront processing fee of £49.50, so I delayed them by "forgetting" my wallet so I was unable to make payment over the phone, the agent arranged a call back later that evening, unfortunatly I hadn't got around to looking into the matter that evening so when the call was returned I didnt answer. However they rang again very early this morning, I was not at all impressed as I was still in bed when the phone first rang showing "Private Number" so I ignored it and logged onto my PC, I did a quick search and was able to find there website with ease, after looking around I spotted something rather odd, on there site it clearly states in big bold capital letters "UCC DO NOT CHARGE YOU ANY UPFRONT FEES" but then if this is the case why are they asking for a processing fee of £49.50?

After many more missed "Private Number" Calls I decided to answer the phone, what I found strange was the next person I spoke to was not the original agent I had spoken to yesterday but someone completely different, the first words out of his mouth were "Hi i'm calling from UCC to take payment of your processing fee for the loan agreement we arranged yesterday, are you still looking to go forward with the application?" I avoided the question completely and asked the agent why he was calling to take a payment when it clearly states on your website you do not charge any upfront fees? He replied they were a credit broker and the company they had found me a loan with were the one's charging me an upfront fee, when I asked which company it was they had found me a loan with and were charging me a fee he refused to tell me simply stating it was against Data Protection and if they were to tell customers which company it was they would be cutting out the middle man (UCC) and we would be able to apply directly and they would be losing out on business? But wait a moment your website clearly states in big bold capital letters "UCC DO NOT CHARGE YOU ANY UPFRONT FEES" so if they are not charging me a fee and it is whoever the loan is with that is charging me a fee why do I not have the option to add this fee to the loan? Why must I make an upfront payment to UCC and not them directly?

So as to cover myself I asked the agent if it was possible to have in writing that upon payment of my £49.50 processing fee I would have the funds transfered to my bank within a 3 to 5 day period as was stated by the agent I had spoken to yesterday, at this point the agent became very abrupt, so I simply told him I did not wish to continue with the application and to remove my details to which his responce was lovely and rude "Alrite thanx mate, what a waste of time bye." and he hung up.

Why are UCC charging upfront fee's when they clearly state they dont? Why am I not allowed to be told which company the loan is with and why can the fee not be added to the application? Why wont UCC who can guarentee you the loan only a day before suddenly not be able to put into writing what they have agreed with you upon payment of the processing fee?

Any help or answers would be welcomed as I will be looking to take this further.

Sheriden.

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