Abbey Regular Savings Closure Farce

grumbler

Mine was opened on the 15th of November and matured on the 1st of Nov (12.00 pm). Money was available to withdraw only on the 2nd of Nov - with the interest credited.

Don't wait for a manager in the branch, go stright to a cashier and have a proof of ID along with your orange book.

charlieboycat

Mine was opened on 2nd November 2004 but the fact that it was the 2nd is irrelevant - anything opened in November 2004 matured on 1st November 2005. However, when I went in on the 1st and had the passbook made up, it didn't show the interest. The branch manager was insistent that interest could not be credited during working hours on the 1st but would be added overnight and couldn't be accessed until the 2nd.

Went back on the 2nd and closed the account. There were two interest entries (both calculated correctly). One (dated 1st) for interest at 7% up to and inclusive of the 1st. The second (dated 2nd) for interest at 4.75% for one day (the 2nd). The T&C specify that the account doesn't pay interest for the day of deposit but does pay for the day of withdrawal - so this was all in order.

What wasn't clear from the T&C was that maturity "on the 1st" meant "after close of business on the 1st". A wasted trip to the branch by both myself and other half since we both had to back again on the 2nd.

Don't know if you can ask for BACS withdrawal - didn't bother to ask because it would take a minimum of two working days to arrive and possibly (perhaps likely given that Abbey isn't a proper clearing bank) three. Since the 2nd was a Wednesday a BACS transfer might not have arrived until Monday 7th - whereas paying cheques straight into the bank meant the money definitely started earning interest again on Friday 4th.

lipidicman

Great info people. You have saved me a wasted trip!

Walletwatch

Anybody working at Abbey know the correspondence address of the Chairman and CEO? Want to shoot off a complaint letter on their Regular Saver closure.

papaya_2

I've tried that twice via Head Office in Triton Square, London, but everything is forwarded to their inept Customer Satisfaction (?) Centre at Milton Keynes.

Vote with your feet and bank/save elsewhere.

papaya_2

surfsister wrote:

How did you realise you were underpaid? Any idea od details of the Abbey dept dealing with errors? thanks papaya!

It has been correctly pointed out in this forum that certain assumptions have to be made to reflect the start date, various dates monthly payments were credited, and that the account closes on the 1st of the month following the final payment. (Or continues at a rate of 4.75%)

A very rough calculation would be to multiply the balance at 12 months by 7% (assuming you were getting this throughout) and divide by 2. Obviously taxpayers would need to deduct 20%. If this is wide of the mark for interest paid, question it with the branch.

The dept. dealing with errors can be accessed by your local branch manager.

Personally I find these accounts more trouble than they are worth, with t & cs designed to confuse. To encourage regular saving for those who may not do so otherwise they are fine. However, many people are better off with a lower rate and less hassle.

For those with 6K to invest at the outset, you are better of with 5% p.a. than 7% on a £500 a month regular saver.

Paul_Herring

papaya wrote:

It has been correctly pointed out in this forum that certain assumptions have to be made to reflect the start date, various dates monthly payments were credited, and that the account closes on the 1st of the month following the final payment. (Or continues at a rate of 4.75%)
[...]
For those with 6K to invest at the outset, you are better of with 5% p.a. than 7% on a £500 a month regular saver.

Now who's making assumptions? See the Correcting a myth section on http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1108401263,93536,

papaya_2

Due care should be taken when editing a quote to ensure that the context is maintained.

Given the time during which funds are in transit each month & various other restrictions with Regular Savings A/Cs, I maintain my stance.

The hassle that several contributors to this thread have experienced is also worth considering. As Abbey needed to set up a department specifically to deal with errors on their RS A/Cs, there is clearly a problem.

Depends how you would rather spend your time I suppose. I'm off to Florence today - preferable to questioning Abbey about when I should expect to receive my £54 underpaid interest!