Ombudsman Advice - ISA Limbo Hell

GreyPilgrim

Maybe an overly dramatic title (sorry). All starts on April 6th

First question...

Transferred a Bradford&Bingley ISA to nationwide. They received the cheque on May 23rd
Also transferred (or am trying to transfer) a Barclays ISA to them but

Barclays say they have never even had a request for it

So at the moment Nationwide are sitting on the B&B cheque and say they cannot open the ISA until they get the barlcays cheque (since the application was made for both ISA's together)

Must have made about 30 calls to nationwide, asking them to re-request the Barlcays Isa. Nothing

Promises of 'callbacks within 48 hours' are never kept. Letters are not acknoweldged.

Upon further investigation it seems that each time I have been told "yes, we'll send another request to Barclays", they have been talking rubbish - there is absolutely no record of those requests

I received a letter on July 21st saying "Thank you for your letter....blah blah...we will give you a detailed response by Augst 17th"

Then I received an identical letter on July 24th saying "Thank you for your letter....blah blah...we will give you a detailed response by August 27th"

I have managed to pin down a real person at my local branch who says that if the complaint is not resolved by the 17th August (date the first letter promises), then I can escalate the complaint to Level 2, which involves it being dealt with by a 'senior manager', after which time if it is not dealt with I can proceed directly to the banking ombudsman

Trouble is, she was unable to tell me how long they have to deal with a "Level 2" complaint. Yup - a senior customer service manager was unable to tell me their organisations agreed lead time for dealing with a complaint.

How long do I wait? How long does the ombudsman give the bank to sort out a problem before they take it on?

I'm in the position now where Nationwide have me by the short and curlies. I cannot go to another provider because the bradford and bingley cheque is being held by them. If I was to walk away from natiowide, how the hell would I explain to a new provider the situation, and how competent do you think nationwide would be to give them the B&B cheque.

Second question.....

The first cheque was recieved by Nationwide on May 23rd.

The second cheque has yet to be received.

nationwide say that the the new ISA's will start when the second cheque is received.

So at the moment I have lost about 80 days worth of interest. If Nationwide drag their feet for another x days, thats interest I'm losing

Given that I have done absolutely everything in my power (numerous calls each month, letters), you'd think the ombudsman would find in my favour, no?

I don't especially want 'compensation' - just to have all interest that is owed to me. And then I never ever ever EVER EVER want to have any dealings with nationwide again.

Sorry for the rant, I hope someone can offer advice, or even sympathy.
GP

debbie42

GreyPilgrim wrote: »

How long do I wait? How long does the ombudsman give the bank to sort out a problem before they take it on?

8 weeks after you raised a formal complaint with the bank. Make sure you have tagged it as a "complaint" as the clock only starts ticking then.

stamfordblue

Sorry to hear of your plight GreyPrilgrim.
You are not alone!

I have had nothing but hassle with Nationwide and this is the same for others.

You should definitely demand compensation for all your calls. the lost interest, your time, and the stress caused.

My complaint is ongoing.So far I've been offered an insulting £50 goodwill gesture!!

Is Martin aware of how bad these ISA transfers are?
If not, he should be made aware, and I feel it something he should talk about on TV and radio.