Big Problems with Abbey tactical bonds

giovanna1

I opened up two bonds (of 5 figures) with Abbey with interest to be paid MONTHLY. It was 3 weeks before we had any receipts through and they set up the bond to pay interest annually (not monthly as I stipulated). After phoning their complaints department 6 times (from 2 months ago) who have promised to investigate the matter, nothing to date has been done. Since opening these bonds Abbey have decided to empty the bonds and put the money in some other account which they opened up without me knowing. So now I have bond certificates which are worthless and this money has disappeared within Abbey in some account they decided to open without my authorisation. I have since contacted the Ombudsman who are too busy to deal with this right now and the Chairman of Abbey who has passed on the matter to their complaints department again. I am tearing my hair out. What else can I do?

dunstonh

I have since contacted the Ombudsman who are too busy to deal with this right now

I believe you probably misheard or misunderstood what the FOS told you. The response you would get from the FOS is that they cannot handle your complaint unless you deal with the Abbey's complaints department first. They may give you an unofficial opinion based on your one sided view (i don't mean that harshly but there are always four truths in any complaint) or if its something they would look at or not if the complaint is not upheld but they wont tell you that they don't have time.

Have you actually registered your complaint formally or did the person you spoke to just believe you were venting and thought that was the end of it? If the latter, it would explain why you have had no further contact.

this money has disappeared within Abbey in some account they decided to open without my authorisation.

The money has not disappeared then. You know where it is but its not where you want it. Abbey are allowed to place it in another account if there are issues regarding your application that prevent them putting it in the same product.

It is important to keep your head and be rational when complaining. It is also important to make sure that you register your complaint formally (after giving the relevant dept you have an issue with a chance to resolve any problem first).

You should get a letter from Abbey's customer relations department acknowledging the complaint and provide information on anticipated timescales as they look into it.

LittleVoice

I would just say that I have found there is "an issue" with Abbey's payments of interest on bonds at the moment. I've reported this on another thread as what they are calling a "known error" (or some such phrase).

My annual interest payment has gone into limbo. They couldn't tell me what had happened to it. On Saturday an "Adviser" promised to ring me on Monday after she had found out more. Needless to say, they haven't contacted me so far and I shall see them again on Saturday.

giovanna1

I registered a formal complaint 5 times with the complaints department. Each time the person said I would receive a phone call within 24 hours from either the branch or the bonds/savings team and I received nothing. This has been going on for over two months. Perhaps one day before I pass away I might receive a phone call from Abbey?

When I was told by a staff in the branch at Abbey that my bonds were empty and "we are too busy to sort this out", that's when I started to panic like any normal person would. I called the Police to inform them that my money had gone missing and he thought I was being too polite! I find it utterly unacceptable that it's ok for staff at Abbey to be moving my money around without informing me.

dunstonh

I registered a formal complaint 5 times with the complaints department. Each time the person said I would receive a phone call within 24 hours from either the branch or the bonds/savings team and I received nothing. This has been going on for over two months. Perhaps one day before I pass away I might receive a phone call from Abbey?

That indicates that your complaint hasnt been registered. When you make a complaint the customer relations department handle all communications.

I called the Police to inform them that my money had gone missing and he thought I was being too polite!

There is no need to go that far. The police wont be interested either as you know the money is there.

I find it utterly unacceptable that it's ok for staff at Abbey to be moving my money around without informing me.

All banks are allowed to do it. They are not just moving it around. Its sounds like its just in a holding account.

The service you are getting is shoddy to say the least but you need to make a formal complaint and speak to their customer relations team and not the call centre.

Take a read of the following: http://abbey.com/csgs/Satellite?c=GSInformacion&cid=564085054880064&pagename=Abbey/GSInformacion/GS_DetallePie
in particular step 2 which is where you should contact.

giovanna1

Thanks for your comments Dunstonh. It is the complaints department which I have been lodging the complaints. I have gone straight to the complaints department and bipassed their customer relations department.

I called the Police because at that stage I really did not know what happened to my money and like I said no one at Abbey at the time wanted to help. I was also a bit concerned about the security because obviously I am asked security questions and if I honestly can't answer them correctly because I don't know where Abbey has put my money then it does have other adverse affects.

oldfella

it sounds like you have been phoning them to complain ?

suggest you put it all in writing - and include the phrase "I wish to make a formal complaint"

oldandgrumpy

Appliance and Pester customers beware.... the Abbey experience is coming your way!

Fred57

Hi Giovanna1,

I’d be interested to know if and how you eventually managed to sort this out.
I'm having a very similar problem with Abbey: I invested a substantial amount in a bond that should be paying monthly interest, but they messed it up and I only received my first interest payment after 3 months, and the amount is incorrect. After 2 dozens calls and several visits to Abbey branches I haven't found anyone who could explain what was going on. This is the by far the worst bank I've ever had to deal with, and I now regret having invested my money with them: most people I've spoken to at Abbey were clueless and unable (and often unwilling) to help. I've tried several times registering a complaint by phone, but that didn't work, they merely transferred my calls to their useless savings department, so now I'm going to put all this in writing and make a formal complaint…

Cheers

scott_lithgows

oldandgrumpy wrote: »

Appliance and Pester customers beware.... the Abbey experience is coming your way!

Run for the hills !

dunstonh

I invested a substantial amount in a bond that should be paying monthly interest,

Did you "invest" in a "bond" or did you deposit in a fixed term deposit?

Many of the guaranteed equity bonds/structured products offered have an initial deposit period with an investment date (strike date) a month or two in the future. The first income payment on the investment can be many months away. For example, I have just completed one which has an investment date in August and first payment in September.

If it wasnt an investment but a fixed term deposit then the terms are usually a bit simpler and interest starts a bit earlier as there is often no investment date to wait for.

If it was the investment product and not the savings product then most of the staff at abbey wont be able to discuss it as they are not authorised to do so. If it was the savings product then they should be able to.