'Icesave... angry, frustrated and upset...' blog discussion

Fry_2

I would just like to add my support to Martin, especially after the C4 News item yesterday (07th October).

I was appalled by the tact that Jon Snow used with Martin. It is my personal opinion that no-one has done more for the British consumer in maximising their buying power and helping people to get out and stay out of debit. I was angry with Jon's attitude to Martin (and Martin, you said completely the right things), treating him like someone who has made money from people's loss in my view.

If there is anyone who I would listen to for advice, it is Martin Lewis. And I say, listen for advice because in the end he warns us of the pros and cons of investments (including Icelandic banks) and it is up to the indidual to weight up the options (and do independent research or speak to an FSA). I have money in both the top sellers in Iceland and luckily I don't need it soon (and of course, the government has stepped in) but to be honest, with the highly complex and fast moving global situation, no where is 100% safe.

So Martin, hats off to you and your team's hard work, especially as the markets are so volitile. I for one probably would not have saved as much money without this forum and this is just a blip.

Jon Snow, please don't try to act the hard interviewer with someone who represents people's views and interests, play hard ball with the heads of instiutions and polititians who have put us in this siutation.

Thank you Martin and Team!

PJL1

Like Jammie5057 I tried to transfer my cash from my Icesave account though not till Tuesday morning. The balance was shown as leaving the account up to this morning.
I logged on tonight to Icesave to print my statement out and the money was back in the account again. Mine also says "Correction item posted"
I wonder how it can be legal to not honour the transfer, surely once it has left the account the banking system should honour it?
I also did a CHAPS transfer from Kaupthing this morning and it has not happened though ING are saying on their website that Kaupthing is operating as normal since their takeover. Anyone else with similar problems?.

andy1465_2

painted_scotty wrote: »

I transferred money form my Kaupthing Edge Account last night (7 Oct 2008) by CHAPS transfer. The money was immediately shown as having gone my KE account and there was a £20 charge onn the account for the CHAPS transfer. However, the money has not gone into my receiving account. I phoned them tonight and got no help whatsoever. They told me that they did not know where the money had gone and were no in a position to trace it. What to do now? Has anyone any similar experience? If teh money was showing in one of my accounts but I just couldn't move it for the moment I wouldn't feel so bad, but for it not to be showing in any accounts and getting that response from KE it is very worrying.

I have had a same problem.
I tried to transfer by CHAPS on monday night with the transfer to take place the following day.
I was able to print out a copy of the transaction with the amount and a reference number etc. but the deduction did not show on my statement.
There has been nothing paid into my linked account today so I am a bit concerned I am unable to access my money.

robinlawrie

So which do we have, a bail out from the government or a buy in by ING...according to their website http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/general/faqs/keandhb.asp
they have taken over icesave and it will be business as usual, using the icesave website and our old passwords etc.
Whichever, I am as pleased as everyone else that this time we appear to have escaped. May I also join the majority in giving my unstinted support to Martin for all the invaluable advice in the past and future.:money:

andy1465_2

robinlawrie wrote: »

So which do we have, a bail out from the government or a buy in by ING...according to their website http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/general/faqs/keandhb.asp
they have taken over icesave and it will be business as usual, using the icesave website and our old passwords etc.
Whichever, I am as pleased as everyone else that this time we appear to have escaped. May I also join the majority in giving my unstinted support to Martin for all the invaluable advice in the past and future.:money:

ING have taken over Kaupthing not Icesave according to their website.

IcesaveSteven

Personally I am very relieved the government have done the honourable thing so a BIG plus for them - and swiftly! as for any interest that would be a miracle - and doubtful to be honest. We have been very lucky so let's not push it too far - we could have lost loads (I have £120k in).

The question now is NOT about interest - it's about SPEED - when/how etc.

blondieleopard

martin is in no way to blame for anything...

he has made us all more financially literate...which is why many of us are having this conversation....
I have been worried about the effect the last few days have had on people...partic older people....can you imagine the stress of thinking that you have lost £700k....£100....absolutely inconceivable.....

be kind people....thank god our govt is doing the right thing...sod the iceland govt ..they are total !!!!!s...and I for one...will NEVER... put money into Iceland again...and I hope many of you will feel the same...I am now going to get some sleep after 72 hrs of hell
xxxxxxxxx
stay cool...

smidster_2

I agree that Martin is not to blame, we're all responsible for our own money and no one forces us to open accounts. I had money in both Icesave and Kaupthing Edge. With Icesave I had two accounts but by watching the situation taking place I was able to close one account but I transferred this to Kaupthing Edge, at this moment in time it's a no win situation. One of the things that I do thank this site for is their listing of all the banks which work under the same "umbrella", this I have found to be very helpful. It's certainly a very worrying time and most of us are hard working people who are saving to stop being a drain on the government in our old age.
I think under the mattress could be the safest place!!!

RealityCheck_2

dazmb wrote: »

If I understand your point, it seems to me that it is close to social correctness gone stark raving mad! Correct me if i'm wrong, but you are saying in effect that Martin can never ever again make any recommendations for something that implies financial gain or best value as he can't expect/rely on people to take personal responsibility for their decisions if something goes wrong even if he has given a balanced view including any concerns (like he did with Icesave).

So what if for example, a company has a promotional offer on a financial services product which relies on people purchasing in a set period of time in return for an increased financial benefit, and that company goes bust (or it's a fraud) and people lose out financially? Should Martin not highlight this offer for fear of something going wrong? Martin can't predict the future, or way up all the risks involved. That comes back to personal ownership of one's actions/choices after having taken advice.

This is all modern PC madness, and IMO explains a great deal about the current woes in our society. A society where people are always wanting to blame someone else - with the blame equalling some sort of personal compensation for our own mistakes in life! And we all make those mistakes. Every one of us at some time or other. No-one could have forseen Iceland as a nation going bust, or help what has happened to Icesave. None of the savers are to blame, and neither is ML responsible for all the savers who signed on the dotted line.

If Martin makes people aware of obvious risks as he did with Icesave there is no reason I can see why he can't make recommendations in good faith.

Don't forget, MANY MANY magazines/institutions/financial websites touted Icesave as a best in class product (including Which?).

I fear your suggestion would leave people with no advice, or even worse deliberate bad advice.

I'm happy to correct you. You have completely missed the point.

I'll put it as succinctly as possible for you: Martin should not be recommending financial services products full stop. He is doing so on a blanket basis without knowing each person's individual circumstances. All the disclaimers are there to say that he is not giving financial advice.

How can this hoold true if he is actually recommending particular accounts to people ? You can't have it both ways and that is where his boundaries have become blurred.

He should stick to the other areas in which he operates.

I said quite clearly that this is not about bashing him, or reducing the availability of advice to anyone. I think if he sought legal opinion on this - using the term recommendation and then trying to carry a disclaimer saying its not a recommendation - he would be on dodgy ground.

I wish him all the best.

lilmismayhem

OK, I've had enough of coming onto this thread to find that people are still blaming Martin for their problems. ENOUGH ALREADY.

Let's focus on what is important here

1) Icesave is still not allowing withdrawals - even BACS/CHAPS gets returned to the account
2) Icesave is still not declared insolvent
3) Because of point 2 - NO COMPENSATION has been triggered regardless of what the Chancellor says about guaranteeing everyone's funds
4) No one is buying Icesave like the other Icelandic banks so we shouldn't expect business as usual on the website anytime soon

What we should all be doing is lobbying the government to make the Icelandic authorities hurry up and declare Icesave insolvent so the FSCS can send everyone their forms and we can start claiming our money back or reopen our accounts so we can get at what is legally ours. At the moment nothing is happening - I can bet Martin is the one doing this lobbying while we all sit on here whining about whether or not he gave advice.

Incidentally - here are two articles you may find interesting. The first a BBC interview with the Icelandic PM saying this will go through the courts, the second a reuters article saying Landsbanki may have enough assets to cover Icesave deposits. So this is by no means clear as to what will happen next. The government need to tell us the truth and give us their plan of action with timescales so we can start planning how to cope without our money readily available.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7659975.stm
http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE4977RV20081008