The pain of switching

vigman

Having considered the results of my own poll, I took my savings, and my daughter's savings out of ING.

I'm opening a 50+ esaver with the Coventry and a Halifax web saver plus for my 17 year old.

What I hate is requesting the money from ING, waiting for it to get to Barclays, then filling in all the forms for Coventry and sending ID and then waiting for the various postings for online login etc. I finally thought the account was set up and tried to move 30+K...only for Barclays online to shout about it being over the 10K daily allowance. So I have been losing interest from the start of this process up until 3 or more separate transfers are made during next week.

Worse was the Halifax. I took my daughter in to a branch today as we only needed two forms of ID. That was OK, but we couldn't add her funds by debit card. They asked for cash or cheque, but she hasn't got a Barclays cheque book yet. So we trundled up a big hill to Barclays only to be told that an electronic transfer wasn't possible to a web account (although it had acc number and sort code???) and we ended up having to wait whilst they got 9K together in 20 pound notes!!.

We then trundled down the hill to the Halifax, waited whilst a huge queue moved forwards and then paid in the cash. Well, we waited whilst they undid the Barclays marked bundles and double counted them. Finally they said they couldn't credit the account at first as we had only just carried out the ID. In the end I told them I'd lost the will to live and someone did something that credited my daughter's new account!!!!

No wonder people stick with their original banks/building societies!!

Vigman

nomorekids

I am loath to be the bearer of bad news but the websaver account now has to be open for 24 hours before you can move the money to the 7% deal.

The 7% deal is now only for 3 months not 6.

Robertpestonrules

You have my sympathy. I reckon it must be easier to get divorced than change banks.

I set up a new Abbey esaver direct, which took about three weeks with all the different log on bits that are needed. The "instructions" stated I could do a chaps transfer to put an opening balance in, so I went into Halifax as I was passing my branch with my new Abbey sort code and account number. "We need the address of the Abbey Branch" I was told (can't they get this from the sort code, I thought, but according to the assistant, no)).

So home I trundled and phoned up Abbey to ask what was the actual address to use. I waited 25 mins for the phone to be answered by the inevitable robot and having pressed endless buttons was put through to someone who was clearly in deepest Deli and could not make herself understood and certainly could not understand what I wanted. and put my on hold until I gave up and hung up. I then tried another number, got through to someone in Bradford who threatened to transfer me to someone else until I begged him not to as I might just slit my wrist with the letter opener next to me on the desk. . He found the address he SAID I should use.

So I phoned Halifax telephone banking who asked for the sortcode and account number of my new account and, you guessed, got the address from the sort code, which was different to the one Abbey gave me.

Does the right hand know what the left hand does in any of these banks.

Zebra

Unfortunately they're all the same.

If any other businesses acted like this they'd soon be bankrupt ....................... ah hang on!

harry_w

There's a sort-code book, it has all main bank branch sort codes, the address, and iirc the format of some of the building society account codes too.

This link may have been useful:
http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/demos/bankvalidator.aspx

Could confirm the results on Yell.com or streetfinder.co.uk

Unfortunately, to maximise profits banks tend to employ a lot of agency staff and tend to de-skill a lot of administration, so initiative or enthusiasm are all too rare.

I'm still waiting after a week for the Bank of Ireland to send out a letter allowing me to validate two non-BoI accounts I want to transfer money too. I had transferred a large sum to the current account in anticipation of the letter arriving in a couple of days, now I've had to transfer up to my daily limit back to the savings account it had been in.

Spoke to them by phone today, they said it should have been sent and arrived by now, reluctant to send another letter as it would invalidate the first. Also it's a bank holiday in Ireland on Monday, so for some reason that may delay it.

What should take no more than 3 working days is running on for 6 or 7 at best.

evenasus

Robertpestonrules wrote: »

So home I trundled and phoned up Abbey to ask what was the actual address to use. I waited 25 mins for the phone to be answered by the inevitable robot and having pressed endless buttons was put through to someone who was clearly in deepest Deli and could not make herself understood and certainly could not understand what I wanted. and put my on hold until I gave up and hung up. I then tried another number, got through to someone in Bradford who threatened to transfer me to someone else until I begged him not to as I might just slit my wrist with the letter opener next to me on the desk. . He found the address he SAID I should use.

I know it's not funny, as I've had frustrating problems this week trying to open accounts but...You did make me laugh out loud.

vigman

Another thing that got me wondering. When you transfer via online banking, what happens if you get the account no (an invalid one for example) or sort code wrong? How do you ever trace the lost transfer?

I only ask as Coventry BS ask you to use the LAST 8 digits of your account no when internet banking (not the first) and making a first payment I didn't know whether to use my own name in the Barclays 'who to pay' box or Coventry BS followed by sort code and account no. I thought there was a lot of opportunity for mistakes and some large amounts involved!

TIA

Vigman

evenasus

vigman wrote: »

Having considered the results of my own poll, I took my savings, and my daughter's savings out of ING.

I'm opening a 50+ esaver with the Coventry
What I hate is.....
then filling in all the forms for Coventry and sending ID and then waiting for the various postings for online login etc. Vigman

I finally received a letter today, telling me my Coventry 50 Plus eSave has finally been opened. Included, was a form giving my account details, account number, interest due information.

At the bottom of this form is a note saying that another form :rolleyes: will be sent to me , which I have to fill in, to enable them to set up my security details. This I presume will be about a username & password.

On the enclosed 50 Plus eSave leaflet it reads...

If you haven't received a letter asking you to choose your password and memorable words within two weeks of opening your account, please let us know by calling 0845*******

Does anyone know just how long this next process takes? It's so frustrating not to be able to transfer money yet - apart from of course, the initial £10 opening cheque.

Why can't all bank/bs accounts be a quick and easy to open as Norwich & Peterborough & YBS?

Geesh :rolleyes:

mjmal51

I just had this letter today also. Looking at the leaflet you can pay in money now without waiting for the next letter. It says use the last 8 nos. of the account no. in the first letter and the sort code 40 63 01.

evenasus

mjmal51 wrote: »

I just had this letter today also. Looking at the leaflet you can pay in money now without waiting for the next letter. It says use the last 8 nos. of the account no. in the first letter and the sort code 40 63 01.

Doh to me :rolleyes:

Mind you, I don't really like the idea of transferring money, if I don't know when I'll be able to login and see that it transferred successfully.

Geoffo_M

vigman wrote: »

Another thing that got me wondering. When you transfer via online banking, what happens if you get the account no (an invalid one for example) or sort code wrong? How do you ever trace the lost transfer?

I only ask as Coventry BS ask you to use the LAST 8 digits of your account no when internet banking (not the first) and making a first payment I didn't know whether to use my own name in the Barclays 'who to pay' box or Coventry BS followed by sort code and account no. I thought there was a lot of opportunity for mistakes and some large amounts involved!

TIA

Vigman

I put the wrong sort code once in an online transfer. All that happens is that the funds are returned to the original account after a few days. So that works ok