Money "eaten up" by Halifax Bank - and no idea when it'll come back!!!

hwfan

Hi just wondering if anyone here has had this experience and has got any tips/recommendations on what I should do:

I have about £12k saved up in a Variable Web Savers account in Halifax and saw a promotion for a fixed rate Web Saver at 7% AER for a 3-month term deposit, and since I wanted better interest on it, I applied for it on Friday night through the online banking system.

The application process take me through a whole bunch of steps, one of which involves specifying the account from which my funds are supposed to be taken from, so I specify the variable web saver account and £12k from there. Lo and behold, right at the very last step it tells me there was a problem with the application process and that I need to call some number to proceed.

I think to myself, fine, that's really too much hassle, so I decide not to go for the fixed rate web saver after all. Lo and behold, I go back and I see that the £12k I wanted deducted from my web saver is now GONE from my variable rate web saver, and no new account has been set up in its place!

I initially thought to myself, right, that's fine, maybe the application went through after all and the new account's just now showing up yet. However, as that is large portion of my savings, I am quite worried, and give Halifax a call on Saturday, and get put through the online banking desk. I'm told that the new account might take 24 hours to show up, and to call back if it still doesn't show up by Sat night.

Lo and behold, monday comes and no sign of my precious savings are to be seen. I give Halifax yet another call and am told that in the situation I've described, the money is probably held in a holding account and the transfer-resolution team needs to deal with this matter. However, as it is 8.50 in the morning and the team doesn't start till 9, I should call back at 9!

9.30 comes and I give a call back, and am advised by yet a third online-banking person that the money should be held in a "holding account" and I should see if the new fixed rate account gets set up with my 12k inside, or if the 12k is credited back after a while. He says that he'll send a mail to the transfers team and they'll work on getting this issue sorted out.

It is now Tuesday evening and nothing has happened, no sign of my money being credited back nor a new account showing up, and I am getting very concerned! I am tempted to call back to Halifax but the thought of speaking to a fourth person and repeating the situation a fourth time deters me from doing so. I did get the name of the person I spoke to last and he's told me that he's off work today but will be back from Wed-Fri, so I intend to call back tomorrow to speak to him.

However, my experience has left me quite worried and dissatisfied for the following reasons:

i) No attempt by Halifax to keep some sort of log on the issue going on with my account and me having to call back repeatedly to chase up on the situation - some attempt on keeping me posted wouldn't be amiss!

ii) Getting me to call back after 9 so that they can sort me out with the transfer issues team is simply a sign of lacklustre and uninvolved customer service - rings of "I really don't care about helping you, call back later and get someone else to sort you out"

and most disturbingly and importantly

iii) MY HARD-EARNED SAVINGS have just VANISHED without a trace as to where the heck it's gone or why it was debited from my bank account! I do not understand why my money was even touched when my application did not successfully go through, and why it has disappeared for four days without a trace! The Halifax online-savings system in a world apart from HSBC where issues are assigned a number and can be raised through the online-banking system through a messaging option, and more importantly, where money is not debited until a new account has been set up!

I transferred the bulk of my savings to Halifax because I wasn't quite happy with the low rates that HSBC were giving, but it seems the more attractive interest rates are funded by a poor online-banking processing system and less committed staff! Its weak financial position merely adds doubt to my decision to put money in there, but I thought the merger with Lloyds would reduce the risk somewhat... still I'm not happy that my money's gone missing!!!

What do you guys think, any other horror stories about Halifax to share, and any advice on what I should do with regard to my missing money?

andy_l_2

It may be that you have to set up your online account in your preference settings but you will need the roll number. It took me a while to get my ISA account to show up but got there in the end.I don't think you have waved goodbye to £12000 though so i wouldn't worry too much;)

luvpump

I cant beleive they have just "Vanished" ..must be a trace somewhere

MrExample

I've always been very impressed with Halifax's online system. But the phone service leaves something to be desired!

At least you were able to start the application process... when I tried to apply for a fixed rate account, I was told my variable saver account wasn't suitable as the linked one (or something along those lines). It's rather annoying having to jump through hoops just to get a modest rate.

hwfan

Thanks guys, I don't think it has literally vanished, but I do think it pretty annoying and unorthodox that there's no trace of where it's gone and that halifax hasn't bothered to provide some decent customer service..

bear in mind most of the 10k had come from Kaupthing edge :P another place where my money was held in limboland for a couple of weeks before it reappeared..

YorkshireBoy

hwfan wrote: »

...I do think it pretty annoying and unorthodox that there's no trace of where it's gone and that halifax hasn't bothered to provide some decent customer service.

So tell them...

http://www.halifax.co.uk/contactus/howtocomplain.asp

hwfan

MrExample wrote: »

I've always been very impressed with Halifax's online system. But the phone service leaves something to be desired!

At least you were able to start the application process... when I tried to apply for a fixed rate account, I was told my variable saver account wasn't suitable as the linked one (or something along those lines). It's rather annoying having to jump through hoops just to get a modest rate.

I guess it's pretty decent relative to some others but my main bank account's held with HSBC and the system there is in a whole class of its own! Definitely agree with you on the lousy rates around now, in fact quite surprised some places are offering 5.5, 6, 7% when base rate's at 4 and looking to drop, but I think they're all desperate for some shortish-term funding with LIBORs the way they are

hwfan

still no sign of my money or a new account! :mad:

called them just now: 8:55am, and am told that the problem has been recorded as an Online Glitch and I will have to wait for someone to get in touch with me shortly within "a few days" - they couldn't provide any sort of deadline when I asked or any other further details!

Is this how a bank works, to take your money away for a few days and not even bother to give you any sort of firm guideline as to what the issue is and what will be done about it?!? This is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE, and I really don't have the time or energy to spare (or unnecessary calls to 0845 numbers) to keep calling these incompetents. If I didn't even raise this issue would it mean that my money would have "disappeared" due to this "online glitch" for absolutely no reason and NOTHING would be in place to trace my money?

I am moving every single penny I can out of this terrible bank once they actually care to cough my money back out.

Guys_Dad

It is, of course, your call, but what I would say is that I have used their on-line system for quite some time now, despite a pretty shaky start with them. I have found it probably the best or second best of all my on-line banking accounts.

They have one distinct advantage over other on-line banks (well some at least) and that is you can choose your own login etc and not be landed with one of their unintelligible 9-digit ones you have to write down somewhere.

Their service is pretty good, so what I would say is this. Don't cut your nose off to spite your face. You can't do anything till you can get your hands on your money, so give it a week or so, use their system and then, if you still don't like it, whip the lot out and go elsewhere.

Best to make the decision in the cold light of day after things have been cleared up. You should also ask for some recognition of their less than perfect service!

Sun

Best is pay a visit to your local branch and talk to a real person!

hwfan

Sun wrote: »

Best is pay a visit to your local branch and talk to a real person!

Thanks for the advice guys - but it's not exactly like the Halifax is the safest (as the largest mortgage lender HBOS is going to feel a world of pain as the defaults start skyrocketing) nor the best-paying (at 4% gross for web saver) place to put my money now - the only thing stopping me from taking it out was the inertia.

With this very poor experience, it's just given me a poke and I'm now off to find better terms with a stronger bank. HSBC has even crappier interest rates but I've got nothing but praise for their online banking system - and i've got no issues with remembering their convoluted login ids...

Perhaps I haven't seen the worst but Halifax's online banking system personally leaves much to be desired for me - what's with the old fashioned roll number/bank account number dual system, some sort of legacy from the days when it was a building society?

Just to nitpick but here are the features on the HSBC system that I like vs. Halifax/HBOS:

i) ability to raise a query on the internet banking system, no need to call 0845 rip-off numbers

ii) ability to resolve issues and very efficient new-account set up procedures online

iii) new accounts show up automatically when they're open, no need to manually input details onto the damn system

iv) clearly set out options (transfers/bank payments)

v) same-day payments out into Halifax (but Halifax needs 3 working days to send payments back to HSBC)


Any recommendations on where I should go? I'm not looking for the absolute best interest but I would like something better than HSBC with similarly advanced computer systems and more importantly, low likelihoods of going belly-up! Cheers.