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

hwfan

more imcompetence as experienced by Martin himself!!

http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2008/05/22/accused-of-fraud-by-the-halifax%E2%80%A6/

hwfan wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback and advice everyone. I did call their complaints line on the 4th and was told that the reason why my money disappeared was because my money was indeed transferred to a new account, which apparently "held a different address from the one on my records".

This was confirmed by a letter (happily sent 2nd class just like the type of service they provide, and received just yesterday) saying "However, this Fixed Web Saver holds a different address from the one on your records. Our records show your address as London. Therefore you will be unable to add this account to your profile".

This is ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL TOSS!!!!!! Simply because when I applied, my address was shown automatically on screen and I merely had to confirm the address(which is the only one I have and the correct one). HOW COULD THERE POSSIBLY BE A DIFFERENT ADDRESS ON THIS ACCOUNT WHEN I NEVER EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO MIS-TYPE MY ADDRESS??!!?!

SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO I HAVE HAD IT WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEY NEED TO ANSWER FOR THEIR ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENCE, 12k MISSING FOR 2 WEEKS IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!

Please advise what sort of compensation and recourse I should seek, 6 phone calls repeating my issue OVER AND OVER AND OVER again with absolutely NO PROGRESS WHATSOEVER and merely a VAGUE AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE EXCUSE is SIMPLY BAD, BAD, BADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD service!

littlejon2009

Having sold our house last December, and still unable to find the Eureka house to buy, we decided two weeks ago to lock all our savings into bonds. We did our homework - spreading the risk across different financial institutions. No problems anywhere - except the Halifax. We signed up for a joint websaver account on a variable rate, expecting then to be able to set up a fixed rate websaver and transfer the money in - we were aiming for the 7% rate before they dropped the rates.
We both regeistered - but 1 week later only one of us had received a password. We verified our details in branch and paid a £1 deposit, and were told the account was up and running. We arranged a CHAPS payment to go into the account that day. That payment went in to the variable rate account the following day - but the £1 deposit went missing. Our suspicion, based on our experience with Halifax, is that they look around for accounts with just £1 balance and assume they are dormant accounts - and take the money (if the can lose £1, what will they do with the rest of it?) 1 day later our CHAPS payment arrived, 3 days later we were still unable to use the account as my partners login details still hadn't arrived despite numerous phone calls. To cut a long story short, we ended up voting with our feet - however, Halifax still have our money. They do not CHAPS payments, and the BACS payment we arranged has not arrived at its destination. As we have now closed our Halifax account, they simply don't want to know when we ring and ask where our money is.
My advice:
STEER CLEAR OF HALIFAX - DON'T TOUCH THEM WITH A BARGEPOLE, DON'T TRUST THEM WITH A PENNY OF YOUR SAVINGS:mad:

hwfan

Not to sound like a totally biased person, I must admit that their phone service is quite good, never had to be put on hold for more than a minute to speak to somebody. So great I get to speak with them promptly..

but what's the point when they have nothing like a case file/log whatsoever and I have to repeat everything I say over and over each time I call, and be given varying generic but ultimately nonsensical explanations for what's happened to my money. I was promised calls, and asked to wait, but to no avail whatsoever!

Finally having had the last straw, I walked into the nearest branch today (which wasn't very near at all) and finally got it sorted out - apparently the account was opened and the address on the account differed by the way my address lines were broken down - it was "Flat xx YY House" on the new account, but on my other accounts it was "Flat xx" and then "YY House" on the next line. I had to get the customer service staff in the bank to give me my new account details and manually input it into the banking system to get the new account to show up!

I'm going to print out a copy of the page with the details in case when it matures the money disappears again!

Overall, it seems that my money didn't go missing after all, but to make 6-7 calls to them without any resolution just shows how dismal their ability to deal with client queries is! I wonder if it really is as straightforward an error as it now seems or whether something did go on behind the scenes... Terribly disappointed but just relieved my money's shown up... I'm going to take it all out at the earliest opportunity now.

YorkshireBoy

hwfan wrote: »

but what's the point when they have nothing like a case file/log whatsoever and I have to repeat everything I say over and over each time I call, and be given varying generic but ultimately nonsensical explanations for what's happened to my money. I was promised calls, and asked to wait, but to no avail whatsoever!

Once you make a formal complaint (as I suggested last week) to a financial services organisation, you'll receive an acknowledgment letter within 5 days. This letter gives you a case reference number, a named case officer, and a (direct) geographic telephone number in the case of Halifax (and other providers I've made complaints with).

Going this route removes the frustration, and the need to make call after call to them. If they've wronged you they will compensate you for any financial losses you've incurred. They will also make goodwill payments where appropriate, eg for 'time and trouble'.

You might want to bear this in mind next time something goes wrong?

hwfan

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Once you make a formal complaint (as I suggested last week) to a financial services organisation, you'll receive an acknowledgment letter within 5 days. This letter gives you a case reference number, a named case officer, and a (direct) geographic telephone number in the case of Halifax (and other providers I've made complaints with).

Going this route removes the frustration, and the need to make call after call to them. If they've wronged you they will compensate you for any financial losses you've incurred. They will also make goodwill payments where appropriate, eg for 'time and trouble'.

You might want to bear this in mind next time something goes wrong?

Thanks for your advice mate. Of course in hindsight everything is clear but I'm still quite averse to writing letters, they're way too fiddly for me. I did call them and got a reference number, fat lot of good that did me. Didn't receive any letter nor did they give me some sort of follow up.

Still, yes, if something does go wrong next time, I'll bear that in mind. In this case they're probably lucky in that I really can't be bothered to spend any more time talking to a bunch of incompetents, so I probably won't be following up on this any longer, though I am definitely voting with my feet and removing all my money as soon as I can.

Just wondering, what sort of compensation are they usually willing to cough up? I have a full time job working 9-6,7 most days without a full hour for lunch so calling them again is really going to be a pain since they're only open mon-fri, 9-5. However if its likely they'll bother being decent and coughing up some comps(which I highly doubt) I might try to sneak some time in at lunch..

YorkshireBoy

hwfan wrote: »

...I'm still quite averse to writing letters...

You wouldn't think so, with the wordage you've put into this thread!

Didn't receive any letter nor did they give me some sort of follow up.

That's because you didn't make a 'formal' complaint.

Just wondering, what sort of compensation are they usually willing to cough up?

6 complaints for me over the last two years has resulted in £200 goodwill, with £25 being the minimum award.

Remember, there's a difference between compensation and goodwill.

Compensation puts you back in the (usually, financial) position you'd have been in if the problem hadn't arisen, for example if you'd missed the 7% fixed rate deal and only got a 6.5% deal instead you'd expect to be compensated for that.

Goodwill is something else. They need to make you happy again(!) ie, persuade you not to leave them.

There's another benefit in complaining though, and that's the greater good. As I said to you earlier in the thread...how do they know they're underperforming if you don't tell them? If there are flaws in their procedures and systems then we all benefit from any improvements made.

hwfan

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

You wouldn't think so, with the wordage you've put into this thread!

Oh, I have no problems typing alright, it's just the speed with which it reaches them, we have access to this forum because of something called the internet(yes I am old enough to have used BBSes as well but those didn't could cos you had, what, 10 people on at a time at most), why should I go buy envelopes, stamps and print out a carefully drafted letter when i can get it sorted over the net or the phone?

While it is a good point that complaining is "for the greater good", I am extremely put off by their behaviour thus far, i.e. the complete lack of any attempt to follow up on my case whatsoever. Do I know why they failed in this most basic of tasks? Not really, because any sort of organisation dealing with customers should have something like a proper follow-up in place! By sharing my experience here and receiving much helpful advice is about the only thing I can do "for the greater good".

I will see if I have some time and I might drop them a call, or else I really doubt I will do anything further.

Anyway, to conclude: YorkshireBoy and others who replied, thank you for your wise advice and shame on me for having any sort of faith in them initially in being able to resolve my problem the normal way, without filing a "formal complain". I will cut the crap next time and just file a formal complain. Hopefully no next time because I am leaving them, goodwill payments or not!

P.S. This is just conjecture of course but I think staff morale isn't exactly high now with the Lloyds TSB/HBOS merger expected to result in huge job losses (usually in the acquired company, i.e. HBOS). I wouldn't be that keen on delivering sterling customer service if I wasn't sure if I'd still have a job in 3 months either. Latest news is that the shareholders want to kick the whole sorry HBOS management team out and take over themselves, have a look:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5112900.ece

LucyTheDwarf

I had a problem with Halifax very recently, and found them really helpful. I'd transferred money from my current account (HSBC) to a regular saver I hold with them. Normally it's instant, but after a day or so, I realised the money hadn't got there. I phoned Halifax, and was told it'd gone to a holding account. I asked to stay on the phone until they had sorted it, and the guy I was talking to made some calls to other departments, sorted out a transfer to the correct account, and arranged for the receipt to be backdated to the day I sent it for interest purposes. Couldn't have been more helpful.

Just wanted to stick up for them a little bit - they're not all bad. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw, I guess - I got a lovely young chap who was very cheerful and enthusiastic (which must be hard, if you're dealing with complaints/problems all day), and very determined to sort out my problems as soon as possible.

Also, their online banking isn't all that bad. It's not as good as HSBC's - but that's a rather high benchmark to set! I quite like Halifax's online banking.

So, just try again (or get them to call you, as suggested previously). Insist on staying on the phone until they can confirm that the money will definitely be in the account by the next morning. Make it clear that you will be making a formal complaint if you log on the next morning and it's not there. And make sure you follow your threat through, if necessary.

I'm sorry to say it, but your attitude seems to be that everything is too much trouble! Perhaps the people you talked to in the call centre picked up on this, hence your bad experience?

hwfan

LucyTheDwarf wrote: »

I had a problem with Halifax very recently, and found them really helpful. I'd transferred money from my current account (HSBC) to a regular saver I hold with them. Normally it's instant, but after a day or so, I realised the money hadn't got there. I phoned Halifax, and was told it'd gone to a holding account. I asked to stay on the phone until they had sorted it, and the guy I was talking to made some calls to other departments, sorted out a transfer to the correct account, and arranged for the receipt to be backdated to the day I sent it for interest purposes. Couldn't have been more helpful.

Just wanted to stick up for them a little bit - they're not all bad. Sometimes it's the luck of the draw, I guess - I got a lovely young chap who was very cheerful and enthusiastic (which must be hard, if you're dealing with complaints/problems all day), and very determined to sort out my problems as soon as possible.

Also, their online banking isn't all that bad. It's not as good as HSBC's - but that's a rather high benchmark to set! I quite like Halifax's online banking.

So, just try again (or get them to call you, as suggested previously). Insist on staying on the phone until they can confirm that the money will definitely be in the account by the next morning. Make it clear that you will be making a formal complaint if you log on the next morning and it's not there. And make sure you follow your threat through, if necessary.

I'm sorry to say it, but your attitude seems to be that everything is too much trouble! Perhaps the people you talked to in the call centre picked up on this, hence your bad experience?

No worries, you're right! Having been weaned on HSBC service where things are followed up automatically, I expected the same from Halifax.

Unfortunately, I think they figured I was too polite and the sort to be fobbed off with an excuse. But I don't believe in engaging with poor service, I simply walk. Once I've been crossed, I don't give second chances. On the other hand, I try not to take good service for granted (though you'll find this is usually the case). In this case I just wanted to trace where my money had gone. I'm really not too bothered with changing the world or making them a better bank.

I don't actively seek out the absolute best deals out there but I expect organisations to act responsibly. Unfortunately an organisation which doesn't respect polite behaviour and instead responds only to customers who kick up a fuss simply reinforces bad behaviour on both sides. I'm not naive enough to think that most banks are like this, I know usually most organisations take advantage of the meek and only respond to the activist type (hence why this website exists in the first place).

End of the day, I know where my money is, I'm not going to bother trying to change their dismal service.

Mikeyorks

I've twice had newly opened Halifax accounts go AWOL ..... on both occasions it was my address which didn't precisely match their records. On at least one of those occasions - they presented the address and I'd merely confirmed it was correct. My OH similarly had a new account go missing - in this case it was the date of birth that didn't precisely match (it had somehow reverted to 1900 ..... and she's not quite yet ready to figure in Mr Obama's acceptance speech!)

The net result of any key data not matching, as above, is that the account is allocated a User Identity (with which they group all your accounts behind the scenes) different to your 'usual' one. So the new account won't attach to your Portfolio - as the User ID doesn't conform to the rest of your accounts - so it effectively disappears from your view. It's alive and well - a fully operating account .... it just gets stranded from your view as the ID isn't yours.

My problems were several years ago and I'd understood they had fixed the address fragmentation problem which caused my mismatches. So perhaps their staff are less alert in looking out for this as a cause of 'missing accounts' .... as it's (mainly) solved. But unfortunately .... and it's far from being unique to Halifax .... I'm finding the ability of call centre staff to resolve problems / understand their own products is diminishing at a rapid rate. Mediocrity is all many appear to aspire to.