HALIFAX - Direct reward ISA.....NOT Entirely honest

natman

Hi,

I have recently opened up a HALIFAX direct reward ISA paying 3% interest.
I wanted to invest £3600 and transfer my exsiting £7,000 into this account.

There is an issue that I have been made aware of just now after complaining to them on the phone.
The account highlights he following - Taken from different media sources including HALIFAX WEBSITE

Manage your savings online or by telephone.........
Access by telephone or online.................................
Withdrawals can be made on line or by using the telephone.
I also spoke to a HALIFAX branch when i went in to deposit my initial funds and give them my ID, and she even told me you can maange your account online, do transfers and withdrawls or by the phone.

As part of managing an account online i would expect that you can withdraw the money on line as indicated above............i.e transferring to a linked account.

If you dont have any other Halifax products i.e bank account or other savings account you can not transfer out online. In fact the only thing i can do it to view my account. I cannot do anything else.

As part of my criteria for opening I did want to manage my account online, but you cant unless you have another halifax account.

Has anyone else seen this?? Now I Know this particular account tries to discourage you from transfering as you are only allowed 4 withdrawals in a year before a penalty, but I feel that this 'managing online' was not as transparant as it could have been

JimLad

natman wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently opened up a HALIFAX direct reward ISA paying 3% interest.
I wanted to invest £3600 and transfer my exsiting £7,000 into this account.

There is an issue that I have been made aware of just now after complaining to them on the phone.
The account highlights he following - Taken from different media sources including HALIFAX WEBSITE

Manage your savings online or by telephone.........
Access by telephone or online.................................
Withdrawals can be made on line or by using the telephone.
I also spoke to a HALIFAX branch when i went in to deposit my initial funds and give them my ID, and she even told me you can maange your account online, do transfers and withdrawls or by the phone.

As part of managing an account online i would expect that you can withdraw the money on line as indicated above............i.e transferring to a linked account.

If you dont have any other Halifax products i.e bank account or other savings account you can not transfer out online. In fact the only thing i can do it to view my account. I cannot do anything else.

As part of my criteria for opening I did want to manage my account online, but you cant unless you have another halifax account.

Has anyone else seen this?? Now I Know this particular account tries to discourage you from transfering as you are only allowed 4 withdrawals in a year before a penalty, but I feel that this 'managing online' was not as transparant as it could have been

That is a bit misleading but cant you just open a normal savings account with them in a matter of seconds now you are registered.

natman

i AM LIKING THAT A LOT!!!!

JimLad

natman wrote: »

i AM LIKING THAT A LOT!!!!

Aye it definately is funky. Shame the savers you can manage online give rubbish interest rates

BruceyBonus

I've got a Bank of Scotland Instant Access Savings Account - carp rate of 0.5% but it gives an ATM card and shows on Halifax internet banking.
You could use something like this to withdraw the money to.

stubuch

natman wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently opened up a HALIFAX direct reward ISA paying 3% interest.
I wanted to invest £3600 and transfer my exsiting £7,000 into this account.

There is an issue that I have been made aware of just now after complaining to them on the phone.
The account highlights he following - Taken from different media sources including HALIFAX WEBSITE

Manage your savings online or by telephone.........
Access by telephone or online.................................
Withdrawals can be made on line or by using the telephone.
I also spoke to a HALIFAX branch when i went in to deposit my initial funds and give them my ID, and she even told me you can maange your account online, do transfers and withdrawls or by the phone.

As part of managing an account online i would expect that you can withdraw the money on line as indicated above............i.e transferring to a linked account.

If you dont have any other Halifax products i.e bank account or other savings account you can not transfer out online. In fact the only thing i can do it to view my account. I cannot do anything else.

As part of my criteria for opening I did want to manage my account online, but you cant unless you have another halifax account.

Has anyone else seen this?? Now I Know this particular account tries to discourage you from transfering as you are only allowed 4 withdrawals in a year before a penalty, but I feel that this 'managing online' was not as transparant as it could have been

How recently is recently opened ?
I also opened one of these two weeks ago, I didn't fund it as part of the opening process and it was only the day after my initial deposit was in that it changed from a plain ISA saver to a Direct Reward one. Before it changed over it said something along the lines of information only at the top of the account screen but once it had changed that disappeared and the Transfers / Direct Debits / Pay Bills... link became active and from there you can set up transfers to other accounts.

rb10

Does it say 'Enquiry Only Service' or something like that?

It might mean they haven't had your signed application form back yet, or that they are still waiting for some ID. The best thing to do would be to ask Halifax why the account is blocked, either go into a branch or phone up.

natman

Hi
Yes recently - TO be exact i opened the account on line on 7th April.
I went to local Branch on 8th April with £3600 cheque and ID documents.

When I log on it says 'enquiry service only'
Basically unless you have a halifax account you can not transfer out of the HALIFAX REWARD ISA to an external bank account via 'ONLINE'

When i spoke to customer service i really gave them what far indicating that the reference to 'MANAGING ONLINE' is un clear and they needed to take action.

If you unhappy get on to them. I feel as though they have not been very clear at all

rb10

natman wrote: »

Hi
Yes recently - TO be exact i opened the account on line on 7th April.
I went to local Branch on 8th April with £3600 cheque and ID documents.

When I log on it says 'enquiry service only'
Basically unless you have a halifax account you can not transfer out of the HALIFAX REWARD ISA to an external bank account via 'ONLINE'

When i spoke to customer service i really gave them what far indicating that the reference to 'MANAGING ONLINE' is un clear and they needed to take action.

If you unhappy get on to them. I feel as though they have not been very clear at all

So you haven't yet signed anything for the account? If that is the case, then that'll be the reason. Nothing to do with them being unclear, just that you need to sign to agree to the T&Cs before they can let you use the account fully.

natman

rb10 wrote: »

So you haven't yet signed anything for the account? If that is the case, then that'll be the reason. Nothing to do with them being unclear, just that you need to sign to agree to the T&Cs before they can let you use the account fully.

Sorry,
I have signed everything they asked me to.
ID FORMES, Application form, Previous ISA Transfer.

Even teh halifax bank phone guy said, no online access if you want to transfer to external bank

natman

Hi.

I received this today from the halifax regarding my query about managing my account online.

In response to your query, I can confirm that our Online Service will only allow fund transfers from an ISA to other accounts held with ourselves. Therefore, even if an external transfer mandate is active on the account, it will not appear online.

A funds transfer to another organisation from an ISA may be completed over the phone. To complete this, please call our Savings Team on 08457 26 36 46. Our lines are open Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-4pm and Sunday 9am-4pm.

Therefore no online transfers allowed - a bit cheeky hey!!!