Help with complaint to Halifax

opinions4u

steveksullivan wrote: »

just found this hope it helps!!
Halifax Bank of ScotlandAndy Hornby, Chief Executive[EMAIL="andyhornby@hbosplc.com"]andyhornby@hbosplc.com[/EMAIL]http://www.hbosplc.comHBOS.L5 Feb

I think you'll find Mr Hornby no longer works for them!

:rotfl:

I am just trying to ring her back but her line is busy at the mo.

Make sure you get them to backdate your initial deposit to get the 8% rate.

steveksullivan

Found the entry on a website giving CEO's email addresses and as it had been updated reasonably recently, didn't think to check it!!

and forgot the Lloyds takeover.

Scaredy_Cat_3

Yes, she said the account opening would be backdated, and said my confirmation emails on 16th should be sufficient. She also said she would help me sort it if anything went wrong.

Any thoughts on whether I should complain about this other member of staff? Should I just get a drink and move on, or not? I felt the first staff member was not as helpful as she could have been - seemed to be fobbing me off and indeed her suggestion that I open the account again could have been disastrous (at that point I didn't know the rate had dropped).

Mikeyorks

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

I don't really want to go into the branch if I can avoid it.

Unless you've previous children's accounts with them .... surely you can't avoid it? They won't open children's accounts wholly online as they can't complete electronic ID?

This from the start of the application :

Please note that you will need to call in any Halifax/Bank of Scotland branch with your child's identification to activate your account. Examples of identification documents you could provide are

• Birth certificate
• NHS medical card
• Valid passport

........... it's not conclusive on the Halifax site ..... but that suggests the Interest rate dipped to 6% 20th April?

PS
Don't forget to file R85s on these accounts to get the interest gross. Despite being dedicated children's accounts ...... it's not automatic.

Scaredy_Cat_3

Mikeyorks wrote: »

Unless you've previous children's accounts with them .... surely you can't avoid it? They won't open children's accounts wholly online as they can't complete electronic ID?

This from the start of the application :



........... it's not conclusive on the Halifax site ..... but that suggests the Interest rate dipped to 6% 20th April?

PS
Don't forget to file R85s on these accounts to get the interest gross. Despite being dedicated children's accounts ...... it's not automatic.

Thanks for the tip about the R85, I'll make sure I do that.

With regard to the other matter, yes I know I need to take forms in. I didn't say I wasn't happy to show my face in the branch , I said they had been pretty useless last time I had a complaint and that was why I didn't want to go to the branch. Maybe I didn't make that as clear as I could have. The branch staff were very friendly and (apparently) helpful, but it later turned out just about everything they had told me was wrong and I had a further 2 months of wrangling with head office before my last complaint got sorted.

Mikeyorks

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

The branch staff were very friendly and (apparently) helpful, but it later turned out just about everything they had told me was wrong

I empathise. I went in last month to close an Exor account .... as they wouldn't do it remotely, despite opening it that way. All appeared well ... closure form completed, account closed and money transferred into my current account with them .. from where I distributed it to the beneficiaries.

Noticed a couple of days later the Exor account had opened itself again .. and was showing it's original balance - despite the transfer was also in my current account. Rang the Branch .... asked did they really want me to have the funds twice? Or would they like to close it properly? They then rang back an hour later 'to check their understanding'! Then - next day - closed my current account!

Fortunately I got to them whilst it still had a 'stop' on it ... and wasn't fully closed. But the one DD that got bounced, as a result, is still causing me problems.

Unfortunately - in dealing with 2 x family Probates in the last couple of years - I've found that human contact with most UK companies is best avoided if you want to keep your patience intact.

Scaredy_Cat_3

Yep! A sad testament to the state of customer services generally!

Scaredy_Cat_3

Well, I finally received the info packs on 1st May. It doesn't say anything in there to confirm the interest rate, but it does include a flyer with current rates, showing the 6% regular saver.

Obviously, I intend to take this up with the lady in the complaints department who placated me last week. But their office is closed until Tuesday so I wonder if anyone here can advise me in the meantime please.

To recap, I opened the account online on 15th April (the applicable rate then was 8% fixed). Received a confirmation email on 16th April. Then on 20th April the interest rate was reduced to 6% fixed. So now I *think* they are going to try to fob me off with 6%.

Any ideas about this? I mean, I will ring them on Tuesday and put my case, but I want to know if anyone has experience of this sort of thing and any advice on how best to proceed.

opinions4u

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

Well, I finally received the info packs on 1st May. It doesn't say anything in there to confirm the interest rate, but it does include a flyer with current rates, showing the 6% regular saver.

Their psot system will be an automated system that should only give out the current flyer, so don't read too much in to this.

Obviously, I intend to take this up with the lady in the complaints department who placated me last week. But their office is closed until Tuesday so I wonder if anyone here can advise me in the meantime please.

Ring them today on 08457 26 36 46 and ask them to check if the opening credit has been "backdated" to 15th April. If it has, you will be receiving the 8% rate.

So now I *think* they are going to try to fob me off with 6%.

Probably not. But you're right to be on the case to ensure that either through not resolving things correctly (or a deliberate act, but it's not their style) you don't end up with the inferior rate.

Any ideas about this? I mean, I will ring them on Tuesday and put my case, but I want to know if anyone has experience of this sort of thing and any advice on how best to proceed.

Ring their savings department today, and then follow it up with the complaints department next week.

Buster_Danog

Scaredy_Cat wrote: »

To recap, I opened the account online on 15th April (the applicable rate then was 8% fixed). Received a confirmation email on 16th April. Then on 20th April the interest rate was reduced to 6% fixed. So now I *think* they are going to try to fob me off with 6%..

They will. My mum opened an ISA fixed rate at 3.5% online back in February. They ended up making a mistake and closing the account. They then tried to offer her 2.6%, but I managed to kick up a fuss and got them to open her a different ISA at 3%.

They informed me that they have a "60 day price promise" so any rate you get on the internet should be the one you get when the application process is completed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't take the hassle and settled for th 3% instead of the 3.5%. By the way one trick they pull is to try and give you the interest rate from when they sent you the ae-mail or the application as opposed to when you actually applied online. That is what they done in my mum's case. The date they quoted was not the date she actually applied online, but about a week later when the interest rate had fallen.