Egg refuse to close off internet access to my closed accounts!

JamesU

lisyloo wrote: »

So is this any worse that having an open EGG account?
If not then are you saying having an open EGG account is an unacceptable risk?

Having accounts is a risk (as is having a car, house, driving, getting on a plane, getting up in the morning etc,) but for most people it's an acceptable risk.

Yes it is worse than having an open account. People tend to monitor their open accounts and if anything is amiss, will be aware of it. Why would anybody in their right mind continue to monitor their closed accounts? And how many of them over the years? And if you move are you supposed to contact every provider you have ever had and tell them that you have moved, just in case your closed account is still open? Egg sends out statements with zero balances even when you have requested for your account to be closed. If you ignore this and move you are at increased risk of ID fraud. Most people simply close their accounts properly and that is the end of it. Egg's practices on this issue are pretty absurd on occassion and there are four examples of it in the posts above.

The issue here is not if the risk is acceptable, the issue is that there is no need to have this uneccessary risk in the first place. That is why the accounts should be closed down properly and marketing mail and statements stopped at the same time.

JamesU

exel1966

JamesU wrote: »

And if you move are you supposed to contact every provider you have ever had and tell them that you have moved,

Bizarrely yes in one case. I had a Halifax credit card about 5+ years ago used for a 0% promotional offer. The account was then closed and confirmed as such. Two/Three years later I tried to open a Halifax Regular Savings account online, but it wouldn't let me because of an address irregularity and I was advised to call C/S. On calling I was told because my address was now different to that of when I had the credit card with them I would have to go into branch and sign a change of address form. They said I should have advised them of the change!!!! Only then would I be able to open any further accounts with the organisation.

JamesU

exel1966 wrote: »

Bizarrely yes in one case. I had a Halifax credit card about 5+ years ago used for a 0% promotional offer. The account was then closed and confirmed as such. Two/Three years later I tried to open a Halifax Regular Savings account online, but it wouldn't let me because of an address irregularity and I was advised to call C/S. On calling I was told because my address was now different to that of when I had the credit card with them I would have to go into branch and sign a change of address form. They said I should have advised them of the change!!!! Only then would I be able to open any further accounts with the organisation.

Amazing stuff. Must remember to inform all old providers when if I move, just in case. Will start the list today while they are all fresh in my memory.........:)

JamesU

arthur_22

Thanks for the responses. I have now tried entering incorrect info on the password screen over and over, and the system does not lock you out. Great.

So, I'm going to do as James suggests and send a formal letter. I've just had another message from Egg where they say "Unfortunately we're unable to remove your log in details from the website as we are required by law to hold information about you for a set period of time" which is just nonsense - holding information about me has nothing to do with keeping internet access open. They've again said that login details will remain active for...well, forever by the sound of it.

I suspect the real reason is that if people do request tax certificates etc after an account has closed it costs nothing for Egg to have people login, but it does cost them money if you phone up or write. So it's just what is easier for them.

Consumerist

arthur_22 wrote: »

So, I'm going to do as James suggests and send a formal letter.

Don't forget to mention that you accept no further liability for any transactions on the closed accounts. Keep a copy of your letter.

JamesU

exel1966 wrote: »

Bizarrely yes in one case. I had a Halifax credit card about 5+ years ago used for a 0% promotional offer. The account was then closed and confirmed as such. Two/Three years later I tried to open a Halifax Regular Savings account online, but it wouldn't let me because of an address irregularity and I was advised to call C/S. On calling I was told because my address was now different to that of when I had the credit card with them I would have to go into branch and sign a change of address form. They said I should have advised them of the change!!!! Only then would I be able to open any further accounts with the organisation.

Er, Excel and Les....what you described this did not make much sense to me. So I pulled out my old Egg statements and passwords and guess what? After two years I am still logged in! Your money, move money, security details, personal details. Under messages I have a clear inbox. Under Money, I have no Egg accounts to display. Under view your accounts with other organisations there in nothing as to be expected (no chance I would ever let a provider have collated details of other providers).

But....under personal details, absolutely everything is still there and correct: e-mail, full address, date moved there, residential status, home phone, work phone, mobile, marital status, employment status and finally......occupation!

I am furious. This is outrageous. And Exel, as you have said, I also have never come across another provider that does this!

Arthur, for sure there are no accounts there any longer when I log in, and I have not received zero balance statements or any junk mail from Egg in over two years (and there used to be lots of this). So the letter worked to a certain extent. But as above this is outrageous and I am in a similar boat to yourself right now.

Obviously everybody can have a good laugh about this on the thread following my confident suggestions to Arthur, but I am posting this anyway so that there is clarity on how Egg operates. However, I will not take too kindly to any posters that reply in a schadenfreude manner with emoticons!:(

JamesU

arthur_22

James, if that's the case then I'm going to just write a complaint letter instead, and then escalate that to the financial ombudsman if as expected they just ignore it. This really is terrible practice.

RayWolfe

JamesU, I had the same problem with Egg Money. They told me it was due to Health & Safety ... or Money Laundering ... or in the agreement I signed up to! Anyway, after escalating my call to higher authority, they didn't close down the details but agreed to prevent online access. I felt this to be satisfactory.

JamesU

RayWolfe wrote: »

JamesU, I had the same problem with Egg Money. They told me it was due to Health & Safety ... or Money Laundering ... or in the agreement I signed up to! Anyway, after escalating my call to higher authority, they didn't close down the details but agreed to prevent online access. I felt this to be satisfactory.

Morning RayWolfe. Long time no see and hear. Assume you are happy with the backtracking on taxation at cidergate:)

I am pretty furious about this Eggsaga. On an open forum one has to be fairly liberal with personal opinions and experiences. But if this is Egg's working practice so be it, let everybody be clear on their procedures!

In Egg's case as you probably know they used to offer pretty competitive online interest rates a few years ago and to be fair, I had always found their customer services to be good. However, the minute I am not happy with a provider I vote with my feet. In Egg's case I was not happy with the fact that better interest rates were being offered to new customers rather than existing customers. Happens a lot these days with providers, but I simply do not put up with it as a matter of principle. Then on top of this they were taken over by Citigroup/Citibank, cannot remember exactly, in the US and I was not happy with the changes to T+Cs which mentioned holding data in the US. Preferred to stick with UK-based, not because of foresight wrt banking collapses, but because of relevant ID fraud when a colleague went over to the US (not with Egg by the way) and the nightmarish consequences in time and effort. The rest is described as above. Statements and copious marketing material stopped and I thought that was the end of it. But as above this is not the case.

Ivader has pointed things out pretty well in his post here, although I am not sure if Egg is answering to FSA solely here in the UK or within UK-US regulations. Anyway, have not decided how I am going to deal with this yet.

On more interesting matters, took a substantial position in pear options following cidergate but sitting on heavy losses since the cider tax was suspended. Hoping to recover my position post-election if the tax is applied. Given the political lottery, I have decided I might as well vote according to personal gain and will be voting for the party most likely to proceed with this tax. A lot of people think natural resources are a good bet right now and I can kill two birds with one stone here.

JamesU

RayWolfe

JamesU wrote: »

On more interesting matters, took a substantial position in pear options following cidergate but sitting on heavy losses since the cider tax was suspended. Hoping to recover my position post-election if the tax is applied. Given the political lottery, I have decided I might as well vote according to personal gain and will be voting for the party most likely to proceed with this tax. A lot of people think natural resources are a good bet right now and I can kill two birds with one stone here.

JamesU

Sorry about your losses. I thought about shorting but then 'er in doors upped her consumption prior to the Finance Bill going through in order to maximise the tax saving! (Perhaps you're familiar with the female mind that comes home from a sale having bought things she would not normally buy, and declares that she has "saved" a fortune ...)
Anyway, I suspect your strategy may be a good one but will wait until the last debate to see if the subject comes up: it surely will! I trust my broker will be trading at 21:00 on Thursday so that I can take full advantage.