Account closing interest rip-off...

pisteoff

I have recently closed a savings account I had with a bank which used to be near the top of the savings league table, but is now near the bottom after the bonus element of the interest has expired (Alliance & Leicester since you ask).

Rather than pay the balance (over £20k) into my linked current account as requested, the bank have closed the account and are apparently issuing a cheque in my name and posting it to me, a process which takes at least two weeks. This seems like a cynical way to cream off a couple of weeks worth of interest...as well as giving me the hassle of having to take the cheque to the bank when it arrives. Anyone else had similar experiences? Anything I can do about this?

dunstonh

This seems like a cynical way to cream off a couple of weeks worth of interest

The bank will be earning virtually zero from it because its short term money. Plus, by using cheque rather than automated credit, it will actually cost them more. Why do you think its a few weeks of lost interest? Its a couple of days at most.

as well as giving me the hassle of having to take the cheque to the bank when it arrives.

You can post it to save you the hassle.

Anything I can do about this?

Ask them if they will credit it direct to your bank account?

bendix

No bank is obliged to have your money simply because you say they should.

If they have business reasons to close the account and send you the money they owe you, what are you complaining about? They're a business, not a charity.

CLAPTON

without knowing what the normal method of transferring money how can we say?
if you normally can do it online then you should have moved most of your money online and then closed it afterwards

malik999

bendix wrote: »

No bank is obliged to have your money simply because you say they should.

If they have business reasons to close the account and send you the money they owe you, what are you complaining about? They're a business, not a charity.

I think he closed the account.

In summary i think he closed his account and the bank are sending him the balance by cheque which he is not happy about. Its standard practice on a lot of accounts at closure.

pisteoff

To clarify - at the point of closing the account, they withdrew the money from the account (and paid it into one of their own accounts), rather than transfer it directly to me as requested. The money won't appear in my account until I receive the cheque and then pay it in elsewhere, so I'll forfeit 2-3 weeks interest more than I would have if they'd transferred it electronically to my linked account...just wondering if this is a sneaky way to benefit (a bit) from people who ditch and switch?

CLAPTON

its fairly standard if when you close the a/c
however if you withdraw the money yourself and then close it, you have immediate access to your money except maybe for a few pence

pisteoff

That's what I'll be doing next time, Clapton!

Mikeyorks

The only (cash) account I've had where they voluntarily and freely CHAPSed the money into my linked account on the day of maturity - was Anglo Irish, just under a year ago.

But after several months of living with 'will they / won't they survive' ....... I think it was probably a welcome bit of PR rather than how they conduct business in normality.

malik999

Mikeyorks wrote: »

The only (cash) account I've had where they voluntarily and freely CHAPSed the money into my linked account on the day of maturity - was Anglo Irish, just under a year ago.

But after several months of living with 'will they / won't they survive' ....... I think it was probably a welcome bit of PR rather than how they conduct business in normality.

Ah the 7% AI bonds... those were the days :cool2:

KingL

pisteoff wrote: »

That's what I'll be doing next time, Clapton!

Yes, it's pretty standard practice. You just have to go through the pain the first time to learn the rules of the game