Halifax Web Saver Reward 2.8%-3.0%

psychic_teabag

greigster wrote: »

After talking on the phone to a customer service rep and they confirmed the low rate, they asked if we wanted to change to an account that pays 2.8% but the branch rep said not to as it could complicate matters.

Changing the account probably would complicate things. But I'd have thought that opening another account (at Halifax or elsewhere) and moving the bulk of the balance would be okay. Just as long as the contested account remains open with a full history. But should double-check that with the branch rep.

Mandelbrot

greigster wrote: »

they asked if we wanted to change to an account that pays 2.8%

Presumably the Online Saver (2.8% AER/Gross, 2.24% Net, drops to 0.1% AER after a year) - probably the best easy-access product they now have.

but the branch rep said not to as it could complicate matters.

I guess they were thinking about the 0.2% (AER) Rewards element, that will only become payable if the present account is held open until 1 April 2012.

Since taking out this web saver account, we have also taken out a mortgage and my wife has taken out a Halifax credit card. At both of these "in branch" application sessions, which took place in a private room within the bank, my wifes accounts were gone through by branch staff and at no point did anyone suggest that we were getting this poor rate and should perhaps consider something else. I mention this only because the lady at our branch seemed surprised that it was not picked up at these financial interviews.

She's not the only one. But that's perhaps what happens when they take the interest rates off the screen. (Is there any point in making you have to 'click' to get it displayed under individual accounts? And why can't they simply display it automatically against all accounts on the 'overview' screen? )
Still, you'd expect such staff to know all the current interest rates.

So now we have a considerable amount of money languishing at .2% whilst Halifax investigate

0.25% Gross (0.2% Net) + 0.2% Gross (0.16% Net) Rewards element.

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Changing the account probably would complicate things. But I'd have thought that opening another account (at Halifax or elsewhere) and moving the bulk of the balance would be okay. Just as long as the contested account remains open with a full history. But should double-check that with the branch rep.

In theory, yes.
And starting to move the money to another bank (where better rates can be found) might give Halifax some impetus to redesignate the present account as a Web Saver Reward. But they will want to avoid setting a precedent. Perhaps better to look to compensation for poor financial advice if the sessions with them were termed 'financial reviews'?

greigster

Mandelbrot wrote: »

And starting to move the money to another bank (where better rates can be found) might give Halifax some impetus to redesignate the present account as a Web Saver Reward. But they will want to avoid setting a precedent. Perhaps better to look to compensation for poor financial advice if the sessions with them were termed 'financial reviews'?

These were not termed as "financial reviews" as one was for my wife to open a credit card, but at this interview they went through all the spiel of what they could do for us with insurance and investments. The other was to apply for a mortgage and the mortgage consultant needed to know what we had and what we didnt have, to assess the size of mortgage they could offer.

So what is the next move from me? The branch rep that we spoke to is away for the next 4 days although she told us that the branch customer services manager will be calling us today. Should we move all the money to another account and leave £1 in this existing one for the history/.2% bonus.

Consumerist

greigster wrote: »

Am I correct in thinking that both the higher rate of 2.8% and the lower rate of .25% were offered on the same application form and the lower rate we ended up with was decided by the failure to tick a box and decline an ATM card?

That's about the strength of it, regrettably.

I'm not too sure whether there is much you can do about it but I would suggest, as a first move, you approach Halifax (phone) to see if they might offer you the rate you thought you were getting as a goodwill gesture.

Beyond that, you have the option of making a formal (written) complaint on the grounds that the application process was confusing. As you have read in this thread, there are some grounds for such a complaint. If you don't get a satisfactory response from Halifax then you can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In the meantime, you might want to consider moving all but £1 of your savings in the account to get a better rate from now. By leaving £1 in the account you would have qualified for the Reward rate for 12 months had you understood the requirements. If Halifax does re-designate the account to the Reward account as a goodwill gesture then you will still qualify for the 2.8% (+ 0.2% if you are a current account customer).

Hope that made some sense.

Good luck.

greigster

Wow, well its all happened.
The branch customer services manager has been on to customer complaints department who have agreed to pay the full 3% from initial account opening. We have in the mean time transferred all but £1 to the Halifax online saver @2.8%. Do we still get the extra .2% on top of that?

Its interesting to note that the CS manager at our branch said over the phone that "she did not know how this had happened and that we had been given the wrong advice in the past regarding the interest rate we were getting on this account"

With a 6 figure sum involved, this would have meant a huge loss for us.

We are very happy with how the Halifax has handled this, as it was a mistake on our part during the application, although I don't believe that the application form/procedure was as clear as it should have been and I am sure that we will not be the only ones to have been confused.
I think that come 1st April 2012 when other people get their interest statement, we will not have been the only fools to have been duped into opening the wrong account by failing to put a tick in a box!

Thanks for everybody's help.

Consumerist

greigster wrote: »

We have in the mean time transferred all but £1 to the Halifax online saver @2.8%. Do we still get the extra .2% on top of that?

Result! :T

I suggest you wait till the account displays 2.8% interest (Reward interest rate) - there's a link at the top of the account page to get more account info; this includes the current interest rate. Once you are definitely getting the 2.8%, you can transfer back into the account. If you accept their word that the Reward interest rate will be paid then you can transfer back straight-away.

There is no additional 0.2% Reward interest on the new Halifax account.

mgarl10024

I find all this 0.2% business really confusing.

I've just received letters from Halifax saying when they are intending to pay the additional 0.2%, and at last count have 4 different web based savings accounts with different t's&c's. This then gets further complicated with bonus rates for a year, and this 0.2% - to the point where I am struggling to remember which account is getting what.

I get the annual bonus idea and can cope with that - but the 0.2% seems an unnecessary level of complexity for not a lot of gain, IMO.

Consumerist

mgarl10024 wrote: »

I find all this 0.2% business really confusing.

What is even more confusing is that both the 2.8% rate and the extra 0.2% are referred to as "Reward" interest but you only get the 0.2% if you have a current account and pay in at least £1,000 per month.

Thankfully, they now seem to have dispensed with all this Reward confusion.

glider3560

As the 0.2% stopped being offered on new accounts around September, I would expect that all the "Reward" confusion will end in September/October 2012.

King_Of_Fools

mgarl10024 wrote: »

I find all this 0.2% business really confusing.

I've just received letters from Halifax saying when they are intending to pay the additional 0.2%, and at last count have 4 different web based savings accounts with different t's&c's. This then gets further complicated with bonus rates for a year, and this 0.2% - to the point where I am struggling to remember which account is getting what.

I get the annual bonus idea and can cope with that - but the 0.2% seems an unnecessary level of complexity for not a lot of gain, IMO.

Which is probably part of the reason that Halifax have stopped offering it on new accounts and I assume this will be the last year they will renew it for existing accounts.