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Natwest - 30 days (and counting!) to access our own money!
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RikA_4
Posts: 8 Forumite
I'll try not to rant, but my wife is currently sat in a branch of Natwest, after over a month of hassle. I feel compelled to report our experience!
On the 7th of July, we tried to transfer £350 from my wife's "instant access" savings account to our joint account. We were told on that same day that the transfer "had been done". A few days later, we noticed that in fact it had not been done. My wife visited a branch to try and sort this out, which they did by converting her account to an e-savings one. The transfer was attempted again, but this time also failed. They created a new e-savings account, but again the money wouldn't transfer "for some reason".
At this point, my wife asks Natwest to close the e-savings account and transfer the balance to our joint account. We are assured that this will happen within one working day. Then, we are told that actually it could take 3 working days. Then it could be as much as 5 working days. After it becomes apparant that the money isn't going into our joint account, we contact the financial ombudsman. My wife meets a representative of the ombudsman at a local branch, where Natwest admit that there has been a bit of a !!!!-up, and give us a Bankers Draft (which, to be fair, includes some compensation).
My wife pays this in immediately, and we are told categorically that this will clear in 5 working days. On the 5th working day, we are called by the Ombudsman to say that there has been a problem, but the draft will clear the next day after all.
It did not clear.
Several days later, my wife again meets the ombudsman representative in-branch. This time, we are promised that a member of the clearing team will ensure that the balance of our draft (plus some more compensation) will hit our account tomorrow morning, and (just in case), we arrange a meeting at the branch so the branch-manager can contact the clearing department directly and process it while my wife is there.
And that's where she is right now. Sat there, drinking Natwest coffee (which, I'm assured, is terrible) for the past 2 and a half hours while the branch manager tries to get the clearing department to sort this out. Apparantly, there is just one man in the clearing department who is able to make our bankers draft (drawn from Natwest, paid into a Natwest account, remember) clear.
sigh.
On the 7th of July, we tried to transfer £350 from my wife's "instant access" savings account to our joint account. We were told on that same day that the transfer "had been done". A few days later, we noticed that in fact it had not been done. My wife visited a branch to try and sort this out, which they did by converting her account to an e-savings one. The transfer was attempted again, but this time also failed. They created a new e-savings account, but again the money wouldn't transfer "for some reason".
At this point, my wife asks Natwest to close the e-savings account and transfer the balance to our joint account. We are assured that this will happen within one working day. Then, we are told that actually it could take 3 working days. Then it could be as much as 5 working days. After it becomes apparant that the money isn't going into our joint account, we contact the financial ombudsman. My wife meets a representative of the ombudsman at a local branch, where Natwest admit that there has been a bit of a !!!!-up, and give us a Bankers Draft (which, to be fair, includes some compensation).
My wife pays this in immediately, and we are told categorically that this will clear in 5 working days. On the 5th working day, we are called by the Ombudsman to say that there has been a problem, but the draft will clear the next day after all.
It did not clear.
Several days later, my wife again meets the ombudsman representative in-branch. This time, we are promised that a member of the clearing team will ensure that the balance of our draft (plus some more compensation) will hit our account tomorrow morning, and (just in case), we arrange a meeting at the branch so the branch-manager can contact the clearing department directly and process it while my wife is there.
And that's where she is right now. Sat there, drinking Natwest coffee (which, I'm assured, is terrible) for the past 2 and a half hours while the branch manager tries to get the clearing department to sort this out. Apparantly, there is just one man in the clearing department who is able to make our bankers draft (drawn from Natwest, paid into a Natwest account, remember) clear.
sigh.
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Comments
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A quick update - my wife spent most of the day today in our local branch, but Natwest tell us that there is some kind of marker on our account preventing the bankers draft from clearing. They tell us that this came about because they closed the e-savings account too quickly after trying to transfer the funds out. Consequently, any incoming funds are now subject to some kind of review before they clear.
We've had the financial ombudsman shouting at the branch manager to fix this, but amazingly, Natwest still haven't been able to resolve it. Evidently, the one person who can remove the marker from our account is on holiday.
Not really sure how to escalate this further - when the financial ombudsman can't force the bank to fix a problem, what is the next cause of action?0 -
I never realised branches had ombudsman representatives in-branch :-)
They used to have Service Quaility Managers though.Im an ex employee RBS GroupHowever Any Opinion Given On MSE Is Strictly My Own0 -
This "instant access" savings account, wouldn't be the one that comes with a card to withdraw from ATMs would it?Debt free and staying that way! :beer:0
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I'm not sure what the point being made is here - that I'm lucky the ombudsman is being so pro-active? Yes, i guess I am.
(And to clarify, the ombudsman wasn't *literally* shouting, but rather putting pressure on the branch to sort it out - which, IMO, is reasonable in the circumstances).0 -
Shouting at someone isn't going to get things done quicker. Infact, slower IMO.
An Ombudsman representative after a few days as opposed to the weeks is quite some feat.
I doubt in a company as big as RBSG (as all their behind the scenes staff deal with all accounts) that there would only be one person who could deal with your situation."What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh."0 -
I'm not sure what the point being made is here - that I'm lucky the ombudsman is being so pro-active? Yes, i guess I am.
(And to clarify, the ombudsman wasn't *literally* shouting, but rather putting pressure on the branch to sort it out - which, IMO, is reasonable in the circumstances).
The ombudsman wont get involved though until 8 weeks has passed:
https://www.natwest.com/secure/global/contact_us/complaints_procedure.htmIm an ex employee RBS GroupHowever Any Opinion Given On MSE Is Strictly My Own0 -
Has to be a troll story doesn't it?0
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jonesMUFCforever wrote: »Has to be a troll story doesn't it?
The thought hadn't crossed my mind. Honestly.0
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