Closing halifax account nightmare

scotslad

Been trying for 2 weeks to close a couple of websaver accounts that i no longer need.

Easier said than done.

Went into branch signed papers and was told that was it. 2 weeks later the accounts are still open so went back in and this time was told that accounts cannot be closed in branch and to phone helpline.

Phoned helpline and was told accounts cannot be closed over telephone.

No option to close the accounts online either.

Am I missing something here as cant close in Branch , Over phone or on internet.

SO HOW DO I CLOSE THEM ??

This lot are a complete nightmare since lloyds took them over.

I am very close to closing the lot and moving to another bank

Joe_Bloggs

Please get things into perspective. Halifax have been going through a banking transition to the Lloyds system. Their customers have has a rocky time with accounts fading in and out. Give it a few weeks. You have nothing to lose.
J_B.

maypole

I have a Lloyds TSB e saver account, I wanted to close it and open up another newer e saver paying a higher interest. I can't do it on line apparently I have to go into a branch! I do like having a branch to go into on occasion when I need to, but if I have an on line account I want to be able to do everything I need on line and that includes closing it down.

At the moment I don't have the time to go in, as you need an appointment to see someone, so I have just transferred most of the money out to another higher paying bank on line.

jonesMUFCforever

Write a letter to close the account - the address can be found on the website - contact us section.

pstuart

I tried to close two old Halifax accounts 5 weeks ago - like the OP went to the branch, signed the forms and hey presto a cheque appeared in the post 3 weeks later - but only for one account!

Checked online and the other account was still live.

Went in again last week, took 45 minutes for them to understand the new system, closed the account and walked out with £1.10 cash

It must be a new user friendly, terribly clever system that they've not trained for.

pvt

I think it's their policy to have you visit a branch if you want to close an account. I'm sure they'll say it's some kind of fraud prevention thing, though the cynic in me suspects it's so they can persuade you not to close it, or to get you to transfer the money to another Halifax account.

Anyway, it's no big deal, you can withdraw all the money from the accounts, so just leave them open with boogerall in. They're savings accounts, so there's no implication of lots of accounts showing up on your credit reference files. The only downside is having to wade through lots of empty websaver accounts when you do your online banking.

opinions4u

pvt wrote: »

I think it's their policy to have you visit a branch if you want to close an account. I'm sure they'll say it's some kind of fraud prevention thing, though the cynic in me suspects it's so they can persuade you not to close it, or to get you to transfer the money to another Halifax account.

Nah. The real reason is that Lloyds TSB have never invested in the systems to action such simple requests online or by phone.

Nothing underhand about it. Just the way it is.

JuicyJesus

opinions4u wrote: »

Nah. The real reason is that Lloyds TSB have never invested in the systems to action such simple requests online or by phone.

Nothing underhand about it. Just the way it is.

I don't think most banks will accept account closures over the telephone? I know for a fact that NatWest, RBS, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Halifax and Barclays definitely don't. Santander do, or at least Alliance and Leicester did when I closed my account with them.

MrWillyWonka

I've had to close one of my Halifax websaver accounts some time ago (in branch) and it took about a month to close. A bonus is that I got a lump sum for any interest that was due.

I wouldn't worry too much about the account closing because you have nothing to lose, however give it a few more weeks and as some have suggested, Halifax are moving over to Lloyd's banking procedures so there may be some conflicting stories on how to close certain accounts.

opinions4u

JuicyJesus wrote: »

I don't think most banks will accept account closures over the telephone? I know for a fact that NatWest, RBS, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Halifax and Barclays definitely don't. Santander do, or at least Alliance and Leicester did when I closed my account with them.

Halifax definitely did. But no more ...

hermante

JuicyJesus wrote: »

Santander do, or at least Alliance and Leicester did when I closed my account with them.

Yes Santander does at least if you have another account with them. Say what you want about the service, but it's much easier just to do it in branch, takes 10 minutes. Unless you live 5 miles from a branch.

MrWillyWonka wrote: »

I've had to close one of my Halifax websaver accounts some time ago (in branch) and it took about a month to close. A bonus is that I got a lump sum for any interest that was due.

Wouldn't call that a bonus - you've either lost the higher interest you could be earning elsewhere, or if you wanted to spend it, then you could have got your purchases earlier...

I don't understand why people don't empty their accounts before closing them. Especially if you still have an account with the same bank