is Halifax business model racist? [Title edited by MSE Forum Team]

opinions4u

jennifernil wrote: »

Why would they want a 2.5% account when Halifax offer a 2.8% one?

Some people prefer a branch based account rather than an internet account.

Not me though .

beecher2

I only discovered this myself today - as far as I know we can still access all of the online accounts so you should be able to still get the 2.8% Online Saver. It is very confusing - the person behind me in the queue was being told that 2 of her accounts were Halifax ones, and one was BoS.

jennifernil

The problem is that this is the best children's regular saver around, and, certainly as far as I am concerned, there was no info given out in advance of these changes. Even many staff in branches and in call centres are not well informed.

If this was some small local BS, then fair enough, but Halifax has been a nationwide BS/bank for a very long time.

The solution is easy, BOS should be offering a similar account, or Halifax should accept postal applications.

If the account had been in BOS's portfolio previously, and was now unavailable to anyone who could not visit a BOS branch, I can imagine the outcry.

You cannot compare this to the situation with uni fees or prescriptions, that's politics. We are talking about a bank account, one that encourages people to put money by each month for their children.

beecher2

I too am suprised that we haven't been sent a letter, perhaps highlighting which of our accounts are Halifax and which are BoS.

I have Power of Attorney over my mum's accounts, and seemingly everyone with PoA who uses online banking had to re-register by the end of last month in order to be able to create new accounts. Again, no letter and it took me 45 minutes on the phone followed by 30 minutes in a branch to find this out.

jennifernil

beecher2 wrote: »

I only discovered this myself today - as far as I know we can still access all of the online accounts so you should be able to still get the 2.8% Online Saver. It is very confusing - the person behind me in the queue was being told that 2 of her accounts were Halifax ones, and one was BoS.

Yes, absolutely no problem opening internet, telephone or postal accounts, it's the "branch only " ones that are the problem, and this applies to all children's accounts.

BOS and Halifax branches have no problem servicing each other's accounts, it's only the opening of them that is the problem.

BOS accounts pretty much mirror the Lloyds ones, in fact some Lloyds ones are better. Their "Young Saver" pays 3%, while the BOS one is only 2%.

beecher2

jennifernil wrote: »

Yes, absolutely no problem opening internet, telephone or postal accounts, it's the "branch only " ones that are the problem, and this applies to all children's accounts.

BOS and Halifax branches have no problem servicing each other's accounts, it's only the opening of them that is the problem.

That's a real pain and I bet you few people in Scotland know about it. Might be worth getting in touch with the Evening Times. I doubt if we can do much about it, but people should at least be told.

jennifernil

beecher2 wrote: »

I too am suprised that we haven't been sent a letter, perhaps highlighting which of our accounts are Halifax and which are BoS.

I have Power of Attorney over my mum's accounts, and seemingly everyone with PoA who uses online banking had to re-register by the end of last month in order to be able to create new accounts. Again, no letter and it took me 45 minutes on the phone followed by 30 minutes in a branch to find this out.

You should be able to see on your internet banking which are BOS and which are Halifax.

I have 3 BOS accounts , 5 Halifaxes, plus 4 for the grandchildren, the logos to the left on my screen differ according to which they are.

jennifernil

beecher2 wrote: »

That's a real pain and I bet you few people in Scotland know about it. Might be worth getting in touch with the Evening Times. I doubt if we can do much about it, but people should at least be told.

With the children's accounts, you will only find out when you go to your usual branch to try and open a new one. The letter they send out when the RS matures does not mention it, and they even enclose a booklet telling you about all their savings accounts.

beecher2

jennifernil wrote: »

You should be able to see on your internet banking which are BOS and which are Halifax.

I have 3 BOS accounts , 5 Halifaxes, plus 4 for the grandchildren, the logos to the left on my screen differ according to which they are.

I was going to say mine all had piggy banks for their logos but then I thought I'd try logging in to Bank of Scotland rather than Halifax (didn't know I could do that!) and I see the logos there so thanks for that. Mine are all Halifax so I need to hope that BoS keep servicing them.

beecher2

opinions4u wrote: »

So before Bank of Scotland merged with Halifax, how accesible were their savings accounts to English customers? Or Welsh customers?

Halifax customers cannot buy the Bank of Scotland Incentive Saver account without a trip over the border. It works both ways.

It's a branch based account you want. The branches are in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Racist it isn't. Geography, it is.

I'm pretty sure there were Bank of Scotland branches in England - there were certainly plenty of Halifax branches in Scotland. There's a BoS branch in London - I think there should be a Halifax in Edinburgh at the very least.