Halifax won't let me open a savings account without seeing an advisor?

George_Mainwaring

The Halifax are a strange bank. They refused to give me a stocks & shares ISA after I went in to a branch to explicitly ask for one. They said I could complain to the FSA and get them fined later on if I suddenly needed the money. I only wanted to move 5% of my savings into the ISA, and they already happily gave me cash ISAs and other fixed term accounts that had locked-in similar amounts of money for several years and would be subject to big penalties if I closed them early.

The only difference with the stocks & shares ISA is that the value of the investment might go down as well as up. But that's the whole point of stocks and shares!

And yes, their financial advisers ask you scores of invasive questions that are none of their business whilst also trying to refer you to their probate and inheritance tax advisers and other departments looking to make money from you.

If I asked for a loan or credit then it would be fine. But if I want to put a small slice of my savings into a stocks and shares ISA after they've warned me it needs to be a long term investment and the value could go up or down, why can't I? I'm an adult with a sound mind. To be outright refused was incredible.

Oh, and someone else on the thread suggested staff shortages for the delays in seeing a financial advisor. I can tell you from experience that how the Halifax tend to work these days is they have a reduced number of advisers and make them work at different branches on different days in shared offices/desks. So there will only be certain days of the week when some branches can make an appointment for you, and at busy times of the year such as around the start of the tax year, they quickly fill up their schedules.

Most companies with busy periods in the year hire extra temporary staff (such as the Post Office at Christmas), but I suppose if the Halifax are so gripped by paranoia over the FSA, they wouldn't trust temporary staff in case they make mistakes or end up selling products to the wrong people.

atush

Macca83 wrote: »

There are no forms.

A year ago Halifax was on an entirely different system. So what you think you may know about opening a children's account a year ago is irrelevant.

How about you go in tomorrow kick up a fuss and demand that your account is opened there and then without seeing a banking advisor. Then next year when you find out the interest rate is 0.1% or you can't withdraw your child's savings. You can come back in here and start a thread about how Halifax misled you into losing out on your child's savings

just an idea...

Sorry, didn't realise theis was a Halifax only thread (although i did open an halifax acct online 2 years ago and then had to go into branch and sign via a teller)


Thought this was about all acct.chikdren's accts as the OP is coinsidering walking?

wookie66

I am having a nightmare trying to open an ISA for my elderly father with Halifax. I opened one without any problem since already have other accounts with Halifax

My father however doesnt and therefore the online application we made out wasnt fully processed since it asked him to bring suitable ID to the local branch in order to verify his identification

Heres where the problems began since he has mobility difficulties and getting him physically over to the high street is a mission

So I took his ID documents to a Halifax Branch near my work and lo and behold they were unable to accept this since my father had to physically be there so that they could visually verify he is the same person as the ID documents ie his passport and utility bill.

UNBELIEVABLE!!! Told them that have previously opened other accounts for family members at Nationwide, Abbey and HSBC where I took the ID documents and there was no problem

"Sorry sir" was the reply "new rules require us verify / physically match the ID documents with the person applying"

I got the feeling this was like trying to apply for a permanent residency visa in USA or other country

So rang up HQ they advised we send in ID document copies certified by an appropriate professional and cover letter explaining his mobility issues

Did this and enclosed cheque from his HSBC for the full cash isa allowance a week ago and today received letter saying they are unable to verify his ID so please call the Online Banking Help Team

So give them a call and guess what they are only open 9-5pm weekdays and 9-1pm weekends

Why oh why are they making it so difficult to open an account. Fully understand all the money laundering implications etc but for god sakes surely in this day and age Halifax should be able to electronically verify a professional OAP who has lived at the same address for over 30years and has other bank accounts and on the electoral roll and holds a driving licence and UK passport??

It seems bureaucracy and silly rules have gotten in the way of common sense and we may well not bother with Halifax and open an ISA with another provider even though latter offers best ISA rates for fixed term deposits

jonmcclelland

The way I see it is, you wouldn't go to your doctors randomly and ask to see somebody, or you wouldn't go to the dentist and demand service. You'd call ahead, or you'd make an appointment to prevent disappointment.

I know a lot of people dread sitting in front of a banking advisor and that's understandable. It's their job to cross-sell and promote accounts and services, but if you're there for one thing in mind and one thing only, you can tell them that and they'll do what you want. Believe it or not, an appointment isn't there to hinder you, it's for your benefit. It's to make sure that you're fully aware of the range of services and any terms and conditions that may be linked to the account you're interested in.

Counter staff are trained for counter transactions and in most cases won't be fully trained or authorised to talk through an account opening with you. They may not have as much product knowledge when compared to a trained advisor. I'm sure if in a years time, some terms and conditions kicked in, or interest rates dropped you'd be first in the queue raising your concerns again. What you see sometimes isn't always what you want or should have and it's a trained advisors job to identify that.

In a perfect world, walk-ins could be seen but it's not always the case. It's unfair on people who've made the time and booked an appointment to review or open accounts to be left waiting. I know if I arranged a time on my day off to go to the bank and I had to be kept waiting because somebody was demanding to see somebody after walking in off the street I'd feel short changed.

At the end of the day, it's 30 minutes-1hr of your time. I see absolutely no excuses in not calling ahead or arranging an appointment if what you want to is important to you. If it's that much of a concern, use the online service or call centres.

opinions4u

Oh, and someone else on the thread suggested staff shortages for the delays in seeing a financial advisor. I can tell you from experience that how the Halifax tend to work these days is they have a reduced number of advisers and make them work at different branches on different days in shared offices/desks. So there will only be certain days of the week when some branches can make an appointment for you, and at busy times of the year such as around the start of the tax year, they quickly fill up their schedules.

Most companies with busy periods in the year hire extra temporary staff (such as the Post Office at Christmas), but I suppose if the Halifax are so gripped by paranoia over the FSA, they wouldn't trust temporary staff in case they make mistakes or end up selling products to the wrong people.

It simply isn't cost effective to hire, train and then fire staff to cover branch demand in the ISA season. The training and selling authorisation takes months.

As for your stocks and shares ISA problem I can only guess that you saw a Banking Adviser who couldn't sell the product and needed to refer you to an authorised Financial Adviser. If you were seeing the latter and he/she couldn't justify the sale as the product was unsuitable, so be it. You still have the choice of going elsewhere and buying on a non advised basis.

Or was there more to it?

surreysaver

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

You can apply for pretty much any account online/by phone/in branch. If you apply online/by phone depending on if they can electronically verify you or not, you may need to go into a branch to get your ID verified by someone.

Trouble is, children's identity cannot be verified onliner as they have no Credit Reference Agency records.

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

If you go into a branch to apply for anything, it must be done by a Banking Advisor. The cashiers do not open any accounts. They also do not have application forms to give to customers.They serve customers in the queue, and deal with general querys at the help & advice desk.

Perhaps if customers were told this, rather than being misled by websites and letters saying 'just pop in', then I wouldn't have so much of an issue.

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

We are still in the tax year end month. Most branches will be booked up with all the ISA's etc. Saturdays tend to be booked weeks in advance as they are most popular. Most are only open until 12, meaning about 3-4 appointments per Banking Advisor, so again not much space for walk ins.

I dont understand why you would think there would be someone free immediately when you walk in off the street. It's one of the busiest time of the year for branches. Of course it would make too much sense to call beforehand.

Unfortunately, customers are not psychic. If I was, I would realise this, and make an appointment, rather than just walking in and expecting to open a savings account as per the information on their website. If I knew the information on their website was lies, I would know to ignore it... It would only make sense to call beforehand if that is what you're told to do...

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

And yes it is all due to regulations that cashiers do not open accounts, and only advisors do. Financial advisors give advice on investments etc, Mortgage advisor obviously deals with mortgages, Banking advisors deal with Savings, Loans, Bank accounts, Credit cards etc. Cashiers do the counter. Simple.

What regulations? The only reason I haven't been missold anything is because I have ignored financial / banking advisors. It is not simple. You expect someone behind the counter in a bank to be able to open a savings acount. Simple.

HoneyAndLemon wrote: »

People moan about the banks mis-selling stuff, and yet when procedures are then set in place for ALL information to be laid out in front of the customer before they go ahead, people complain again. Cashiers would simply not have time to go through all the information customers are required to know these days.

Which is why the information is on their website. If someone walkins in asking for a product that they have obviously researched, then give it to them! As long as they are asked 'Have you read the small print' and the customer says 'yes', what is the problem?!

HoneyAndLemon

surreysaver wrote: »

Trouble is, children's identity cannot be verified onliner as they have no Credit Reference Agency records.



Perhaps if customers were told this, rather than being misled by websites and letters saying 'just pop in', then I wouldn't have so much of an issue.



Unfortunately, customers are not psychic. If I was, I would realise this, and make an appointment, rather than just walking in and expecting to open a savings account as per the information on their website. If I knew the information on their website was lies, I would know to ignore it... It would only make sense to call beforehand if that is what you're told to do...



What regulations? The only reason I haven't been missold anything is because I have ignored financial / banking advisors. It is not simple. You expect someone behind the counter in a bank to be able to open a savings acount. Simple.



Which is why the information is on their website. If someone walkins in asking for a product that they have obviously researched, then give it to them! As long as they are asked 'Have you read the small print' and the customer says 'yes', what is the problem?!

I dont even have the time to tell you how wrong you are about so many things so hopefully someone else will come along,but I will just add, when did people need to be psychic to realise its the tax year end?

surreysaver

opinions4u wrote: »

The moment a branch allows a customer through the door the FSA will consider the branch to have a duty of care to the customer. If the customer fills in the wrong form and ends up with the wrong product the finger of blame will be clearly pointed.

Duty of care? Who do they think they are - doctors? If a doctor didn't allow a patient to make their own decisions when they are fully compus mentus, they could be struck off.

opinions4u wrote: »

Where a customer is opening an account online no such duty of care exists. Although the various words, phrases and warnings on the product pages of a bank's web site are usually all thought through to ensure the customer has the necessary information to hand.

Why would they not owe a duty of care to an online customer? Surely with no face-to-face contact should cause them to be extra cautious about a customer that could be p!ssed or on drugs?

opinions4u wrote: »

You see the posts on here from people who want to withdraw from their term deposit but have, after the event, discovered a no withdrawals clause. You read the confusion people have around their ISA. You regularly get the question "what should I do with £50k for 3 months?" which really isn't rocket science but people struggle with it.

So why do I have to suffer because idiots are allowed to manage their own money? Perhaps there should be a flag on my CRA record that once set by an advisor, says: 'if this person wants to open a savings account, let them!'

opinions4u wrote: »

Like it or not the FSA has put the onus of protecting the interests of these people on to bank staff if the customer walks in to a branch or rings a call centre. Like it or not financial institutions have to come up with processes that meet these obligations. Invariably this means anybody selling an account, even if it's to order, has to follow that process.

I am responible for my own interests, not who the Government decides should be. It is because financial advisors sold people mortgages that shouldn't have had mortgages we're in the mess we're in. If have spent all my life ignoring what advisors have told me, and I'm better off for it.

opinions4u wrote: »

Some institutions may take their regulatory obligations more seriously than others.

It is an option.

But if they don't act the same way it may be worth pondering how seriously that competitor takes regulatory requirements.

Well, obviuosly people like me who are prepared and capable of making their own decisions are better off with those organisations who do not take their regulatory requirements seriously. Or perhaps these organisaitons have no need to take their requirements seriously because they have always acted sensibly and never got themselves into trouble in the first place?

surreysaver

ses6jwg wrote: »

Very few large banks will allow you to open an account at the counter any longer.

There are a few reasons:

1) Increased regulation
2) Less opportunity to cross sell other products
3) Creates queues which results in service complaints

1) Don't believe the regulation just to open a savings account. If I wanted to borrow a few grand, I could understand it.
2) They will be wasting their time if they try to cross sell other products.
3) Well, by not opening an account at the counter caused a queue and a service complaint...

surreysaver

Macca83 wrote: »

There are no forms.

A year ago Halifax was on an entirely different system. So what you think you may know about opening a children's account a year ago is irrelevant.

How about you go in tomorrow kick up a fuss and demand that your account is opened there and then without seeing a banking advisor. Then next year when you find out the interest rate is 0.1% or you can't withdraw your child's savings. You can come back in here and start a thread about how Halifax misled you into losing out on your child's savings

just an idea...

Well, no, because the account I want I know the money is locked in for five years, or at least if I withdraw it before five years I lose 165 days interest. Which in effect means if I close it less than 165 days after I open it I will get back less than what I put in. It is not rocket science. So in the event my 5 year old wants to put down a deposit on a house when he's nine, he won't get as much money as I thought he would...