NATWEST ISA transfer delay

lisyloo

What the banks earn from investing consumer money is not going to be equivelant to what they pay me, i.e. the banks probably gain £millions in return from their investments, and then pay me a competative rate in interest.

So what benefit do they get by not displaying the amount to you on screen or paper?

but how do you know they never received my original cheque?

That statement works both ways.
My point was that you cannot conlude 100% that Nat West are at fault, although I would totally agree they are looking pretty bad right now.

so how would we ever know?

We don't but what's the benefit to them pretending they haven't processed the cheque?
I gagree they can invest and get higher returns elsewhere, but that would happen whether it appears on your account or not.

but when do the banks get charged £500? Is this a fine, or a fee or what? Financial instituations have to finance the FOS, that the fee per complaint if the customer raises it with the FOS.

The banks finance the FOS.
It's around £500 everytime a customer complains to the FOS.
Yes I think is a disincentive for them, you need to scale it up, add their staff costs (which can sometimes be an actuary), bad publicity etc.

but how do you know Natwest haven't earnt tripple that per customer through investing our £1.5million somewhere.

But wouldn't they earn this anyway.
Whether it appears on your statement/screen on not?
Sorry I really don't get this point.

it would not suprise me in the slightest if Natwest take advantage of the time granted in complaints

Please explain to me what advanatage they are getting.
We agree the cheque is probably in their possession although no-one knows exacly where.
What advantage are they getting by not displaying your ISA amount on the computer screen or paper statement?

I am not saying Natwest aren't dreadful. I think they are incompetant, slow, have planned badly etc. but I am failing to see the benefit to them not displaying the amount, in fact there are costs for them in dealing with phone calls and complaints not to say the bad relationships and publicity.

t0rt0ise

NatWest are holding up my ISA transfer but in the other direction. Trying to move money out from them to another and they have been asked for the cheque but not responded. It seems that NatWest are either understaffed or incompetent.

104peterb

Lisyloo I guess you're right, I suppose they would be earning greatly regardless of being on or off screen.

I'm just so suspicious of why they take so long. Why the hell do they still use cheque? I know its such a cliche question to ask, but there must be a logic reason for why they do it, and I guess thats where my banking knowledge stops. It winds me up so much that despite already waiting 7 weeks, I still have to wait a further 5 weeks for somebody to properly sort it/take it seriously should they fail to resolve it.

Things like cheques being lost in the post is a really poor excuse now days.

I'm actually in the process of buying my first house, in which I will be using the money in my ISA for a deposit. Hopefully, by the time I actually need the funds, they'll be safely sitting in my account, but what will happen if they are not?

T0rt0ise your situation sounds like a pain also. How long have you been waiting?

Gaffy

Maybe Natwest is slow dealing with cheques from certain banks. For me, the whole process took 10 days (30 April to 10 May) to complete, with the money showing up in my E-ISA account. Just have to now wait to see if they backdate the interest for those 10 days.

Arkle56

Well blow me down ....my ISA transfer has completed today .....this is 28 days after making the application and 13 days since Britannia closed the other account.

I do feel very relieved and almost like I've won the pools !.

I think I will now wait a little and see how the other posters here resolve matters and then I shall make a formal complaint .

Hope everyone gets sorted out without too much further hassle

lisyloo

I'm just so suspicious of why they take so long

I think your suspicion is misplaced IMHO.
I read a good saying somewhere "Never attribute to malice that which can adequately be explained by incompetance".
I do not think it's cynical because there is simply no benefit to them whatsoever and significant disadvantages like complaints, bad publicity etc.
I think it's much more likely they have failed to plan properly for the response to a great rate and been caught with not enough staff.
When something goes out in Martins email these days the response can overwhelm companies although they should have forseen this.
It's still difficult in reality to plan staffing for peaks. Ultimately there will be delays.

Why the hell do they still use cheque?

Partly because it's not just a transfer of money.
It's also a transfer of important tax paperwork.
But I agree why not do that electronically?
I would guess it's not a priority for IT spending.
For the sake of fairness it isn't Natwest writing the cheque it's other providers, so whilst I think they deserve a good bashing, they are not to balme for other providers writing cheques, 3 bank holidays, or the speed of snail mail.

I still have to wait a further 5 weeks for somebody to properly sort it/take it seriously should they fail to resolve it.

As soon as you submit a complaint they should start taking it seriously.
I am personally glad there is a timescale after which you can go independently to the FOS. It gives a deadline to the banks and I'm glad we have such a deadline rather than it being totally open ended.
But you complaint should be treated seriously from day 1, so I don't agree entirely with your comment.
All companies I've dealt with (and I'be won a number of compalints) have proper processes in place and deal with complaints appropriately.

EDIT: You should also be aware there can be delays at the FOS. Unsuprisingly they don't have staff sat round twiddling their thumbs waiting for your complaint, so you may have to wait weeks/months to be assigned a caseworker. Sorry but that's the reality (I've done about 7 I think - won 6). The reality is staff cannot be hired and fired in relation to the workload especially if it's a trained job.

Things like cheques being lost in the post is a really poor excuse now days.

So are you saying if you letter was genuinely on fire in a Royal Mail van vehicle accident, that it would be Nat West's fault?
How is that justified?
It's very small numbers but things DO sometimes get lost in the post.
Sometimes it's no-ones fault e,g, if a driver has a heart attack.

but what will happen if they are not?

I can understand that you might not have known things went by cheque or how long it takes but I think you were taking a risk transferring an ISA when you may have needed access. Things can always go wrong where human beings are involved and however much you don't like it things do sometimes get lost in the post. There are accidents, fires, thefts and heart attacks sometimes.
Sorry, but that's the reality.
At least you'll know for next time.

Although I have £68K out there, I'm not going to get too upset as long as the interest is backdated which I know that one way or another it will be.

lisyloo

this is 28 days after making the application and 13 days since Britannia closed the other account

Have you taken out the weekends and bank holidays.
Day 1 starts when the outgoing provider receives the request (which may be difficult to know exactly).
Just wondering what are your grounds for the formal complaint?

innovate

Agree with your assessment of the situation, lisyloo.

Just some additional words about this aspect:

lisyloo wrote: »

Partly because it's not just a transfer of money.
It's also a transfer of important tax paperwork.
But I agree why not do that electronically?
I would guess it's not a priority for IT spending.
For the sake of fairness it isn't Natwest writing the cheque it's other providers, so whilst I think they deserve a good bashing, they are not to balme for other providers writing cheques, 3 bank holidays, or the speed of snail mail.

As you say, an ISA transfer isn't just a "faster payment", all sorts of tax aspects need to be handled as well. Today, I think they are basically all still using cheques / snail mail etc for ISA transfers (exceptions would be if you transfer within the same provider - that is usually just a phonecall, or you might even be able to do it yourself online).

There's good news in the pipeline though: according to their industry association, they have made tangible improvements over the years and "This work is continuing with the development of an electronic transfer system for Cash ISAs, expected to be available to BACS members later this year, followed by an industry-wide extension in 2013."

So all our ISA transfer woes will be a thing of the past this time next year (well, I can dream!). We'll have to find something else to get upset about then!

lisyloo

I think they are basically all still using cheques / snail mail etc for ISA transfer

I have a very quick (few days) ISA transfer a few months ago from Halifax -> Virgin/Northern Rock.
If it went by post then both sides dealt with post immediately.
One difference was that it was not a top rate ISA I chose.

I've just had my Nat West money appear.
I posted mine 9th April (which I knew was Easter Monday).
Nat west recived it 16th.
So if Vrigin recived on 20th (day 1) then it's been done within the 15 day time limit.
I would prefer it to be quicker but it looks like it's been done in the timescale.
All I need to do now is check they give me the correct interest and if they don't I'm confident that they will because I know there is a free service to independently resolve it.
Of course we'd all like things done quicker but an 8 week timescale is better than none at all as in some aspects of life.
I've done a section 75 complaint and there are no timescales you just have to wait and wait. Similarly for car insurance repairs they can take as long as they want (1 guy waiting 8 monhs for parts on another forum).
Finance is one of the better regulated industries for getting complaints resolved both independently and free.

innovate

lisyloo wrote: »

All I need to do now is check they give me the correct interest and if they don't I'm confident that they will because I know there is a free service to independently resolve it.

Can you post details about that free service please?