NATWEST ISA transfer delay

foreversummer

Well, mine still hasn't been paid into my account. The money left Barclays on 17th April! I will have to go into the Branch I suppose if it doesn't turn up soon. That involves a 30 minute drive each way which is a pain in the backside really. Well, you live and learn.

Foreversummer

juliebunny

foreversummer, I would not waste your time and petrol going to the branch, in my experience they are also useless.

I rang the local branch of Nationwide this morning as I hadn't heard a bean since my appointment on 20 April at which I filled out my ISA transfer form. Just rang them. They gave me a number to call who told me they were the wrong department so who gave me another number to call. The lady there although very nice was dim and I had to repeat myself and correct her several times.

She kept asking me whether Barclays had told me if my cheque was in the post. In the end I had to tell her I had no clue what she was going on about. She then described the antiquated process that others on here have referred to, by which the banks transfer money by way of a cheque - she said it's because it's easier to trace when it goes missing - which of course mine has. The money does not touch the branches, it goes from one ISA department to another - via snail mail. Now my experience of the Royal Mail has always been very good, which seems to point the finger at the ISA departments in one or other of these banks.

I had not been updated, although the lady said they had chased it (after one month) and my cheques have allegedly been re-issued and are now 'in the post' - again. We'll see....

She then asked if I needed help with any other NW product - I said you must be joking, I'm no way moving any more accounts after this amount of hassle with my ISA. What a rubbish process. At least I know I'm not alone. And yes she assured me that my interest will be backdated but this is hardly the point. In this day and age, it's a ridiculous process that banks themselves (who were on the brink of abolishing cheques) can't trust their own electronic tracking systems. Perhaps they would like to compensate us for the time and phone calls I have had to make today - no, thought not....all I can say is that God I didn't have to deal with a call centre overseas, I think that would have finished me off.....

innovate

Isn't their advertising slogan "We are committed to becoming Britain's most helpful bank"? Well, they have got one hell of a long way to go!

juliebunny wrote: »

In this day and age, it's a ridiculous process that banks themselves (who were on the brink of abolishing cheques) can't trust their own electronic tracking systems.

ISA transfers are quite a bit different from normal money transfers - - it isn't just passing money from one account to another, all the tax excemption information has to be validated and passed, and the banks have to comply with HMRC transfer and ISA reporting rules. The good news (so we hope!) is, all the banks and building societies are said to be implementing an electronic transfer system next year.

Good luck with tracing your money - - and hopefully they will give you compensation for your related time and expenses. If I were you, I would raise a formal complaint and ask for compensation.

juliebunny

Thanks Innovate - only who do you complain to or about? Both banks will blame each other, and the Royal Mail. I wasn't even aware they had so called times within which they had to do certain things, but maybe if it gets to 8 weeks, I'll make a complaint, just to annoy them - but which bank do you complain about - each will say it's not their fault.....!

I blame the banks themselves, I used to work in a bank branch. Same old story, not enough staff. Staff left are treated with the attitude 'you should feel lucky to work here...'

innovate

The responsibility for the transfer lies firmly with the new provider, i.e. Natwest in your case. You should not need to get involved at all - - e.g. it's not your responsibility to check with Barclays whether they have sent a cheque.

You can download the industry standard ISA transfer timeline sheet from here.(*) They should be completing the transfer within 15 working days.

If you want to complain formally, you should do so with Natwest. Best do it in writing so you have proof of what you said. Also ask them to respond in writing, for the same reasons. Best to stick to plain facts in a complaint - leave emotions and guesswork out of it.

8 weeks come into play if you have raised a formal complaint and they haven't been able to deal with your claim satisfactorily in that timeframe. You can then take your complaint to the FOS.

EDIT: (*) this is from the BBA website.

lisyloo

Can you post details about that free service please?

Sorry for the delay.
It's called the Financial Ombudsman service (often referred to as FOS).
It's independent and free (apart from stamps).
Here's a link
http://www.financialombudsman.co.uk/

You can go to them after 8 weeks or when you have reached "deadlock" in your complaint with the bank, but the normal process is to formally complain to the bank first through their formal complaints procedure.
I know that's a pain but at least there is a timescale and an expectation set rather than it being totally open ended.

It works very well. I've won about 6 complaints in the past e.g. endowment mis-selling, pension mis-seeling, some running into thousands.
They have no vested interest as far as the banks go and will make a fair and independent decision.

I am confident that NatWest would sort out backdated interest internally if necessary, but I am doubly confident that if they didn't the FOS would sort it out especially (as you kindly pointed out for me) they link to the guidelines that say about interest being back dated on their website.

Big_Hairy_Spider

Similar experience for my missus re: NatWorst delays in processing her ISA transfer - with an added twist.

She transferred her ISA last February. Although frustrated with the delay and despite regular contact with her branch that everything was in hand, at the end of February she noticed a large deposit in her current account.

Her ISA funds had been transferred OUT of her ISA! Complaint 1. It took until April to resolve, and for her monies to be transferred to a NatWorst ISA.

Checking her introductory letter she discovered that she had been given a standard variable rate instead of a fixed rate. Complaint 2. NW had opened a completely different ISA from the one she signed for.

It has taken until now to resolve. Although regulated by the FSA, there was never an issue she was going to lose either money or interest, I was (for want of another word) gobsmacked with the apathy with which she was treated, and the subsequent pillar to post rhetoric she endured by NW staff.

In true Aesop style there are two morals to this story ... a/ Don't bother with NW and b/ At the same time I consolidated 3 ISA's into one Marks and Spencer account. All 3 transfers took 14 days. If only she'd listened to me ....

We have put it behind us and hopefully we will be able to laugh about it one day once the bitter pill of frustration has dissolved through the sands of time, but NW could have made it so much easier by at least trying to be 'helpful'

Arkle56

taxing91 wrote: »

When they paid your money in, was it the identical amount as was in your old ISA account, or have they already paid your backdated interest. I'm just wondering when I'll be getting the backdated interest, im guessing it will be at the end of the month

Sorry for the delay in replying .... the money paid in was the same as in the previous account ie no interest .

My bank manager informed me that interest would be paid but that it couldn't be paid into the ISA but would be paid into my current account ....I was too exhausted to argue over £25 so I agreed.... the interest money has now been paid .

This contrasts with another comment which says the interest is paid at the end of the ISA term [if I understood it correctly].....either way the bank has won by not paying the ISA interest on the interest !....Cunning disguise.

BettySpofkins

Arkle56 wrote: »

This contrasts with another comment which says the interest is paid at the end of the ISA term [if I understood it correctly]

You didn't. There is a difference between "paid" and "accounted for". You haven't lost a penny despite your obvious desire to feel hard done by.

ISA transfers take a while, and everyone here knew that before they set off on the process. With the market-leading rate, demand for the NatWest one was always going to be huge, and it's hardly their fault that the system is still somewhat outdated.

Sure it feels longer when your nest egg is "between banks", but amid all of this drama and self-righteousness, I can can see one person, or at a stretch two, in this thread who have any genuine grievance, and their stories are lost among all the noise.

innovate

BettySpofkins wrote: »

You didn't. There is a difference between "paid" and "accounted for". You haven't lost a penny despite your obvious desire to feel hard done by.

ISA transfers take a while, and everyone here knew that before they set off on the process. With the market-leading rate, demand for the NatWest one was always going to be huge, and it's hardly their fault that the system is still somewhat outdated.

Sure it feels longer when your nest egg is "between banks", but amid all of this drama and self-righteousness, I can can see one person, or at a stretch two, in this thread who have any genuine grievance, and their stories are lost among all the noise.

Not sure what you are trying to get at, BettySpofkins. Interest earned in an ISA should always be credited to the ISA, not to a current account (unless expressly requested by the ISA holder).

Despite what you are saying, Arkle 56 actually has "lost a penny" (more likely a bit more), and he/she doesn't strike me to have an "obvious desire to feel hard done by". The fact is that NatWest have completely mis-handled the ISA interest payment - firstly, the interest has been paid into a current account, thereby obliterating the point of an ISA because the interest should be tax free, and it is not so when paid into a current account. Secondly, the interest paid into the current account has lost its tax-free status. Thirdly, the compound tax-free interest has been lost for good.

All pretty dreadful, and in violation of the law (ISAs are governed by law).

Arkle56, I know you said it's only £25, but if I were you, I would raise a formal complaint with NatWest, asking them to correct the interest payment (backdating, paying into the ISA), for the reasons given above. Plus, I would ask for compensation for the time and effort you had to spend to make them do the job they should have done in the first instance, and for the stress they caused you in the process. If they don't settle this to your satisfaction, you have every reason to report them to the FSA for breach of their banking licence.

Don't let them get away with it - - - they would chase you for every last penny (and loads of charges on the pennies!) if you had made a mistake with your money. What is good for the bankers must be good for us as customers!