Have I been advised on the wrong account?

Elvisia

I was in Santander opening an ISA, and the woman was really insistent I open their 123 account. I said I didn't have any direct debits so it wasn't right for me, and she said that I could get up to 3% interest on my money even if I wasn't eligible to earn cashback on direct debits, which made my ears !!!!! up as I have one of their preferred accounts at 5% which is about to end and I want the money in a current account rather than locked away. So I said I will go and think about it, and I had decided this evening to open an account online, but it said that I have to have 2 direct debits or I won't get the interest. I kept telling the woman in Santander it wasn't the right account as I have no direct debits and she was really insistent that I should open this account. So I guess my question is, was she mis-selling this to me, and would I have found out too late I was paying £2 a month for an account that would pay no interest?

If this is right then I am really p***d off as I was previously given a 123 credit card which I was told was free - again when I was opening an ISA - and it wasn't until I happened to read all the small print that I saw there was a £24 a year fee.

It makes me just want to shove all my spare pennies under the mattress.

JuicyJesus

Elvisia wrote: »

It makes me just want to shove all my spare pennies under the mattress.

Not really the best reaction. A better reaction would be to go to a bank with better service (i.e. any bank other than Santander.)

If you're really unhappy about this, feel free to bung in a complaint. They might give you a few quid for your troubles, they might not. But you now have the correct information and you haven't actually taken out the product or suffered any loss.

Gromitt

Of course they are insistent, they'll say anything they can to get you to open the account to meet sales targets. Complaints are for another department to deal with.

Maybe a better account for you would be Lloyds TSB Classic with Vantage. 3% on credit interest between 3K and 5K. No DDs required and they actually try and be helpful when you visit a branch. Oh, and its free.

Elvisia

I was speaking to my mum this morning, she said she'd had exactly the same problem, and then laughed. Said when she went in to open an ISA in her name as well as do some banking with my dad's current account - he is terminally ill at home so she has to go and pay things into his account in branch - and they asked her if she wanted to transfer the contents of his account into her ISA!! Mum apparently had to nearly shove her fist in her mouth to stop herself from saying "yes! fill it up!".

thatsean

Elvisia wrote: »

I was in Santander opening an ISA, and the woman was really insistent I open their 123 account. I said I didn't have any direct debits so it wasn't right for me, and she said that I could get up to 3% interest on my money even if I wasn't eligible to earn cashback on direct debits, which made my ears !!!!! up as I have one of their preferred accounts at 5% which is about to end and I want the money in a current account rather than locked away. So I said I will go and think about it, and I had decided this evening to open an account online, but it said that I have to have 2 direct debits or I won't get the interest. I kept telling the woman in Santander it wasn't the right account as I have no direct debits and she was really insistent that I should open this account. So I guess my question is, was she mis-selling this to me, and would I have found out too late I was paying £2 a month for an account that would pay no interest?

If this is right then I am really p***d off as I was previously given a 123 credit card which I was told was free - again when I was opening an ISA - and it wasn't until I happened to read all the small print that I saw there was a £24 a year fee.

It makes me just want to shove all my spare pennies under the mattress.

Bit dramatic. Would a Lloyds Classic account with Vantage not fit the bill?

And, you weren't advised. Not from an FSA point of view - had you applied in branch you'd have had to sign the FSA no advice disclaimer moments after the PBA said " I advise you to open this account"

Ultrasonic

Firstly, you are right, the 123 account was not suitable, and nor would it have been the best option for you IMHO even if you did have two DDs to be paid per month.

Elvisia wrote: »

...I want the money in a current account rather than locked away....

What is wrong with an instant access savings account? Either Santander's eSaver (3.2% interest) or the Post Office Online Saver (3.17%) interest will both give you instant access to your money and both pay higher interest than either the 123 account or a Lloyds TSB Vantage account (and without the hassle of having to regularly pay money in).

Elvisia

Thanks for this - have just opened Post Office Online Saver which suits me better! I've just started being self employed so I don't know if I will have regular money to pay in until my work really takes off, so I can't pay in £500 a month anyway for the Santander account unless I start fiddling around and just move the £500 from another account into it regularly. Which I hate as these sorts of things always go t*ts up for some reason!

pmduk

It's surprising that during posts like this none of the satander staff apologists appear to tell us how wonderful they are!

innovate

Elvisia wrote: »

Which I hate as these sorts of things always go t*ts up for some reason!

Very easy to make these things work like clockwork, using Standing Orders. You just have to set things up correctly once and then they work for as long as you want them to work.

I know people who have been managing money flow for years between FD, Llloyds, Santander, Halifax and Nationwide, with never one bit of a problem, and literally no effort from them. With almost anything being online, and faster payment, these days, it is also very easy to view your up-to-date accounts at your convenience.

ses6jwg

pmduk wrote: »

It's surprising that during posts like this none of the satander staff apologists appear to tell us how wonderful they are!

You get bad staff in every bank, and this sounds like one of them.

Unfortunately most high street banks these days impose almost unachieveable targets on their front line staff who are often on little more than minimum wage.

The sales pressure is horrendous and those who do not meet their targets will be sat down for "performance management reviews" and are often ridiculed or "pulled up" in front of other members of staff either by line managers or on "tele conference calls".

This can sometimes lead to staff mis-selling products. Then when it happens management simply wash their hands of the problem and will always blame the staff member in question.

Frogletina

My dealings with Santander have been poor.

My Isa transfer was late because the adviser stapled the form to be sent to head office to the back of the paperwork she gave to me. It took her over a week to ring me as she said that was realised eventually that this was the only place she could think it could be.

When I went back in with the form I was talked into taking out a 123 account. But I wanted to keep my premier account for the travel insurance. No problem at all, I was told. You can transfer 500 into your premier account a month as you to now and then transfer it into the 123 account.

Hmm. Yes I could do that, I thought as I read the leaflet later, but internal transfers do not count as towards the minimum funding of the account.

I was asked where my savings were and how much interest I was getting. 4%, I said. Oh, transfer it here I was told, this is how much you will get.

Hmm, a maximum of 3%, not going to do that.

So I waited for the account to appear on my online banking - it didn't happen. I rang and was told it had been set up but the address didn't match.

Hmm. That's funny, I thought - my isa showing on there. But they took the details anyway and said it was all set up so I went to set up my direct debit but it was too late for my gas and electric to change for this month so I rang them again today. Nope, not our fault, they said, as I was passed around and around. Your fault I said - ok, they said take £10 compensation.

Well that was hard work.