Santander Major ISA interest

billn

I hope this doesn't turn into a Santander bashing thread but here goes.

Has anybody else checked their interest credited on the 2 May 12, mine is completely wrong, I transferred an existing Santander ISA which was done in 1 day and an external transfer which took a lot longer (done on the 12 Apr 12 so a very busy time ISA wise).

The interest was credited on the 2 May although on the website it said it would be the 1 June, the amount was wrong and the external transfer had not been back dated as promised.

I am in the process of sorting this out (unsuccessfully at the moment), but would appreciate it if anybody else with a Santander Major fixed interest ISA would check the interest credited.

Between me and my wife we are owed about £70 so not to be sniffed at.

innovate

Mine was wrong, too, and it took two recorded letters before they fixed it. I could really have done without that hassle but they apologised and compensated me, so I made a bit extra unexpectedly from that ISA.

Keep pestering them, they will eventually fix it, and they should be compensating you for your time and the distress caused.

billn

Thanks Innovate

I will keep on to them, as they got the ISA interest wrong I am now checking my Esaver interest but this amount changes several times a month so it is taking a bit to work out.

I will keep you posted.

billn

I think I have now got his sorted, after a letter I sent I received a phone call from them within 2 hours (tracked the recorded letter), the interest would have been back dated even if I hadn't chased them about it.

I will still have to wait until May next year to check the interest because they wouldn't update the online statement to reflect the interest accrued up to 1 May 2012.

billn

Update

I have now been credited with this years interest, it has been back dated to when the transfer took place and the figure is within pence of what I calculated it to.

I wish I could say the same about interest on my esaver5, I have never been able to work out exactly what the interest is, I am always a bit over or under the sum credited?

pqrdef

billn wrote: »

I wish I could say the same about interest on my esaver5, I have never been able to work out exactly what the interest is, I am always a bit over or under the sum credited?

Probably a question of how many days there are in the Santander month.

billn

I have tried every permutation of days, tweaking the interest rate (i am working to 8 places of decimal) and different excel formula. I have never got the figure to the exact penny over 11 months (monthly interest).

I have just opened a 123 account and the first months interest was exactly right with my calculation.

rb10

billn wrote: »

I have tried every permutation of days, tweaking the interest rate (i am working to 8 places of decimal) and different excel formula. I have never got the figure to the exact penny over 11 months (monthly interest).

I have just opened a 123 account and the first months interest was exactly right with my calculation.

A few options to try are rounding or truncating the interest rate, daily interest amount, or projected interest amount*, or only paying interest on whole pounds in the account (and not pence).

* Most banks calculate interest by projecting the balance forwards to the end of the interest period, i.e. on the first day they calculate the amount of interest you'd get if your balance remained flat at that amount. If on Day 5 you withdraw £1k, they'll subtract (1000* interest rate / 365 * days remaining in interest period) from the figure they initially came up with. They keep doing this each day that you've make a transaction.

(The reason for this is that it's fewer calculations for the computer to do - they only have to recalculate on days when your balance has changed rather than calculate each day individually).

Another place where you may be out by a few pence is if you've made transactions during the evening (typically, 7pm to midnight). It varies between banks, but any credits made during this time may not start to earn interest until the following day (& debits may continue to earn interest until the following day). Where a weekend or bank holiday is involved, the difference may be greater.

As you've seen, there are lots of permutations that can result in interest being out by a few pence. I generally find that interest is slightly off from my calculations, either over or under.

billn

Thanks rb10

I have searched for an answer to this but this is the first time I have heard of projected interest I will do some recalculating and see if I come any closer to the banks figure.

I have heard about transactions made in the evening and weekends not being earning interest until the next working day.

Thank you for taking the time to explain this, I am sure others on this forum will be interested in this.