Stung by halifax web saver reward scam. Advice?

opinions4u

helifox wrote: »

Anyway, if you open it straight after receiving it, you can't see the interest rate (see opinions4u thread opened on 1/04/2011)

The one where the discussion confirms that the rate was visible on the second working day after opening?

helifox

opinions4u wrote: »

The one where the discussion confirms that the rate was relevant on the second working day after opening?

Yup, that's the one... unless of course I was on the old interface in which case the interest rate wasn't visible at all.

Hominu

helifox wrote: »

I wasn't aware that sitting and watching your money, and checking that you have the right interest rate were in the T & C's for the account. I had quite a lot of other stuff to attend to, (mostly critical illness and death).

If you were that busy with other more important stuff, why did you even bother with the hassle of opening a new account and transferring funds for the sake of 0.5% ? That's like £250 on 50K. Sure, if you've nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon then fine, but if I was dealing with critical illness and death I wouldn't care what my interest rate was at.

mgarl10024

While I feel some sympathy for helifox, and agree that the application was (at best) confusing and (at worst) sharp practice, I don't think it was a scam. I also don't rate helifox's chances of success, and would like others recommend that they just move on.

Sadly, it disappoints me that a bank is able to genuinely offer a savings account at 0.25%. That's below the base rate, and well below the rate of inflation, leaving the 'saver' with next to nothing, especially after any tax liability. That really would be a "losings account" to quote the MSE site.

Making absolutely no reference to helifox, I imagine these low rates catch the more 'loyal' and less financially literate, whilst the more savvy members of this forum get the better rates. At this point I become torn - it is better that everyone gets the same mediocre average rate, or is it better that those who put in the effort and shop around get rewarded? A discussion for another time and thread perhaps - but it is hard to see how a bank that supposedly "gives you extra" can offer an account like that at all.

helifox

Hominu wrote: »

If you were that busy with other more important stuff, why did you even bother with the hassle of opening a new account and transferring funds for the sake of 0.5% ? That's like £250 on 50K. Sure, if you've nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon then fine, but if I was dealing with critical illness and death I wouldn't care what my interest rate was at.

...Because one of the critically ill people was sitting next to me wanting to do her banking!?

Hominu

helifox wrote: »

...Because one of the critically ill people was sitting next to me wanting to do her banking!?

Ok, why would a critically ill person care about 0.5% ? I would have thought they were more interested in trying to get through each day as it came.

I can see now why you are so defensive on this forum, you have basically lost them over £1000 during the last year and your taking your anger out towards the bank and other people for a mistake you have made yourself.

Suck it up, put it down as experience, and pay them the £1000 you lost them.

talexuser

Undoubtedly the o/p has responsibility for missing the point of the form. However I have a sneaking admiration for sticking with this to the point of stubbornness. It is unfortunate that more evidence of the changes (and article) was not known for the original claim. Perhaps the chance of an ex gratia has receded now, and I would not spend any serious money on further claims.

However there is a wider aspect of organisations offering a multitude of accounts with very similar names but with large variations in value for money which does seem endemic. But this free market does offer the savvy the best buys which would not be there otherwise.

My personal bugbear is finding the current interest rate. Things are slowly getting better, but not fast enough for me, where to check on your various withdrawn bonus accounts means multiple clicks, and maybe ploughing confusingly through pdfs of columns of similar account names for some organisations. But Halifax is one of the good guys here with the rate clearly shown now, and previously just one click away on your actual transaction page.

helifox

talexuser wrote: »

Undoubtedly the o/p has responsibility for missing the point of the form.

What is it with you guys?

The BCOB makes it the responsibility of banks to be clear and not misleading. A large banner advert saying 'for 2.8% Click here' is clear enough. Not mentioning that that rate drops to .25% if you click yes to what seems an ordinary option question is not clear enough. Even Halifax accepted this...
"We accept the process could have been clearer" and reviewed the form. Eventually they declared the interest drop.

However I have a sneaking admiration for sticking with this to the point of stubbornness. It is unfortunate that more evidence of the changes (and article) was not known for the original claim.

That is simply because Halifax withheld the information. They have still never delivered up the original advert. They have an obligation to look after customers interests, deriving from the BCOB. They also have an obligation to live up to their promise of 'giving a little extra help', since it is written on the top of the application. The product being applied for was to all appearances the Variable rate Web Saver (that is the title of the application) and that is what was delivered by Halifax. The only bit missing was the promised reward: 2.8%. True; the application they finally sent me had a small print warning at the top - but there was no mention of the interest rate drop.

I didn't see the warning - if it was there. This has not been conclusively proved by Halifax. ( No digital date stamp on the form...) If one is to decide according to probability, it is quite likely that the third form they sent was wrong, since the first two were. It took many people on this thread a long time to realise that the forms they were claiming held information that I should have seen actually weren't in existence at the time of our application.

Perhaps the chance of an ex gratia has receded now, and I would not spend any serious money on further claims.

Halifax also have an obligation to fairness. The card was never used. They have made up the lost interest to other customers who were similarly misled. Throughout this period, thanks to their POA systems confusions, we had no access to telephone banking in order to confirm anything.

helifox

Hominu wrote: »

Ok, why would a critically ill person care about 0.5% ? I would have thought they were more interested in trying to get through each day as it came.

Because they had vascular dementia as a result of two strokes, but had previously been powerful and in control, so it was very painful for them to be so helpless and to have lost control of their world. They wanted to participate, even though they weren't really able to anymore. That is all the explaining about this I am going to do for you. I doubt whether you have the capacity for empathy.

helifox

mgarl10024 wrote: »

While I feel some sympathy for helifox, and agree that the application was (at best) confusing and (at worst) sharp practice, I don't think it was a scam. I also don't rate helifox's chances of success, and would like others recommend that they just move on.

Sadly, it disappoints me that a bank is able to genuinely offer a savings account at 0.25%. That's below the base rate, and well below the rate of inflation, leaving the 'saver' with next to nothing, especially after any tax liability. That really would be a "losings account" to quote the MSE site.

Making absolutely no reference to helifox, I imagine these low rates catch the more 'loyal' and less financially literate, whilst the more savvy members of this forum get the better rates.

Does the BCOB mean nothing? Does 'giving a little extra help' mean nothing? The reason Halifax gave such good interest rates is because they wanted to attract higher earners, instead of floundering as the poor people's bank.
Don't banks have a duty to make their products clear and accessible, instead of requiring elitist training... and where are these great rates, anyway?
2.8% is anyway nothing to write home about, except it is the best on offer, because savers are being penalised for organisational debt.