Best way to transfer money out of Sandander?

johnsmi

Hi folks,


I have life savings of 50k in a one year bond with Santander that has just matured, and the rate for another one year is only 1.2%.


I know that the Halifax pays 1.44% and I believe that Tesco bank pays 1.55% for a year. I am not interested in longer terms.


To be honest I don't want to go down the 123 account route with Santander as it does seem more trouble than its worth, setting up direct debits and a certain amount of money through account each month plus I believe the 3% interest for the first 20k only.


I don't know why they don't make things more simple for their loyal customers.


If I was to set up an online line account say with the Halifax or Tesco bank for a one year bond what is the quickest and most secure way to transfer the funds from Santander? To be honest doing it online myself for such a large amount of money I'd be a little nervous of putting in the wrong account number or sort code and the money going astray into someone's account.


Any advice as to the best account for one year and the best and quickest way to transfer the money appreciated.


Thanks
John

fwor

johnsmi wrote: »

To be honest I don't want to go down the 123 account route with Santander as it does seem more trouble than its worth, setting up direct debits and a certain amount of money through account each month plus I believe the 3% interest for the first 20k only.

The interest is worth an extra £300 a year, approx, so it's down to you to decide how much effort you can justify. Much as I dislike Santander (for its silly product strategies), I don't find it too onerous. I even got a free £100 from FD for opening the account that I use to "circulate" funds to meet the minimum funding level.

If you can't trust yourself to put your account number in correctly when making an online funds transfer, you can request that they pay you by cheque in the branch, though IIRC they have a max of £20k per day or something similar. Obviously you will earn no interest at all while the cheque clears.

Eco_Miser

To avoid slippy fingers when entering sort codes and account numbers, first copy/paste those numbers from the relevant online account into a text editor (eg Notepad), then copy/paste from there to the online transfer form, double checking every time, of course.

Personally, in your position, I'd be looking at
Nationwide FlexDirect (£2500 @5%)
TSB Plus (2x£2000 @5%)
Club Lloyds (£5000 @4%)
Santander 123 (£20000 @3%)
before anything paying less than 2%.
Setting up the DDs, and SOs to shuffle money about to meet the conditions is not exactly onerous, and only needs to be done once (for each movement)

Archi_Bald

There's a lot better places for some £40k-odd than a savings account - TSB Plus, Club Lloyds, BoS Vantage, Santa 123, Nationwide FlexDirect. Sure, it takes a bit of setting up but it yields between 3 and 4 times the interest of a savings account. £15K could also go into a 3% ISA at DotComUnity though this isn't instant access. There are also Regular Saver accounts that you can drip feed (FD, Club Lloyds etc).

Transferring of larger amounts online should always involve sending a small amount, say £1, first, to confirm the payment actually arrives in the right place. Whilst Santander has got a £100k daily limit for faster transfers, they also have a habit of holding up larger payments, and anyway, it is best to notify any bank in advance if you are planning to shift much more than £15K -£20K.

EDIT: doh, Eco Miser beat me to it whilst I was typing

xylophone

I am assuming from previous posts that you have a partner so that could be another two sole TSB Classic Plus and two joint - between the pair of you that is £12000 at 5% (gross).

Then 2 Nationwide sole Flex direct accounts and one joint gives £7500 at 5% gross for a year.

You might then consider the BOS Vantage sole and joint etc etc

A bit of trouble to set up but worth it for the extra interest you could earn?

IronWolf

It will remember sort codes and acc nos used in the past, so i usually transfer £1 first, then if it makes it transfer the full amount to the same account.

wearside_2

Following my FRISA maturing at Santander yesterday and trying to access funds unsuccessfully, I spoke to their Customer Service Team who could not tell me why this was! This morning I could access the funds so set up transfers to my wife's accounts (she is a non tax payer) at Santander 3%, Nationwide 5%, 2 at TSB 5% and 2 at Lloyds 3%. None of these transfers have actually been made despite it being seven hours since I set them up. I telephoned to find out about the delay in the 'Faster Payments' this is due to security checks and 'stuff'. I asked the operator what the 'stuff' was and was told that she had no idea. I asked to speak to the Security Section and was told that they do not speak to customers as they are back office staff.:mad:

I later spoke again to the Customer Service Team and was told that I could not access my FRISA yesterday as the funds were not available until 18.00. This is despite being told in a letter that funds were available on the 2nd. With regards to the delay this is due to security checks and 'stuff' and should be completed within 16 hours.:eek:

I would love to know what the 'stuff' is that Santander do :rotfl:

green1960

I would be careful transferring large amounts from Santander. We transferred £5000, and they blocked our internet banking.

Archi_Bald

Santander are well known for holding up larger payments, where 'larger' can be anything above £1,000. They seem to always be getting the money to the other end before the end of the next working day, which is what they are legally obliged to do. Juts because other payments / other banks are faster doesn't mean all payments must happen instantly or within a couple of hours.

chrisg67

green1960 wrote: »

I would be careful transferring large amounts from Santander. We transferred £5000, and they blocked our internet banking.

Yep they did that to me too for £1500. Got an OTP code sent to my mobile (having been through their security measures). Typed in OTP code, then they blocked my internet banking.

They then phoned me up on THE SAME MOBILE and I had to ring back to confirm that it was me that tried to make the transaction. I asked why they'd blocked my internet banking and apparently it was because "they wanted to check that it was me", so I asked why the OTP code wasn't enough and the reply was that my mobile could have been stolen.

So why: -

a) block my internet access altogether? - if my mobile has been compromised I need access to my account to verify what the status is.
b) ring me up on a mobile that they think might have been compromised in order to re-enable my internet access.

just not joined up thinking.

I find their policies difficult to fathom - they do offer some good products, but they are marred by terrible customer service.

innovate

chrisg67 wrote: »

So why: -

a) block my internet access altogether? - if my mobile has been compromised I need access to my account to verify what the status is.
b) ring me up on a mobile that they think might have been compromised in order to re-enable my internet access.

just not joined up thinking.

Sorry, there is no logic to your logic. They will have verified that it was you who answered the phone, rather than a fraudster. So all is joined up.

Although I agree in general that Santander's fraud protection measures for new payments are a huge irritant.