Faster Payment hold up

SuperHan

Archi_Bald wrote: »

To get your entire internet access blocked something other than a payment to a new payee would be the reason.

As above - not true! Halifax, part of the Lloyds group, blocked my account 5 times from trying to set up a new payee (in my name, to another Lloyds group account). They shut me entirely out of online banking each time the payment declined, even though I went through the telephone process correctly. I had to ring up several times to get the payment made and to regain access to my account.

The security questions were also ridiculous. 'I'm going to give you three dates, tell me which is when you opened your current account'

'Which current account, my Halifax?'

'I don't know, any one of the one's on your credit report. The dates are: March 1994, October 1997, July 1995'


How am I supposed to recall what month and what year any one of my accounts was opened?! I probably opened an account in each of those years!

YorkshireBoy

SuperHan wrote: »

I was told EXPLICITLY by Halifax not to do a test payment.

I have many accounts, and use Halifax as my hub, rather than setting up many payees at my other accounts.


I've always sent a £1 test payment to a new account and have never had my online banking access removed for this reason.


Indeed, the only time they've ever blocked it was during the implementation of the FP system some years ago. I was actively stoozing very high credit card balances at the time and it wasn't uncommon for my account to see £40K throughput per month!

YorkshireBoy

SuperHan wrote: »

'I don't know, any one of the one's on your credit report. The dates are: March 1994, October 1997, July 1995'

That says to me that they've either retained the last credit search they made of your file, made a specific credit search (or ID enquiry), or the monthly feeds they take from the CRAs are far more detailed than I thought!


I suspect it's the latter.

masonic

SuperHan wrote: »

As above - not true! Halifax, part of the Lloyds group, blocked my account 5 times from trying to set up a new payee (in my name, to another Lloyds group account). They shut me entirely out of online banking each time the payment declined, even though I went through the telephone process correctly. I had to ring up several times to get the payment made and to regain access to my account.

It must be true, if not they would be doing the same to all customers, but they don't. I've never experiences this, despite having opened several Lloyds group accounts recently and connecting them all together (and also with my existing 3 Lloyds group accounts) via £1 test transfers just prior to rotating £1500 around them in order to meet account funding requirements. Clearly you have been singled out, either for some other valid reason or unfairly.

jamesd

SuperHan wrote: »

The banks don't seem to buy in to the test payment.

If the banks don't want customers to do test payments to ensure that they have the payee details correct then the banks need to reduce the adverse consequences if those details are wrong, to the point that the customers can have near certainty that they will promptly get the money back. Something along the lines of the high speed of invoking the Direct Debit Guarantee. Until then prudent customers will make test payments to protect themselves.

Herbalus

I don't do test payments precisely to avoid this type of problem. It might not be prudent, but I do make damn sure that I get the number right. I check the copied number with what I've typed, then check what I've typed with what I've copied from, and then do it backwards. Twice.

If it's to a new account I've just opened, I'll copy and paste the number from online banking, and then do the above several times before sending it. If it's to my landlord, I'll copy and paste from email confirmation that I request, and if he sent me the wrong details, well, er, payment was sent to the account specified!