Shocked at annual interest on savings

droopsnoot

One of the things that gives me pause is the potential for things going awry - the more complex the hoops, the more likely things will go wrong. I know they shouldn't, but it concerns me. I've worked with computers for a very long time, I know there are a lot more safeguards in the banking sector than there were with my work, but that doesn't help.

For example I'm in a situation with Halifax where I'm trying to move money out of an account that's now only 0.2% into another (not in the Halifax) that's 1.75%, so I've signed in and created a new recipient and had it verified, done a test transfer of £1 to make sure the account details are correct, and when I've tried to withdraw a more useful amount, the transaction gets marked as 'for review', my on-line login account has been suspended, and my 25 minute phone call this afternoon proved fruitless. I now have to visit my local branch to prove that I should be allowed access to my own money. Happy enough with my ID when I was putting money in, now I have to prove again that I am who I say I am before they'll give it me back - which is not so easy, as I don't have a current passport and my driving license is a green paper one as it's never had to be sent off for points or whatever.

I am happy that they're taking some steps to look after my money, but I can't figure out what has prompted the review process in the first place. They wrote to me to tell me about the drop in interest rate, so it can't be a surprise that I'd be moving at least some of the money out. Despite my comments about it being too much trouble to chase a few hundred quid interest above - this is (or should be) a one-off easy transfer.

Archi_Bald

Would you rather they didn't make random checks which improve the security for all of us? I know it's a PITA but don't blame the banks. Blame the criminals and fraudsters as it is thanks to them that this level of security checking is needed.

jimjames

beancurd wrote: »

No, that sounds suspiciously like the Airport Security Defence to me. The banks, like the airports, need to make the level of security commensurate with intelligent risk. I'm sick of my credit card company calling me every month regarding the same regular monthly transaction by a multimillion pound company, value £4. Etc etc.

Absolutely.

Yet when a card holder not present transaction for £10,000 is put through from a local curry house they approve it without any query despite the fact it was over my credit limit and then wondered why I was complaining about their security!

droopsnoot

No, I'm happy that they're looking after my money. But when I phoned them I was put through to the "fraud" department, who wanted me to answer questions against my Experian credit report, and because I don't routinely apply for credit I have no idea what's in there. One of the questions was "what is the credit limit on your credit card?" which I can't say I'm certain of as it gets cleared off every month.

Ah well, I shall turn up to the branch this afternoon with a range of documentation and hope I can persuade them that I am who I say I am. One thing is for sure, if I was going to pretend to be someone, it would be someone far more interesting than me.

And I must do some test withdrawals from my other online accounts, to make sure this doesn't happen again. Luckily I'm not in a rush for the money, the odd day or two here and there doesn't matter much.

Steve_xx

droopsnoot wrote: »

No, I'm happy that they're looking after my money. But when I phoned them I was put through to the "fraud" department, who wanted me to answer questions against my Experian credit report, and because I don't routinely apply for credit I have no idea what's in there. One of the questions was "what is the credit limit on your credit card?" which I can't say I'm certain of as it gets cleared off every month.

Ah well, I shall turn up to the branch this afternoon with a range of documentation and hope I can persuade them that I am who I say I am. One thing is for sure, if I was going to pretend to be someone, it would be someone far more interesting than me.

And I must do some test withdrawals from my other online accounts, to make sure this doesn't happen again. Luckily I'm not in a rush for the money, the odd day or two here and there doesn't matter much.

It does sometimes happen when you set up a new payee. However, it normally only gets held for a short while.


This might be more of a dual pronged excuse, ie to verify who you are and also to try selling you something that they may want you to have.

colsten

droopsnoot wrote: »

One of the questions was "what is the credit limit on your credit card?" which I can't say I'm certain of as it gets cleared off every month.

You should know your CC limit, it is printed on all your statements, and shows on your online account if you have one.You don't need to get your CRA reports for this purpose. If you go over your CC limit, it could cost you dearly, even if you pay off the balance in full each month. Or you might not be able to make a purchase if you are too close to your limit. Bottom line is that it is in your interest to know what your CC limit is.

droopsnoot wrote: »

And I must do some test withdrawals from my other online accounts, to make sure this doesn't happen again.

There is no guarantee that subsequent withdrawals will not be referred if you can make a withdrawal now.You wouldn't want a fraudster to be able to make withdrawals from your account just because you once have made a successful withdrawal yourself, would you?

droopsnoot

colsten wrote: »

You should know your CC limit, it is printed on all your statements, and shows on your online account if you have one.You don't need to get your CRA reports for this purpose.

Of course, but I didn't have that information with me as I wasn't expecting them to ask me. My credit card isn't with Halifax, so I didn't for a moment expect that they would bring that into the equation. I also don't know what the situation would be if I had more than one credit card, would they want the total of all credit limits, or the highest one? Doesn't matter as I don't, but I wondered.

colsten wrote: »

There is no guarantee that subsequent withdrawals will not be referred if you can make a withdrawal now.You wouldn't want a fraudster to be able to make withdrawals from your account just because you once have made a successful withdrawal yourself, would you?

No, I've said that I'm happy they're looking after things, just that I think in this case it's a little over the top given the documentation and answers I have provided. And given the method for creating a new payee which includes phoning me on my registered telephone number and typing a code in, I might reasonably expect that a future payment to the same payee would go through. But we'll see.

I went to the local branch this afternoon with all my statements, out of date passport, original green driving license, an old Halifax passbook from 1978 showing my name and address, a credit card statement and a couple of other bits of reasonably official paperwork, and spoke to someone who called the fraud department on my behalf, having first convinced himself that I am who I say I am. That didn't go as easily as I'd hoped, but after he spent almost 30 minutes on the telephone, he finally managed to persuade them to release the payment.

One of the questions they asked was "what do you want the money for?", which, had I been in a more combative mood, might have been best answered with "because it's mine", but having explained that I'm chasing better interest rates it seems that was an acceptable reason for withdrawal.

Irony of ironies, when I got home I've had a letter from the holder of the account I'm moving the money to, saying "we don't normally see transactions on this account, but we've had one, is it OK?". So they're watching as well. Luckily I only have to get in touch with them if I did have a problem with it, which I don't.

colsten

droopsnoot wrote: »

Of course, but I didn't have that information with me as I wasn't expecting them to ask me. My credit card isn't with Halifax, so I didn't for a moment expect that they would bring that into the equation. I also don't know what the situation would be if I had more than one credit card, would they want the total of all credit limits, or the highest one? Doesn't matter as I don't, but I wondered.

you have completely lost me. Knowing the limit of your CC(s) is simply necessary. If you cannot remember it by heart, write it down in a place you have instant access to. But if you only have one CC, it should be easy enough to remember your limit, as every time you use your card you must make sure you are not busting it.

droopsnoot wrote: »

One of the questions they asked was "what do you want the money for?", which, had I been in a more combative mood, might have been best answered with "because it's mine", but having explained that I'm chasing better interest rates it seems that was an acceptable reason for withdrawal.

I don't know how old you are, but in the olden days when bank managers still pretended they had god-like status, you got asked a lot more more questions than you get asked now. When the bank managers lost their powers, things got a lot easier. Unfortunately, with terrorism, money laundering and cyber fraud on the increase, we all have to endure some additional checks now. As galling as it might be, it is in the interest of law-abiding people that such questions now get asked.

Glad you could sort out your money, and glad you didn't lose any of it to fraudsters.

droopsnoot

colsten wrote: »

... as every time you use your card you must make sure you are not busting it.

Ah, I see - I never get anywhere close to my credit limit on a monthly basis, so it's not something I memorised. I will now, of course.

colsten wrote: »

...Unfortunately, with terrorism, money laundering and cyber fraud on the increase, we all have to endure some additional checks now. As galling as it might be, it is in the interest of law-abiding people that such questions now get asked.

Yes, it's just frustrating that I've got someone on the end of the phone who won't reveal why they don't accept that I am who I say I am so that I can address a specific issue.

I am sure people have to deal with more hassle than I've had, and I accept that I'm unusual in having no current passport or photocard license, and fortunately going into the branch has it sorted now. Assuming the transfer goes through, that is.

jimjames

colsten wrote: »

you have completely lost me. Knowing the limit of your CC(s) is simply necessary. If you cannot remember it by heart, write it down in a place you have instant access to.

Getting away from original question but to be honest I don't know my credit limit either. I could look it up on a statement but when I spend maybe £500 on the card and the limit is in excess of £15,000 I don't need to worry about exceeding it.