Leeds 2yr FRISA issue 65 - was online application form incorrect?

Lad

When I applied, there were 2 versions of the application form on the last screen.

The correct one was linked to a button that you pressed to download the application form. This had the NI number on page 1 and the ISA declaration on page 3.

Somewhere on the last screen, there were some instructions to print off a form to send along with any cheques you wanted to be paid into the ISA. This form came off a hyperlink and looked like the application form but had no NI number on page 1 and no ISA declaration on page 3. It still wanted a date and signature though. I didn't quite understand the purpose of this form so just sent off the first (correct) one.

I too noticed my account disappearing from online banking and when I called about it, I was told that the reason was because the ISA isn't an online account. Hence its removal from online banking.

As I don't have a Leeds branch anywhere near me, I asked about the safety of sending my passbook (when I get it) through the post and I was told it should be fine as any attempts to withdraw money from the account using a passbook would need to be backed up with ID.


On a positive note, calls to Leeds were answered very quickly. I didn't have any long waits which is a bonus as they only have an 0845 number. I couldn't see any Freephone or landline numbers.

gwapenut

Has anyone successfully had a transfer initiate yet, and if so, when did you send your form to the Leeds, and when did the transfer start to occur from the donor's end?

They claimed that they requested 2 transfers for me at the end of April, but we are now in mid May and neither donor organisation is aware of any request pending.

I'm getting very tired of Leeds being slow and lying ....

KGriff

My application was sent off to Leeds on the 8th April. They received it 'officially' on the 15th.

The deposit cheque cleared on or about the 23rd April. My old isa disappeared from my old provider also on the 23rd (or around that date) and then the old ISA providers account was closed.

I phoned Leeds today (12th May) and the transfer cheque from my old provider has still not been paid into my Leeds ISA account. They said to me they were upto about the 22nd April (that was after I had mentioned the 23rd to them!!) and said it should be in some time later this week... But they promised to back-date the payment in, to 15 days after account opening ... So that means they will show the transfer money as deposited on the 30th April in my case.

It's a long time to do these 'simple' transfers .. Almost 2-1/2 to 3 weeks after my old provider closed down my previous ISA account online.

The real bad news is that my wife's 'Leeds ISA application and ISA transfer forms', which were posted in the very same postbox at the same time/date as my forms, were received several days after my forms.

Furthermore it was only yesterday morning (11th May) that her old ISA disappeared from her previous provider. So my wife thinks she might now have to wait a further 3 weeks longer. She is angry as her ISA account activation was only a couple of days after mine in mid-April.

The staff at Leeds have repeatedly told us that the 2yr FRISA was more popular than they ever imagined and they were overwhelmed by the amount of subscriptions and then they followed up that explanation, with the usual apologies for the delay.

I guess there is not a lot anyone can do... It sad that Leeds can't somehow keep people properly informed though, just to stop us all 'fretting' over these things.

gwapenut

What annoys me is that it's more likely than not that they led to me when they said they requested the transfers on the 29th.

If they'd told me the truth i could have put at least one of the isas into a better rate easy access account and earned double interest after 15 days!

I presume it is 15 working days... Though the person on the phone told me calendar....

KGriff

In the Leeds email sent at the time of ISA account activation, it just says this....

If you have requested an ISA Transfer please note that this has been requested from your ISA Provider.

Under industry guidelines interest will be paid from no later than 15 days after we received your application (assuming funds are not subject to a notice period).! This means on receipt of the ISA Transfer funds, we will backdate interest to no later than 15 days after the account opening date.

There is no mention of it being working days. So I presume it's a straight 15 days after the account opens.

billyboy

Received both passbooks today with backdated interest from day it left Halifax. This was after I mailed them last Friday with formal complaint about service. Then they told me they had not received my wife's transfer cheque but somehow must have found it. Funny that was just after complaint.

gwapenut

Well by a strange coincidence 2 days after complaining, one of my ISAs has transferred away from the donor. The other, which relies on slower postal cheque exchange, has not, which suggests to me that the commencement of transfer has resulted from my complaint rather than the 2 donor providers sitting on it for 2 weeks.

ie I firmly believe that Leeds lied to me when they said they'd requested ISA transfers at the end of April.

Still, a month on, at least the wheels have now finally been set in motion. I'll just keep a beady eye on when interest is backdated to.

butterflymum

For those who have received their passbook, does the 'account opened' date match with the date you opened it online or is it a later date than both that and the backdated cheque deposit and/or ISA transfer date? Also, under "2yr fixed rate ISA", does it then state "fixed tiered rates of interest until maturity"? The person I'm helping doesn't recall there being tiered rates, although isn't certain.

KGriff

In my case I applied online on the 8th April, the account opening date is shown in the passbook as the 17th April and the deposited initial payment date, is backdated to the 15th April (the day the Leeds Staff say they received the letter/application.

I am still waiting for my old ISA to transfer to the account... I will be calling Leeds again today to check on that.

It was tiered rates .. As I recall the terms and conditions stated this:

£100 - £14,999 1.70% Tax-free† p.a./AER* (Fixed)
£15,000+ 2.10%% Tax-free† p.a./AER* (Fixed)

Hope that helps.

KGriff

Further to my last post. I contacted Leeds BS a few moments ago, 15th May... and my old ISA has still not been paid/transferred into my Leeds account, despite leaving my provider on the 23rd April.. So that's over three weeks and they still haven't been able to add the money to my Leeds account.

I accept they will back-date the deposit, but it is a while to have to wait. My wife is in a similar position and once it's all sorted, we still have to pop to our local Leeds Branch (20 mile round trip) just to get the passbooks updated.

I think Leeds should consider extending the closing date for deposits, which was set to close at the end of May... I can see this may go on well into June, judging by the delays experienced so far.