Birmingham midshires Slow Transfers

Tiebreaker

As the Birmingham Midshires Online Extra Issue 18 is listed at MSE on their list of top paying instant access accounts, I thought I'd post this warning.

I opened an account a few days ago and found it takes 10 days until you can pay any money in using your linked account.

I've opened loads of online accounts over recent years (always switching my money around to get better rates) - and I've never known anyone take so long to let you pay in.

Usually I can start paying in instantly - and at most I might have to wait 24 hours or so.

If that isn't bad enough, it gets worse ...

I had an existing account at BM, so I thought it won't be a problem - simply do an "internal transfer" from my old account to the new Online Extra account - but when you log in to your account, there isn't even any way to do an internal transfers between your different BM accounts.

After searching online I found that someone else had this problem and had managed to transfer funds internally by calling them up - so I did just that and the transfer took place after about 20 minutes on the phone, trying to explain to the advisor what I wanted to do.

So 20 minutes to do what any other account would do in a couple of clicks.

Then, to top it off, after my transfer had been arranged, the advisor told me the funds from my old account should be in my new account by the end of the NEXT working day!

Over 24 hours to do an INTERNAL transfer!

Has BM heard of Faster Payments? Who gets my interest for the next 24 hours?

So, in short - good rate of interest, but if you like your banking in the 21st Century, better to give it a miss.

I'll stick with it now the account is opened, but when it comes time to switch I'll be making a note not to go back again.

ps2659

Tiebreaker wrote: »

As the Birmingham Midshires Online Extra Issue 18 is listed at MSE on their list of top paying instant access accounts, I thought I'd post this warning.

I opened an account a few days ago and found it takes 10 days until you can pay any money in using your linked account.

I've opened loads of online accounts over recent years (always switching my money around to get better rates) - and I've never known anyone take so long to let you pay in.

Usually I can start paying in instantly - and at most I might have to wait 24 hours or so.

If that isn't bad enough, it gets worse ...

I had an existing account at BM, so I thought it won't be a problem - simply do an "internal transfer" from my old account to the new Online Extra account - but when you log in to your account, there isn't even any way to do an internal transfers between your different BM accounts.

After searching online I found that someone else had this problem and had managed to transfer funds internally by calling them up - so I did just that and the transfer took place after about 20 minutes on the phone, trying to explain to the advisor what I wanted to do.

So 20 minutes to do what any other account would do in a couple of clicks.

Then, to top it off, after my transfer had been arranged, the advisor told me the funds from my old account should be in my new account by the end of the NEXT working day!

Over 24 hours to do an INTERNAL transfer!

Has BM heard of Faster Payments? Who gets my interest for the next 24 hours?

So, in short - good rate of interest, but if you like your banking in the 21st Century, better to give it a miss.

I'll stick with it now the account is opened, but when it comes time to switch I'll be making a note not to go back again.

For payments through the Faster Payments Service:
Sort Code 20 97 78
Account Number 00968773


However you must quote your personal account number as your reference.

Tiebreaker

ps2659 wrote: »

For payments through the Faster Payments Service:
Sort Code 20 97 78
Account Number 00968773


However you must quote your personal account number as your reference.

Yes, and that's a joke too.

Apart from the obvious inconvenience of not being able to make a Faster Payment directly to your own account number (you have to send it to a bank "holding account" with your account number as a reference) - the "Faster Payment" doesn't take place instantly as it does anywhere else.

I believe it can take at least 24 hours before the money reaches your account - no doubt with BM stealing your interest in their holding account for as long as possible,

amistupid

We've got a couple of AA internet Extra (Issue 16) accounts currently paying 1.40% Gross, these accounts are provided by Birmingham Midshires.

AA savings have informed us that from 2 September 2015 Birmingham and Midshires will no longer provide any new Savings Accounts.

Will I be able to somehow directly transfer the accounts we've got into the new Birmingham Midshires Online Extra Issue 18 which is paying 1.60% Gross, or will I have to close my AA Savings Accounts and open two new Birmingham and Midshires accounts?

rosalinda88

I applied for an account almost a month ago.

I returned the signature form and cheque over 2 weeks ago. A few days later some form about FSCS acknowledgement.

On Monday this week I received an email with my code for online access but still waiting for my username.

The cheque has not been cashed.

These guys seem like Post Office.

If I can log on, I am going to test sending and withdrawing money. I'm OK with a few days delay but any more and it's not worth the hassle.

PeacefulWaters

My experience of using Faster Payments with AA and BM (in and out) is that they arrive at their destination by close of business the same day.

Tiebreaker

rosalinda88 wrote: »

I applied for an account almost a month ago.

I returned the signature form and cheque over 2 weeks ago. A few days later some form about FSCS acknowledgement.

On Monday this week I received an email with my code for online access but still waiting for my username.

If you already have an existing account with BM you don't have to return this form - you can just call them up and move the funds over.

For some reason however, they don't feel it necessary to inform people of this during the account application process - instead, it forced me to transfer funds from my linked account to make my initial deposit - a complete waste of time in my case.

When I spoke to the advisor it took about 3 attempts to explain that I was trying to move my money INTERNALLY and the penny finally dropped - before that it was just a brick wall of reading from a script about having to wait 10 days and returning signed forms in the mail (how quaint, I remember doing that in the 90's).

Tiebreaker

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

My experience of using Faster Payments with AA and BM (in and out) is that they arrive at their destination by close of business the same day.

Well, 24 hours after making my INTERNAL transfer I'm still waiting for it to show up in my account.

I don't see how any kind of payment can be faster than an internal transfer - it should certainly be no slower than a Faster Payment between 2 different banks (and I've never had a Faster Payment take more than a couple of hours to show up - 90% of the time they are instant of course).

There's no excuse for this in 2015.

psychic_teabag

Tiebreaker wrote: »

I opened an account a few days ago and found it takes 10 days until you can pay any money in using your linked account.

That presumably involves pulling the money in from your linked account using a direct debit, and those do generally take about a week to get established. And then each payment probably takes a day or two to process.

Oblivion

psychic_teabag wrote: »

That presumably involves pulling the money in from your linked account using a direct debit, and those do generally take about a week to get established. And then each payment probably takes a day or two to process.

I recently opened the Issue 17 account (a few days before the barstewards announced Issue 18 :mad: ). I already had an account with them so no proof of identity required so it should have been quick and simple.

2 days after I opened my account online my linked bank HSBC had the Direct Debit fully set up and yet it took BM a full two weeks to pull the initial opening deposit from my bank.

BM are an utter shambles.

xylophone

Speedy Gonzales they ain't!:D

It has taken nearly a month to get mine up and running and involved my ordering a cheque book for my Lloyds account (had never bothered before) - having sent off my cheque, Lloyds rang me to make sure that I had issued the cheque....:rotfl:

However, although I had applied for an issue 17, BM opened an issue 18, presumably because the 17 was closed before they got round to sorting matters out.

No information was given in the opening letter about the possibility of FP, but I have attempted one for a small amount and if successful shall be paying in by this method.