Switching service - fees arising from bank error

Bench

Hi all,

I recently took the plunge and switched my Santander current account to Halifax, using the dedicated switching service.

I had 3 direct debits, which went through on 29 December and have all been confirmed by Halifax. One of these was a direct debit for full payment to my Santander credit card. However, I just received a letter from Santander to say my credit card payment, due 1 Jan, was missed. Basically, they should have taken it out of my Halifax account via DD but have messed up. Now I have been charged a late fee and interest (I never pay interest because my DD is for the full amount), and potentially had an impact on my credit rating.

It sounds like Halifax has done everything from their side of things and their advisers have been incredibly helpful (and quick to get through to). By contrast, Santander have been a nightmare and I've spent over an hour and passed between different departments, all with no conclusion. I even got told off by Santander for hanging up whilst on hold, but I'd been on hold for almost 10mins, after 30mins on the phone to them already.

All I want is for them to admit fault and then refund me the fees and interest.

Have any of you had a similar problem after a switch and how have you resolved it? How can I make sure this doesn't effect my credit score? Should I contact Experian and ask for a note to be added to my file?

It's so frustrating because I only had that credit card to improve my credit rating, now it's might do the opposite!

Sorry for the rant and thanks for any help you can provide!
Bec

Archi_Bald

You should not need to have to speak to Santander about this.

Your switching guarantee is with Halifax, so it is entirely down to Halifax to ensure you get re-imbursed, and that you do not get any marker on your credit file.

You should raise a formal complaint with Halifax. If need be, take Halifax to the FOS.

YorkshireBoy

Your complaint should be made to Halifax, not Santander.

Under the (business, as well as consumer) terms of the CASS, Halifax must ensure you're not left out of pocket due to the error. They can do 1 of 2 things, either refund you themselves or ask Santander (on your behalf) to refund you.

The same terms place an onus on both Halifax and Santander to put your credit file back to the position it would have been if the error had not happened.

Make a formal complaint to Halifax, citing the above, and laying out clearly and concisely what you expect them to do about it (including covering your costs, if any, additional to the Santander fees). Get a complaint reference number and refer to the FOS if there's either no resolution, or an unsatisfactory resolution, after 8 weeks from your initial contact with them.