Problems Switching Accounts

Terry98

My OH and myself are both in the process of switching accounts to different banks for the first time in a few years.

The switch process in both cases has gone very smoothly with the exception of direct debits and incoming payments. Both banks said everything would be done automatically and we should both sit back and let the transfers sort themselves out.

We are both getting worried about our first incoming payments which are due in the next few days because the DD's have been anything but straightforward!

Is it only us or does anyone else have problems?

WillPS

Which banks have you switched to? Some banks don't actually show your DD on your online banking until they have been used - NatWest/RBS is one (and is a bit of a pain to be honest!).

I've switched maybe 10 times in total and never had any problems at all - the only thing I can think of is Santander didn't pay out their last 1-2-3 cashback (I had timed the switch to happen a week or so after the last pay out). An email, a letter and a cheque later and that was sorted.

PeacefulWaters

What specific problems have you had?

Has a salary been missed or a direct debit gone unpaid?

Terry98

Thanks for the replies.

Santander did not pay my last cashback although they charged me £5 the day before the transfer. I think I will contact them!

Two of the companies we have DD's with contacted us immediately and asked us to confirm our new bank details.They told us when the next payment would be taken so no problem with them.

A DD was due to be taken a couple of days ago on a new contract and it has still not been taken. I rang the company up this morning and they asked me to pay by credit card. I hope they do not take the DD as well although they assured me they will only claim the DD from the next payment.

It seems so haphazard.I just hope my salary arrives on time because most of the DD's go out on the same day.

TheShape

Have you got funds that you can move to your account if your salary doesn't get paid in?

Also worth (in future) rearranging some of your DDs to leave your account a few days later than at present.

I get paid on the last day of the month but have most of my DDs collected between the third and the seventh.

WillPS

It sounds like the company on the other end of the DD ballsed up. I had this with iD Mobile (who have, or at least had, the most useless half-baked billing platform I have ever experienced).

Terry98

TheShape wrote: »

Have you got funds that you can move to your account if your salary doesn't get paid in?

Yes I have got the funds but with both account transfers to different banks we were told everything was automatic and we did not have to do anything.We were told we could claim any charges for errors in the transfers but that is not the point.

TheShape wrote: »

Also worth (in future) rearranging some of your DDs to leave your account a few days later than at present.

Once bitten.....

colsten

If you have used the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), you have a guarantee from the bank you switch to that if anything goes wrong, they'll sort it at no cost to you. Almost the entire point of CASS is to make the switch of DDs and SOs transparent to the account holder.

Was it the CASS you used? Which banks were involved?

Terry98

colsten wrote: »

If you have used the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), you have a guarantee from the bank you switch to that if anything goes wrong, they'll sort it at no cost to you. Almost the entire point of CASS is to make the switch of DDs and SOs transparent to the account holder.

Was it the CASS you used? Which banks were involved?

Both original accounts were Santander with one transfer to TSB and the other to M&S.

CASS is being used in both cases but from what I can see it only works if the Direct Debit beneficiary or the company paying money into the account play their part.

It seems each DD beneficiary gets informed of the transfer and some act on it immediately and some chose to leave it in the 'in tray' and then expect the customer to sort it out for them.

I have still to see if any of my incoming payments get delayed.

bigadaj

Terry98 wrote: »

Both original accounts were Santander with one transfer to TSB and the other to M&S.

CASS is being used in both cases but from what I can see it only works if the Direct Debit beneficiary or the company paying money into the account play their part.

It seems each DD beneficiary gets informed of the transfer and some act on it immediately and some chose to leave it in the 'in tray' and then expect the customer to sort it out for them.

I have still to see if any of my incoming payments get delayed.

No, everything should be sorted by the bank you are moving to.

Speak to TSB and or m&s about sorting it out, raise as a formal complaint if they dint resolve promptly.

colsten

I thought that by now all companies and organisations that operate DD schemes would know that it's legit when banks ask them to change the DD details but your experience suggests some still don't. I know that Amex and my local council didn't in the early stages of CASS, but they co-operated alright a few months later.

In any case though, the CASS guarantee says that "If anything goes wrong with the switch, as soon as we are told, we will refund any interest (paid or lost) and charges made on either your old or new current accounts as a result of this failure." You should formally complain to M&S/TSB and I would think they should pay you at least £20 for each of the DDs that you had to chase up yourself.