ICICI Bank HiSAVE 5.40% AER

Walletwatch

oldagetraveller wrote:

I don't know how many have applied for an ICICI savings account and have actually succeeded in opening one but personally I don't rate them with their account opening progress.
I applied 28 May and only after about 10 days of e-mails and a couple of 'phone calls managed to get e-mail confirmation, which should have been sent to me within 24 hours of application, and a requirement to send them an initial cheque, £1 or more. I sent a £5 cheque which appeared in, and was debited from my current account on 12 June, so I know they received it. I have yet to hear anything further. Either this is one big scam/con and I have lost a fiver or they are so pathetically slow and inefficient which would not really inspire much confidence in their abilities for further account use. From previous experience with other financial institutions account opening has been very fast, a week at most from first enquiry.
I'll give them a few more days grace then make a 'phone call to see what's happening.

Agreed. Have applied online, and after that got a mail from them to send them some documents for identification, which I sent across on the 21st by first class post. Not heard from them since.

No point calling the 08081314151 number, as all they do is take a message and say they'll have to get back. I was given a London number 02070211000 to check further, but nobody picks it up :-(

oldagetraveller

Yes, that's the 0808 number I 'phoned, also told they'd call back - still waiting. However, the e-mail inviting me to send a cheque arrived soon after.
What I am concerned about is the fact they now have my bank details and the means to set up a Direct Debit. Keeping a watchful eye on my account for that and cancelleing it as soon as possible.

jimclark1967

I applied online for an account and got the email asking for a cheque for opening deposit. Sent a cheque for £1 which has been debited from my current account and a few days later received (by post) my password for logging in to the website. On the password slip it said my user name would be the same as my "CIF number" which should already have been issued to me.

A week later I rang the 0808 number, said I hadn't received a user-id and they were very apologetic, saying it should have been sent by email confirming my account details. They took my phone number and said someone would ring back... another week on I'm still waiting.

So I'm currently without access to £1 of my money but do at least know my ICICI account number and internet banking password. Not sure what to do now - tried emailing them before phoning but no response to that either

JC

Aark

I am somewhat wary of this account, for three reasons:

1.) The messages that have been posted here that suggest a poor level of customer service and delays in account opening.

2.) Whether warranted or not, concerns about opening a savings account with an Indian bank from reading the piece in The Sun last week.

3.) What I see as a lack of professionalism in the design of their website. I know this doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it looks a bit amateur to me compared with UK banks' sites and ING Direct's site.

In any case, I am only a couple of months away from having almost all of my savings in ISAs or Regular Savings accounts, so I have decided to ignore this account and stick with my Cahoot savings account when the rate drops from 5.65% to 5.1% in a week or two.

pin

Aark wrote:

I am somewhat wary of this account, for three reasons:

1.) The messages that have been posted here that suggest a poor level of customer service and delays in account opening.

2.) Whether warranted or not, concerns about opening a savings account with an Indian bank from reading the piece in The Sun last week.

3.) What I see as a lack of professionalism in the design of their website. I know this doesn't necessarily mean anything, but it looks a bit amateur to me compared with UK banks' sites and ING Direct's site.

In any case, I am only a couple of months away from having almost all of my savings in ISAs or Regular Savings accounts, so I have decided to ignore this account and stick with my Cahoot savings account when the rate drops from 5.65% to 5.1% in a week or two.

Fair enough to be a bit wary, especially as they are new to the UK mass public.

However your point 1: many banks in the UK have bad customer service, yet millions still bank with them. Good example about massive delays was the Abbey ISA, yet people still went with it, because of the good rates.

Point 2: I would say completely unwarranted comment, and I'm leaving it at that.

Point 3: What's the way the website looks got to do with anything? The bank is regulated by the FSA and they are a big bank, not some fly by night operation.

Walletwatch

Aark wrote:

Whether warranted or not, concerns about opening a savings account with an Indian bank from reading the piece in The Sun last week.

I think what the recent episode has highlighted is what can go wrong with sensitive account-related information of account holders. I do not however see how one can say he won't patronise Indian banks because somebody in India compromised on customer confidentiality.

What happened in India could happen anywhere in the world - are you saying that no call center worker in the UK would do this, offered the right amount of money? There are good guys and bad guys in all corners of the world, and one needs to acknowledge this. I find this comment bordering on stereotyping a particular cross-section of people, and hence objectionable.

Plasticman

pin wrote:

Point 3: What's the way the website looks got to do with anything? The bank is regulated by the FSA and they are a big bank, not some fly by night operation.

but a poorly designed website does prompt you to wonder how well designed their website security is.....

Alfie_E

Plasticman wrote:

but a poorly designed website does prompt you to wonder how well designed their website security is.....

Not really. It's not a poorly designed website. You're looking at it with a British eye. The website was designed by a group of Indians. The fact that your two aesthetic sensibilities don't coincide shouldn't put you off. I often find American websites are too busy and cluttered, compared to those designed by and for West Europeans.

Look at other aspects. Their terms and conditions are written clearly and comprehensibly. If you look at their credit card terms and conditions, they even warn of the perils of giving a company authority to take repeat payments - something brought up on this forum. I don't see any similar warnings on my credit card terms and conditions, from other UK issuers.

ICICI Bank UK Ltd has one director who is also currently a director of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and one who was a director of HSBC Bank plc. I'm sure they'll be helping the bank to match their performance to British expectations. See their Board of Directors.

If anyone's not happy with the bank's customer service, they should write to one of those two directors. I'm sure they'd be keen to know. It's no good offering a table-topping interest rate, to break into a new market, only to spoil it all with poor customer service.

deemy2004

Plasticman wrote:

but a poorly designed website does prompt you to wonder how well designed their website security is.....

yeh I agree the website meant for the UK looks pretty primitive.... defiently offputting for shuving more than a few grand into.

Their fixed deposit is only 4.45% for a year.. Which is below market competitors which suggests the 5.4% rate is very temporary.

jimclark1967

So.... has anyone actually managed to open an account and access the online banking?

JC