Halifax child accounts

Igol

Is anyone else having issues with kids regular savings accounts at Halifax?
Back in April I got a few letters re DD 2 accounts and having to prove ID etc prior to GDPR.
I took the necessary in and came away thinking all was done and dusted.
This week I get a couple more telling me that the accounts have been frozen as I ignored the letters in April.
Just spoken to the branch, who were very apologetic and couldn’t see why the accounts had been locked and the upshot being that I now need to go back in with the required ID and open 2 new accounts.
Is it just the way my days going or is anyone else having a similar issue?

reub075

Hello,


I had what sounded like a very similar issue around a month or so ago for my daughter.
She had a Halifax Kids' Regular Saver and a linked Halifax Young Saver, the first of which renewed upon it's anniversary and the annual maturity balance was transferred to the Young Saver.
I could manage these accounts by phone and in branch, but not online.


In April I got letters advising me to visit in branch with appropriate IDs for myself and daughter.
When I was in branch they were puzzled, as this was not related to GDPR, but our accounts were flagged up as not having a named trustee set up correctly.
However, they could see my details and my own Halifax account details linked to my daughter's on the in-branch system, but the Halifax HQ system did not recognise me as the account trustee.
Halifax are in the process of converting
all "Halifax Kids' Regular Saver" accounts to "Halifax Kids Monthly Saver" accounts and
all "Halifax Young Saver" accounts to "Halifax Kids Saver" accounts - slightly different T's & C's.
I believe this is to be completed by end of June/July 2018.


Outcome: I had to make another appointment and bring in birth certificates or passports for myself and daughter, plus recent utility bill for proof of address, in order to open a brand new "Halifax Kids Monthly Saver" and "Halifax Kids Saver" accounts for my daughter. The interest for each old account was calculated and applied pro-rata, and the full balances transferred to the new accounts. The old accounts were closed off.
I had to set-up a new standing order to fund the new Monthly Saver and then delete the old SO for the closed account.
Halifax offered a payment for our inconvenience since i made three visits to branch on this matter, branch staff raising a complaint on our behalf.
The payment was credited to my daughter's Kids Saver account upon my request within 24 hours of the resolution.
My grievance was with the Halifax system at HQ somehow not having me set up as trustee from the very outset, but I could not fault the branch staff at all for their helpfulness and willingness to reach a resolution.


I can now view my daughter's account balances within my own Halifax online banking portal.


I hope this information helps.

KJSmith

Igol wrote: »

...I took the necessary in...

Took them in to a branch?

I'm certain that the letter asks you to call a specific number to get the issue resolved, not to visit a branch.

You should still be able to call that number and potentially bypass the branch process of closing the existing accounts and re-opening new ones.

jonesMUFCforever

KJSmith wrote: »

Took them in to a branch?

I'm certain that the letter asks you to call a specific number to get the issue resolved, not to visit a branch.

You should still be able to call that number and potentially bypass the branch process of closing the existing accounts and re-opening new ones.

...........Only if the parent or trustee are personal customers of Halifax.

Igol

KJSmith wrote: »

Took them in to a branch?

I'm certain that the letter asks you to call a specific number to get the issue resolved, not to visit a branch.

You should still be able to call that number and potentially bypass the branch process of closing the existing accounts and re-opening new ones.

Plus the number is essentially pointless unless you like listening to 'We're currently experiencing a high demand of calls' messages for hours on end, if thats your thing, well isn't that what 101 is for?

Far quicker to go to a branch with all the details and get then to sort it out...…
which ok they didn't, but not for want of trying.

Thanks for the info, I think I'll send a complaint letter (praising the branch staff) and see if they'll bung a few quid into my little ones account.