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ukdutypaid

right in the time I've been sat on the phone waiting for Citibank, I've managed to not only open the Lloyds account, but to transfer money from Icici... All with one hand..... Duh... let me activate the citibank account online... mongs.... Money's lost to them now.. Can't be bothered chasing for 0.295%, plus it's Faster Payments in and out of Lloyds, for certain amounts.... Yep you lose a months interest, but it's a rainy day savings account, when all's said and done..

the_root_of_all_evil

setting up seemed fine to me, seems theres alot bashing this citibank with only a couple of posts?

Money_Saving_Forever

the_root_of_all_evil wrote: »

setting up seemed fine to me, seems theres alot bashing this citibank with only a couple of posts?

I don't enjoy bashing Citi, but how professional is it that the play a recorded message and hang up? Also thinking of the billions they make you'd think they would be able to send me email updates regarding the progress on my application instead of me having to chase them? Funnily enough I actually came to check the threads for reassurances of Citi's high demand and that I should be patient but nooooo lol

Can you let me know if you participated in the online passport ID check when applying and was it accepted? Thanks :beer:

autolycus

My wife spent an hour on the phone to Citibank this morning, being passed around the call centre, and eventually established that, without a passport or a photocard driving licence, she's persona non grata. So stuff them. Why aren't they honest enough to start their online application process with a simple statement: "If you've not got a passport or photo licence, **** off"?

barak

M3_Sussex wrote: »

Strange, because when I called, I spoke to a British guy. He answered almost instantly.

You were lucky! I had the same problem as Money Saving Forever. When I eventually got through, I had great difficulty with the accent and had to ask for almost everything said to be repeated, although I didn't have any other problem opening the account.

james592

Following the tip-off in Martin's weekly email about the Birmingham Midshires / AA 5.15%AER 5 year accounts with 90 day loss of interest on withdrawal, I had a look at the Birmingham Midshires and AA websites.

In the account FAQ (Birmingham Midshires) and PDF brochure (AA), it actually says that you can withdraw with 90 days loss of interest for accounts "over 2 years", by which I assume it means accounts that have been open for at least 2 years. So if I'm not mistaken your money is *not* accessible at all for the first 2 years.

Former_MSE_Alana

Hi,

Just to clarify, you can withdraw money after any time period. We asked B Midshires this and got the following answer

1) Is there any minimum term, or would I be able to eg. Put money in for 6 months then take it out (incurring the penalty)?

No minimum term so you can withdraw as above incurring the penalty

The terms of the account confirm this too.

The FAQ james592 is referring to says:

"If the Fixed Rate Bond is below 2 years no withdrawals are allowed. For Fixed Rate Bonds that are 2 years and over, you can make withdrawals subject to 90 days loss of interest on the amount withdrawn."

The 5.15% account is a 5 year bond, so the 90 day rule applies.

Hope this helps

Alana

james592

Thanks for the clarification, Alana. I had misinterpreted the "2 years" in the FAQ as the age of the account at the time you want to withdraw, rather than the total length of the bond.

Sid_Harper

Withdrawn whilst I was applying - got my application in though!

KTF

The BM account has been pulled with immediate effect.

BM: https://www.emoneyfacts.co.uk/news/savings-news.aspx?newsarticleid=189938

I think the AA one has also gone but it looks like emoneyfacts have refreshed the page as I cant see details about its removal now (am sure it was there before).