Barclays Help to Buy ISA Problem! Help!

nriches

Afternoon everyone,

Long time user of MSE, first time poster.

I'm stuck in a bit of a complex issue re: my H2B ISA with Barclays - and just wanted some advice on what to do / where to go next.. any support appreciated!
Also apologies in advance for the length of this message.. it's a bit of a crazy one - strap in!

I set up a H2B with Barclays in Jan 2018.. it was my first account with them (can't quite remember why I chose them - perhaps better interest?), and for the first 2 years or so would pay in £200 a month whenever I could - and for the last 8-12 months have been paying in without fail every month as financially my position has improved.

Recently myself and my partner decided it was time to take the plunge and jump on the property market - and have since had an offer accepted on a house!

It was therefore time to see how much I had amassed in my H2B over the years (note: I'd never set up online banking for it - as I didn't feel there was ever a reason to know how much was in it until the time came to buy a house - in hindsight maybe this was a mistake!)

To my surprise, when I first logged in - I saw I had 2 accounts - a current account and a H2B ISA - the H2B ISA contained the initial £1,200 amount, and the current account was sitting on around £5,000 - I soon came to the horrifying realisation that for the last 3 years I had been paying the £200 a month into the wrong account. I have no idea how this happened, and at no point have I tried to play the blame game with Barclays, my regular current account banks (TSB & Starling), or even myself. As you can appreciate, this means that not only was my 25% H2B bonus in fear of being diminished - but the interest rates over the last 3 years had also been missed out on.

Later that week, I ventured into my local branch to have a chat with someone about the situation - I went in fairly pessimistic, I was 80% sure they would just say it was a personal error on my behalf, and there was nothing they could do about it - an outcome which I would have sadly but peacefully accepted, however the helpful advisor explored various avenues and ended up reaching out to the 'ISA Complex Issues Team' - she gave them all the information she could and was hopeful that they may be able to transfer money in a lump sum from the current account to the H2B as a gesture of goodwill - a good start!

I was told I'd hear something within 3-4 working days.. fast forward 3 weeks and I still hadn't heard anything - I therefore went back into branch where I was told there were no walk-in appointments available that day so I'd have to book one in. (note: the less said about this day the better) - it involved various phone calls and queues, IT systems which were down, and an advisor over the phone who wasn't too sure on how best to progress.

I therefore went back into branch the Saturday after and spoke to another advisor who it would appear took good ownership of the issue, and told me she'd chase up the Complex Issues ISA team and would hopefully have a response to me within 3-4 working days. Low and behold 5 working days later - no response. During this time I had noticed money going from my H2B to my current account in the app - so was hopeful something was happening - so much so that eventually all of the money was transferred into the current account and the H2B was closed down - good news I thought - all of the money into a central location and then back over to a new H2B. On the 6th working day I was phoned by a different in-branch colleague who told me there was nothing Barclays could do about the situation - and that I would have to contact Starling or TSB (my current account holders) and see if there was anything they could do about it. I then let him know in the meantime my H2B had been closed down by the Complex Issues team, to which his reply was - "did you not request it to be closed down?" - NO! I'm buying a house why would I want to close it down!?

The whole situation has spiralled completely out of control - I've now been left with no H2B ISA - to the best of my knowledge I now can't set up a new one because they have since stopped being a thing - the alternative Lifetime ISA has to be in action for 12 months before you can claim the bonus - and I am right in the thick of buying a house as we speak!!

I have no idea how to progress.. I believe the matter is still being looked into by various Barclays associates - but given the narrative so far I can't see me getting anywhere within the next few days and weeks.

Where do I go next?

Any help and support gratefully appreciated.

TLDR;

Set up H2B ISA in Jan 2018 with Barclays
Offer accepted on house
Realised I'd been unknowingly paying £200 a month into current account instead of H2B
Issue raised with Complex Issues Team
Complex Issues Team response 'nothing we can do', but have since closed down my H2B ISA without my request

Well done to anyone who has managed to get this far! It turns out this is probably the shortened version of the whole series of events - I do have a log of everything which has happened so far if anyone needs further information - I've basically left everything out which I don't think progressed the situation.

jemima82

Was there anything in the Barclays HTB t&cs to say you had to also open a current account?

Go back through your paperwork/emails to see if this was the case and if you were advised separately of the current account & HTB details (account numbers).

I don’t see any way that you will get any government bonus now, but you could put a complaint in writing regarding the HTB being closed without your consent. At the very least they should (morally) give compensation of the bonus you lost out on from them doing that. 

nriches

jemima82 said:

Was there anything in the Barclays HTB t&cs to say you had to also open a current account?

Go back through your paperwork/emails to see if this was the case and if you were advised separately of the current account & HTB details (account numbers).

I don’t see any way that you will get any government bonus now, but you could put a complaint in writing regarding the HTB being closed without your consent. At the very least they should (morally) give compensation of the bonus you lost out on from them doing that. 

Hi Jemima, thanks for your reply.

In my second appt with an advisor in branch, they informed me that yes - I did have to have a current account to open a H2B, as I couldn't open a H2B as a standalone account - unsure if I was or wasn't told this at the time.

In my paperwork and e-mails I've got details of the H2B sort code and account no. but nowhere does it mention about the details for the current account - so I have no idea how I ever accessed those. The only logic is that perhaps they were written down for me on a piece of paper, but I've then got no idea how I've managed to transfer the initial £1,200 into the H2B but all of the £200 payments have gone into the current account. Like I said, there's every chance it's my fault, equally there's every chance it may be a bank error - but I'm not putting anyone to blame - I'd just like as much of a government bonus as possible towards my first house!

A complaint in writing is a good idea - will sort that sooner rather than later as I wouldn't want to miss out completely on the 'bonus', even if it is compensation.

ic

Was there a requirement that the payments to the H2B came from the Barclays current account, and not externally?  (i.e. all payments to H2B had to be routed through the current account?)