Barclays Closed my Cash ISA without my permission 8 November 2021 at 1:05PM in ISAs & tax-free savings 5 replies 200 views

Alexandria12

Dear all I had two small Barclays Cash Isas value approx £5,700 K each and this summer Barclays wrote to me asking if they could close these accounts as I had not saved any more more since I bought them in the early noughties.  Unless I contacted them they would close them down.  I phoned them (and they have this on record) mentioning both ISA numbers and saying I did not want them closed.  I was told they would not be closed as I had notified them in time. ( they set a deadline in the autumn) Imagine my worry last week when I went into the account to find one of the ISA vanished.  I did some digging and phone calling thinking there had been internet fraud and it turns out the closed one of the ISAs!!  Is this even legal?  I asked them to reinstate it and they say that is impossible and I need to resurrect it myself from a dormancy account into a new ISA.  They say it won't affect my ISA allowance for this year and that I can go on to other providers to open other cash ISAs from my allowance.  I don't need to stick to Barclays.
I am really annoyed with them and have lodged a complaint saying they should reinstate my ISA not me as it was their mistake not mine.  I have heard nothing yet. Apart from further escalating this with the financial ombudsman is there anything else I can do? And have they broken the law by messing with my savings( removing the ISA status)?
I wonder if anyone else has had a similar problem with Barclays?

eskbanker

Pursuing a formal complaint with them, and then escalating to FOS if necessary, is definitely the right approach, so unlikely there's anything else you can do in terms of directly impacting the issue - they should accept liability for any financial losses you may suffer as a result of their error (although it isn't clear if there actually are any) and also offer some form of goodwill gesture to cover inconvenience.

In case there is any dispute about what was said on the call where you advised them not to close the accounts, you might wish to obtain a copy of the recording by submitting a subject access request under the Data Protection Act.

https://forms-int.barclays.co.uk/forms/gdpr?execution=e1s1

dunstonh

 I had two small Barclays Cash Isas value approx £5,700 K each 

£5700K is £5,700,000 - not small.  I suspect you mean £5.7K

Is this even legal? 

It is not illegal.   An error is not an issue of legality at this stage.

I am really annoyed with them and have lodged a complaint saying they should reinstate my ISA not me as it was their mistake not mine.  I have heard nothing yet. Apart from further escalating this with the financial ombudsman is there anything else I can do? And have they broken the law by messing with my savings( removing the ISA status)?

They have not broken the law.   You have made the complaint and now you need to wait for the outcome.  No point doing anything else at this stage.

Albermarle

 And have they broken the law by messing with my savings( removing the ISA status)?

It is almost certainly a mistake rather than anything else.

High st banks with very visible profiles would not risk their reputation by doing anything deliberately illegal. Not for £5K anyway .

jimjames

If you've had the same cash ISAs since the early noughties then Barclays may have done you a favour by closing them. As this is a money saving site it would be remiss to not point out that the interest you'll be getting on them is a fraction of the rate you could get elsewhere for a non ISA account. If you're prepared to leave money untouched for that length of time then investing would be a better option too.

xylophone

I need to resurrect it myself from a dormancy account into a new ISA.

The ISA account is not closed but dormant?

How exactly were you supposed to  achieve the miracle?

Were you to open a new cash ISA with Barclays and then ask Barclays to transfer the money from the dormant account to the new account?

Or were you supposed to open a new account with another provider and request the new provider to  contact  Barclays to arrange the transfer of the dormant account?

Or arrange for the transfer of the dormant account to any other ISA you might have?

As a matter of interest (no pun intended), what is so attractive about the two ISA accounts (one dormant) that you have with Barclays? A high "legacy" rate perhaps?

If not, then their rates are so uninviting you'd be better off transferring out anyway?

https://www.barclays.co.uk/savings/isas/

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-1583864/Best-savings-rates-Isas-Cash-Isa-accounts-fixed-rate-Isas.html