Problem depositing funds with Union Bank of India (UK)Ltd

sevaun

Following recommendations from Martin on the show we opened a Premier Bond account with Union Bank of India(UK) Ltd. All went smoothy until  we called our bank, First Direct, to make the deposit payment by FPS. First direct could not verify Union Bank of India(UK) using the sort code and account number provided by UBI and hence could not guarantee that we would get our money bank in the event of any problems ie fraud etc.. I understand form other posts on this forum that others have come up against this problem. While I'm sure UBI are ok, I'm very uncomfortable risking my £50,000. Is there another way to get guarantees for this kind of investment?

Daliah

If you are using the exact sort code, account number and reference number (if applicable) that UBI gave you, I would have no concerns if I were you.

You should, however, not go by what a complete stranger like me tells you on the internet, nor should you go by what you saw on telly. You should always check that the company is on the FCA Register, and that the FSCS website confirms that the company is covered before you trust them with your money.

wmb194

Can you make the deposit by cheque?

ctdctd

Will UBI let you do a test deposit of £100 say? 

Then, when it's arrived, transfer the rest.

valiant24

sevaun said:

Following recommendations from Martin on the show we opened a Premier Bond account with Union Bank of India(UK) Ltd. All went smoothy until  we called our bank, First Direct, to make the deposit payment by FPS. First direct could not verify Union Bank of India(UK) using the sort code and account number provided by UBI and hence could not guarantee that we would get our money bank in the event of any problems ie fraud etc.. I understand form other posts on this forum that others have come up against this problem. While I'm sure UBI are ok, I'm very uncomfortable risking my £50,000. Is there another way to get guarantees for this kind of investment?

I saw the same advice MSE, looked into the Union Bank of India website, found it very amateurish and decided not to risk my £100k.   Like you I am sure it's fine, but the lack of attention to the front end made me wonder about the quality of the admin and customer service so, for the sake of about 0.2% differential or £200 over a year, I decided to save myself the sleepless nights and went with the 2nd choice.

RedBall

valiant24 said:

I saw the same advice MSE, looked into the Union Bank of India website, found it very amateurish and decided not to risk my £100k.   Like you I am sure it's fine, but the lack of attention to the front end made me wonder about the quality of the admin and customer service so, for the sake of about 0.2% differential or £200 over a year, I decided to save myself the sleepless nights and went with the 2nd choice.

Same here, although Ive gone through the whole signup process with UBL UK, the website appears very basicand does not instill confidence - the application is now pending, but have not yet deposited funds.   For the sake of the small difference I am also considering going with the second option listed on MSE.

Bob__M

Same again.  Had intended to deposit £80k.  Checked them out on the FSCS website whilst waiting for their confirmation of my credentials.  I applied and submitted credentials to 3 institutions on same day for 1 yr fixed rate investments - the other 2 responded with confirmation within a week, but Union Bank of India (UBI) was the last to respond and then only with an email asking for the credentials to be sent i.e. no recognition of my earlier submission.  So went to call them at 2.30 in the afternoon on a Monday (their contact details on MSE said 9am-5pm M-F) and 2 of the applicable options presented on their answering system gave me an automatic message "blah blah blah, please call us from 09.30 to 14.00 M-F".

It all sounds and looks a bit lazy / unprofessional and, as others have commented, if it's this hard to get money into them, imagine how hard it'll be to get it back.

I won't be investing in UBI.

Thrugelmir

sevaun said:

First direct could not verify Union Bank of India(UK) using the sort code and account number provided by UBI and hence could not guarantee that we would get our money bank in the event of any problems ie fraud etc.

Union Bank of India(UK) Ltd is not a UK clearing house. They use Barclays. A common issue for secondary banks that are deposit takers. The bank is regulated by the UK authorities and has the neccessary banking licences. Not the Wild West in the UK. UK banks are some of the most highly regulated in the world. 

gt94sss2

sevaun said:

Following recommendations from Martin on the show we opened a Premier Bond account with Union Bank of India(UK) Ltd. All went smoothy until  we called our bank, First Direct, to make the deposit payment by FPS. First direct could not verify Union Bank of India(UK) using the sort code and account number provided by UBI and hence could not guarantee that we would get our money bank in the event of any problems ie fraud etc.. l

Bank of India won't be part of the Confirmation of Payee scheme. Most smaller banks and building societies are not.

As long as you are using the right bank details, you have nothing to worry about. First Direct (and other banks) have to give that warning when transferring to non COP accounts.

See https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/confirmation-of-payee

Future versions of COP will support smaller organisations

janmalf

Beware of Union Bank of India UK Ltd. Premier Bonds.  The headline interest rate is less than advertised because they are paying SIMPLE INTEREST not compound. The longer the term the worse off the saver will be. This is unique in my experience of term deposit accounts. Recommend you do not save money with Union Bank of India Premier Bonds for any term longer than 12 months or the interest will be less than you expect. If you are reinvesting a deposit from an existing savings account with Union Bank of India the bank will not mention this on the maturity options they offer so be aware.