Santander switch offer pulled 30 September 2022 at 8:43PM in Budgeting & bank accounts 7 replies 621 views

Aviendha

I switched to Santander to get the £175 cashback, but after checking the details of the account switch offer again, it looks like the offer ended on 22 September.

I started my switch on 19 September (completed 26 September) but I didn't see anything about the end date then or I wouldn't have done it. Would I still be eligible for the offer? It specifically says "This information is for customers who asked to switch an account to us from 23 August to 22 September 2022 as part of the £175 cashback offer."

I did ask to switch before then, but the account wasn't switched until the 26th. I have yet to pay in the £1000 and don't want to bother if I'm not going to get the £175. 

grumbler

Do bother to pay.

youngretired

Santander T&C's stated 3.5 "If you have requested a switch after the Switch Offer starts and we subsequently withdraw it before it completes, you will be eligible for the Cashback Payment as long as you meet the eligibility criteria in condition 2". So as long as you meet all the other conditions then you will still be able to get the cashback.

redpete

I initiated a switch from Coop to Santander at the end of August. This was rejected by Coop because I was switching from joint to sole account.  I changed the account to sole and rang Santander earlier this week to re-start the switch.  They told me that because the switch had been cancelled I was no longer eligible for the incentive as it was withdrawn last week.
I argued that I hadn't cancelled the switch and was still within the 60 day limit on completion - no success with the argument so I have now closed the Santander account.
Now hoping to use the NatWest £175 switch offer.

phillw

redpete said:

I argued that I hadn't cancelled the switch and was still within the 60 day limit on completion - no success with the argument so I have now closed the Santander account.

I'd have raised a complaint and gone to the ombudsman.

TheBanker

phillw said:

redpete said:

I argued that I hadn't cancelled the switch and was still within the 60 day limit on completion - no success with the argument so I have now closed the Santander account.

I'd have raised a complaint and gone to the ombudsman.

Why?

The offer terms state:

Within 60 days of you instructing us to start the switch to the Qualifying Account, you will also need to have:
2.3.1 successfully completed the switch, which includes closing the account not held with us;

And Santander's Switching guide (https://www.santander.co.uk/assets/s3fs-public/documents/switching_your_account_oct21.pdf) says

We can’t switch your account if you have a joint account with your old bank and your Santander account is in a single name. You’re able to switch a sole account into a joint account that you are also named on.

@redpete's switch cannot successfully complete within sixty days (or ever), as the request was not valid and has been cancelled. A new switch has been requested but this is not 'the switch' as referenced in the offer terms. 

I wouldn't waste time complaining. I'd just wait for the offer to come round again and have another go. 

Zanderman

phillw said:

redpete said:

I argued that I hadn't cancelled the switch and was still within the 60 day limit on completion - no success with the argument so I have now closed the Santander account.

I'd have raised a complaint and gone to the ombudsman.

As The Banker says above, that would be pointless.  Santander did nothing wrong with redpete. It was redpete who got it wrong, by trying to set up an invalid switch. And then waiting too long to start a valid one.

The topic of the thread is that Santander pulled the offer on 22nd Sept. redpete has missed it.

redpete

Zanderman said:

phillw said:

redpete said:

I argued that I hadn't cancelled the switch and was still within the 60 day limit on completion - no success with the argument so I have now closed the Santander account.

I'd have raised a complaint and gone to the ombudsman.

As The Banker says above, that would be pointless.  Santander did nothing wrong with redpete. It was redpete who got it wrong, by trying to set up an invalid switch. And then waiting too long to start a valid one.

The topic of the thread is that Santander pulled the offer on 22nd Sept. redpete has missed it.

The justification I tried was that they didn't tell me that the switch had been cancelled, so when I corrected to issue with the request I treated it as the same request.  They don't treat it as the same request and it's not worth more than the two phone calls I had (with 30+ min queueing each time, including the time when I was transferred to another team at 17:55 and waiting another 15 minutes before I realised that they all clock off at 18:00).

Anyhow, given that I was exploiting the offer without fully transferring my main current account (one of the 8 current accounts I've got at the moment), I don't feel I can justify a formal complaint.