West Brom Websave ISA transfer nightmare

Meggy1

Wondering if anyone else has had the hell I am going through. I chose to move my life savings from a S&S ISA to a cash ISA. I chose West Brom Websave as they allowed the transfer in and had the best interest at the right time. That was in early August. There were delays while they processed my request and while they made the request to the outgoing provider in the correct manner (it took 3 goes). They failed to communicate with me until I lodged a complaint and guess what, as I write the money has still not arrived. It's a large amount and I am getting very stressed. They appear to be incompetent and not customer orientated. It's quite hard to fathom why this is going on. I have had to intervene to get updates and to get anything done. Cracking on for 4 months now. Ombudsman here I come.

masonic

S&S ISAs are, in general, more problematic to transfer, as they don't fall under the same rules and process as cash ISA to cash ISA transfers. It sounds as though there may be some fault on the side of your S&S ISA provider, but it is West Brom's responsibility to act on your behalf, keep trying, and keep you informed, which it doesn't sound like they have done. Did you have online access to the S&S ISA to see when the account was closed down on that side?

xylophone

You lodged a formal complaint in writing?

What exactly is the explanation (in writing, one hopes) for the delay?

Zopa_Trooper

I'm having problems with West Brom as well but I'm not sure where the fault lies. I was transferring an ISA from Moneybox. West Brom insist they want the sort code and account number of the ISA, Moneybox say there is no sort code and the account number is my NI number. So, stalemate.

refluxer

Zopa_Trooper said:

I'm having problems with West Brom as well but I'm not sure where the fault lies. I was transferring an ISA from Moneybox. West Brom insist they want the sort code and account number of the ISA, Moneybox say there is no sort code and the account number is my NI number. So, stalemate.

Whenever I've come across a situation where an ISA provider doesn't use a standard, 8-numerical digit account number, I always put this in the 'roll number (if applicable)' field on the transfer form. In those circumstances, I do also usually enter the sort code and account number but that's not always possible if it's an either/or situation. In some ways though, they're actually irrelevant as they're just generic to the bank or building society in question and don't actually identify you.

So in your situation, I would put Moneybox as the provider, leave the sort code and account number fields blank and put your NI number as the roll number. This is easier to do on a paper form though admittedly, as there's no danger of immediate rejection like there could be if the sort code and account number fields on an online form are mandatory. 

Moneybox are definitely right though - they don't use sort codes and account numbers and, in the case of transferring out from their ISA, your reference for the transfer is your NI number. This sounds to me like it's a case of someone at the West Brom not being used to dealing a transfer from an app-based bank that doesn't follow the usual ISA account conventions.

You may need to give them the email address from the info here :
https://www.moneyboxapp.com/faqs/how-do-i-transfer-my-moneybox-isa-to-another-provider:smile:

How do I transfer my Moneybox ISA to another provider?

If you’d like to transfer a Moneybox ISA, LISA, or Junior ISA out of Moneybox and to another provider, you’ll just need to contact your new ISA provider to get the transfer process started –  they will send you their transfer in form and give you the steps you’ll need to follow.

If your new provider asks for an account number or reference, for our ISAs and Lifetime ISAs this would be your National Insurance number. For our Junior ISAs, this is the child’s name and date of birth.

All transfers are performed digitally and we are no longer processing posted transfer forms – to make sure your transfer reaches us, please request your new ISA, LISA or Junior ISA provider send their paperwork to transfers@moneyboxapp.com.

Please note that if you are transferring out to another provider, it isn’t currently possible to transfer back to Moneybox once the transfer out is complete.