Ulster Bank BEWARE

boingy

daeargwr said:

daeargwr said:

Closing the account is like pulling teeth!  Finally managed to do it after speaking to someone on the phone. 

I spoke too soon - turns out they didn't manage to close it because I didn't provide them with the details of another Ulster bank account to pay the outstanding interest into.  Except I don't have an Ulster bank current account only the Loyalty Saver.  They then advised to visit a branch (I live in GB where there are no branches) or to put the details of any friends of family with an Ulster bank current account.....!

I've finally written to them snail mail asking if they can close the account.  At least I know who I'll never be opening an account with again.

If they still refuse to close it just open a current account with them, which can be done online (put Belfast as your chosen branch). then close the savings account and CASS the current account after the interest is in it.

daeargwr

boingy said:

daeargwr said:

daeargwr said:

Closing the account is like pulling teeth!  Finally managed to do it after speaking to someone on the phone. 

I spoke too soon - turns out they didn't manage to close it because I didn't provide them with the details of another Ulster bank account to pay the outstanding interest into.  Except I don't have an Ulster bank current account only the Loyalty Saver.  They then advised to visit a branch (I live in GB where there are no branches) or to put the details of any friends of family with an Ulster bank current account.....!

I've finally written to them snail mail asking if they can close the account.  At least I know who I'll never be opening an account with again.

If they still refuse to close it just open a current account with them, which can be done online (put Belfast as your chosen branch). then close the savings account and CASS the current account after the interest is in it.

I ended up having to send them a letter in the post requesting the account closure which they finally did and paid the outstanding interest.  I also raised a complaint and got an additional £130 from them as compensation.

IanManc

Bridlington1 said:

jameseonline said:

Am I right in thinking there's more than 1 Ulster Bank &/or you have to be in Ulster to get certain accounts?, don't know much about it tbh but judging from this thread it doesn't seem very good.

I don't have major issues with RBS or NatWest though.

Ulster bank is part of the NatWest group and you can open/manage Ulster accounts no matter where in the UK you live, there's no need to be in Ulster. 

Pedant alert: Ulster Bank accounts are available to people who live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Ulster is one of the four ancient Provinces of Ireland, and it consists of nine counties: Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Antrim, Down, and Londonderry in Northern Ireland and Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.

That's why Ulster Bank never refers to its accounts being available to people living "in Ulster" because they're not available to residents of three of the nine counties of Ulster.

"Northern Ireland" and "Ulster" are not the same thing, and Northern Ireland isn't a Province no matter how many times UK politicians and the BBC refer to it as one. My late Gran's family were from County Armagh and although she was from a fervently Presbyterian family this used to drive her nuts, with her shouting at the television "That's just wrong! Get your facts right!". 

jameseonline

Ulster Bank is Northern Ireland though, there used to be another Ulster Bank in Republic Of Ireland but that was a separate thing and closed 

martinisfab

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

WillPS

I'm not sure I see any evidence that it's any more or less difficult if you're in NI or GB. Every provider will occasionally slow things down and/or ask customers to jump through extra hoops to prevent fraud. 

Middle_of_the_Road

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

martinisfab

Middle_of_the_Road said:

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

I was referring to the savings account, as other people have in this thread.

I have opened a savings account without a current account.

Further to the worrying comments above, have people had problems have withdrawing their capital and interest from their Ulster Bank savings account?

Thanks.

Update: I have rang Ulster Bank. They really are atrocious. The only way to transfer out/withdraw from a savings account is apparently to transfer to a current account with them and then from the current account to another bank account. Strangely, they didn't explain to me that a current account was essential to withdraw out.

Bridlington1

martinisfab said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

I was referring to the savings account, as other people have in this thread.

I have opened a savings account without a current account, so having a current account is not a prerequisite.

Though they did amend the terms to restrict opening the Loyalty Saver to Ulster Bank current account holders only. I'm assuming you applied before this restriction came into force though:

martinisfab said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

Further to the worrying comments above, have people had problems have withdrawing their capital and interest from their Ulster Bank savings account?

For what it's worth I've had no issues whatsoever with making withdrawals from the account, it's all instant and I had no issues receiving the accrued interest. The only reason my account currently sits empty is because  barring ISAs I haven't got more than £5k in accounts paying below 5.5% to put in it.

The account took a while to set up but once it was set up it behaved like NatWest/RBS.

friolento

Bridlington1 said:

martinisfab said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

I was referring to the savings account, as other people have in this thread.

I have opened a savings account without a current account, so having a current account is not a prerequisite.

Though they did amend the terms to restrict opening the Loyalty Saver to Ulster Bank current account holders only. I'm assuming you applied before this restriction came into force though:

martinisfab said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

martinisfab said:

Has anybody else in mainland Britain had problems withdrawing their money and getting their interest paid from their Ulster Bank account? 

I was going to use Ulster Bank for my savings as the rate is good, but, in light of the issues reported above, am now hesitant.

Ulster Bank don't pay interest on current accounts. They do pay the top rate on their Loyalty savings account though.
You need to open the current account to get the savings account, which then is easy to operate, exactly the same online and app as NatWest and RBS.

Further to the worrying comments above, have people had problems have withdrawing their capital and interest from their Ulster Bank savings account?

For what it's worth I've had no issues whatsoever with making withdrawals from the account, it's all instant and I had no issues receiving the accrued interest. The only reason my account currently sits empty is because  barring ISAs I haven't got more than £5k in accounts paying below 5.5% to put in it.

The account took a while to set up but once it was set up it behaved like NatWest/RBS.

Same experience here