Santander Switch Nightmare

leongecko

On 30th May I applied for the current acc switch to take advantage of the £175 switch bonus offer. I am moving from halifax ultimate reward to santander edge up. The whole process has been a nightmare from the start and not yet finished.
After i received my new debit card I went online to register for online banking only to receive the message, sorry we cant do this you need to go to a branch. bring ID. I did this and they didnt have a clue what I was there for, I explained i was trying to register and was told to come to a branch with ID.
They phoned HQ apparently there is a lock on my account, they didnt know why, presumably they just needed proof of who I was, fair enough. I was there an hour. The next day, still no access. I phone santander, they have no record of me going to the branch. No id was sent through.

The woman on the phone apologises but say I will have to do it again but she phoned the branch manager while i was on hold and explained to him to expect me and how to send the id correctly.
The next day I go to the bank first thing, go through the whole process again. When i get home, I phone santander to make sure they have received the ID from the bank. They say yes they have it, and that it had been forwarded on and should be sorted by end of business that day.

That was 5 days ago. I have been phoning santander every day since. 

Today, I check my old current acc and it has been drained. All funds have (presumably) gone to my new santander account, which i have no access to. I havent been told if my direct debits or standing orders have been switched, I have rent payments going out tomorrow, All santander say to me on the phone is that it takes a couple of days. its been 5 days. I have nbo way to buy food and I am terrified that as there is a lock on the account that my rent payment/other direct debits will bounce. 
In my increasingly irate phone calls to santander, telling them of the urgency of the issue they just say there is nothing they can do and that hopefully things will be ok.
I have done all the running on this issue. I havent received 1 phone call or email from them telling me what the issue is.

I wish I had never done it. I have £30 quid in cash until this is sorted out, but everytime i phone "oh it takes a couple of days, sorry we cant help." its disgusting.

JadedAngel88

You should be covered by the current account switch guarantee. You should have that information from when you agreed the switch. That should tell you what to do when things go wrong.

Nebulous2

That sounds very distressing for you. 

It's a bit late now, but many people here have several accounts, and don't switch their 'main' account, or at least have another one giving access to banking facilities while waiting. 

pecunianonolet

I would, if possible for you, go back to the branch and ask them to go through line by line with you on the data they hold making sure it is matching the real data. I had similar issues at some point and it all was caused by an apostrophe in the street name. The road sign outside on the street doesn't have an apostrophe but the Royal Mail postcode library has one. Simple things like that or wrong date of birth, etc can cause total mayhem with their IT when it is cross checked with credit reference agencies.

I would take stuff like council tax bills, ID and anything else you may deem useful e.g. payslips with you just in case. 

I would in parallel ask them to log a formal complaint and make them aware about the distress it is causing you and that you can't feed yourself or face worst case negative consequences should not all direct debits, standing orders, etc. got moved as you can't check yourself. You may want to ask them to check that for you what has been set up. Depending on the nature of the block they may or may not be able to tell you that.

You could also ask if they could provide you with a temporary interest free overdraft of say £50 - 100 so you can go about your day to day shopping until resolved. Doubt they will do it but always worth to ask.  

penners324

Remind me to never visit one of these awful legacy banks ever again.

Utterly awful, old and decrepit back end systems.

They want everything done online but you can't do everything online with them. Other banks manage it.

eskbanker

Nebulous2 said:

That sounds very distressing for you. 

It's a bit late now, but many people here have several accounts, and don't switch their 'main' account, or at least have another one giving access to banking facilities while waiting. 

Or failing that, if switching one's main account is the preferred option, then at least waiting until the new account is fully up and running (cards/PINs in use, online access tested, money in/out validated, etc) before initiating the switch, rather than hoping that everything will fall into place and being exposed if it doesn't.  That's not to excuse poor performance from Santander here of course, but just highlighting the value of prudent planning....

northwalesd

penners324 said:

Remind me to never visit one of these awful legacy banks ever again.

If you think they're that bad you shouldn't need reminding. Personally I don't find them any better or worse than the new fintech institutions.

Bigwheels1111

Santander.

Going by the posts on here.

Enough said.

wiseonesomeofthetime

I am with Santander and have had zero issues with them 🤷‍♂️

Maybe I have just tempted fate

penners324

northwalesd said:

penners324 said:

Remind me to never visit one of these awful legacy banks ever again.

If you think they're that bad you shouldn't need reminding. Personally I don't find them any better or worse than the new fintech institutions.

At least those banks will do ID verification in app. Starling don't even need a phone call to explain a large payment you make (in app questionnaires)

northwalesd

penners324 said:

northwalesd said:

penners324 said:

Remind me to never visit one of these awful legacy banks ever again.

If you think they're that bad you shouldn't need reminding. Personally I don't find them any better or worse than the new fintech institutions.

At least those banks will do ID verification in app. Starling don't even need a phone call to explain a large payment you make (in app questionnaires)

As has every legacy bank I've opened an account with, including Santander. Likewise I've never had to call any legacy bank to 'explain' any payments, even those running to several tens of thousands.