Abbey 7% 1 year fixed term bond

NM_no_money

In Dec 07 Abbey were offering this 1 year 7% bond which looks very attractive. It seems that they had a big demand for it and it is now getting clear that Abbey is not being able to cope with the demand.
I have been told that they are having problems with their computers and are not able to open the Bond account even though they have received my application and they are sitting on my money ( big amount )
They are very crafty in holding on to people's money like this.
Are there any one out there who are having a similar problem.
Typical scenario :
Early Dec you send in your application and transfer your money (min £50,000) to Abbey account.
The bond is supposed to start 1st Jan ( but has not happened yet )
Your money is probably by now in Abbey account earning 0.5 % to 1%
SO for a period of around 10 to 30 days you are loosing out on interest

I am wondering if this was a very clever ploy to get people to send in their money from outside of Abbey !!!!

I would like to hear from any one who has been successful in getting this Bond and what was their experince

I personally have lost a large amount in interest
I have learnt a lesson with Abbey

KTF

Wont they back date the interest to when they received your paperwork?

NM_no_money

The bond is supposed to start from 1st Jan 08 so yes the interest will be from that date. However to open the bond one had to send in the money on application - in my case early Dec - so from early Dec07 to 31 Dec 07 I get very little or no interest.
I think Abbey have played a very clever game here !!!

Primrose

No

I'm beginning to think that Abbey are becoming pariahs in the banking world, rather like Ing. I've read many accounts in the press about the terrible way they have treated bereaved people trying to sort out their financial affairs and have come to the conclusion that they are understaffed, inefficient and don't have the right structure in place to deal efficiently with their customers. Sometimes the big headlined interest rate deals are not the best deals because of the hassle they cause and in my experience, organisations like Birmingham Midshires and Kent Reliance come up trumps every time when it comes to customer service.

[Deleted User]

I work in Abbey branch and from the day the bond was opened you will receive the 7% interest, so if your bond was opened on 2nd december (example) you will get the 7% from 2nd december until maturity.

The bond was so popular that it was taken off sale within 2/3 weeks.

Jake'sGran

Primrose wrote: »

I'm beginning to think that Abbey are becoming pariahs in the banking world, rather like Ing. I've read many accounts in the press about the terrible way they have treated bereaved people trying to sort out their financial affairs and have come to the conclusion that they are understaffed, inefficient and don't have the right structure in place to deal efficiently with their customers. Sometimes the big headlined interest rate deals are not the best deals because of the hassle they cause and in my experience, organisations like Birmingham Midshires and Kent Reliance come up trumps every time when it comes to customer service.

Diana Wright of A Question of Money in the Sunday Times has said more than once that she gets more complaints about Abbey than any other bank. Wasn't it Banco Santander who took them over? I now read that they are likely to make an offer for Alliance & Leicester, another UK bank with aggressive marketing techniques.

[Deleted User]

Jake'sGran wrote: »

Diana Wright of A Question of Money in the Sunday Times has said more than once that she gets more complaints about Abbey than any other bank. Wasn't it Banco Santander who took them over? I now read that they are likely to make an offer for Alliance & Leicester, another UK bank with aggressive marketing techniques.

yes true oh god its going to be a nightmare

exel1966

chr_is wrote: »

yes true oh god its going to be a nightmare

Just like ShAbbey are then !!

They really are the most dysmal organisation I've ever dealt with. As soon as the 12 months is up on my 8% current and 10% reg saver I'm off.

PBA

chr_is wrote: »

I work in Abbey branch and from the day the bond was opened you will receive the 7% interest, so if your bond was opened on 2nd december (example) you will get the 7% from 2nd december until maturity.

The bond was so popular that it was taken off sale within 2/3 weeks.

Absolutely agreed, I work in an Abbey branch as well, and agree the bonds were always opened the day the app was brought in. The only delay was because the initial bond deposit had to be cleared funds, so the money wouldn't be paid in to the bond until the cheque had cleared.

I've got to say I'm getting a bit fed up of the ridiculous Abbey bashing going on on here. There were a couple issues last summer, they're long over but we still get several ridiculous threads like this a week based on no substance. Abbey may not be the greatest bank out there, but they're certainly no worse than anyone else, at least that's the feedback I get from the customers I deal with on a daily basis.

gt94sss2

Jake'sGran wrote: »

Diana Wright of A Question of Money in the Sunday Times has said more than once that she gets more complaints about Abbey than any other bank. Wasn't it Banco Santander who took them over?

Yes - though that didn't make much difference to the service we customers received.. until Santander decided to migrate all Abbey's existing IT systems to those that Santander use globally and that was when the problems started as they messed up the migration process.

If my dad's experiences are anything to go by.. the problems are still continuing (at least in their credit card dept if no where else)

Regards
Sunil

exel1966

Come off it PBA, the ShAbbey bashing is completely justified. That's why they feature on Watchdog so often. To say there were a couple of issues last summer and that they're long over is just not true. You know as well as I do that there are numerous problems with the new computer system creating dozens of different problems for customers. It's also very true that these problems are not being fed back to the branches, therefore customers are getting very blank looks or denials when they mention these problems in branch. Communication within the organisation is appalling as is staff product knowledge, but that is probably due to the emphasis being placed on hitting targets. Consumers shouldn't have to come to a site like this to obtain basic information on accounts that staff members should know.

I have several bank accounts and the only one to regularly give any problems is the ShAbbey one. Twenty five years with Lloyds and only 1 problem !!
5 months with Abbey and problems including non-payment of interest, E-saver being incorrectly set up resulting in it having to be closed and a new application submitted, on-line payments not being processed ( fortunately on-line receipt kept by me to prove), duplication of S/O's to another internal account.
All of the above problems instigated and investigated by Shabbey with the same result. An apology from them and £30 compensation each time. I don't want compensation, I just want Shabbey to do their job and look after my accounts in a professional manner without the need for me to remind them of their obligations to the Banking Code and their customers.