Habib Zurich 12 months bond

mills112

Has anyone opened a 12 months bond with this bank?

They have a 12 months bond giving 4.44% AER, which I opened on 23.12.2025 as I had a bond with them before.

I thought I would put in £1,000 to begin with to make sure it gets there before I fund the account further.

They have set up an account in my name as when I made the £1,000 faster payment, my bank said that the name matches, that is my name.  So that gives me some comfort as some banks don't set up an account in your name but only by a reference number to their account.

I got a welcome email from them and my account details for the payment but it doesn't state the length of the bond or the interest rate on the bond, so I emailed them on 23.12.2025 to ask them to confirm this and to confirm that they have received the money into my account so I can make further payments.

There is no online service so I can't log into my account to find the details.

I still haven't heard back from them and I tried to call them this afternoon, it took a long time for someone to answer the phone.  When it was finally answered, I got a guy on the phone that sounded exasperated and he said that he would pass me to the department that would be able to help me.  However, after a long hold, I got an automated voice message that no one was available to take my call.

Rollinghome

 I opened an account with them but haven't funded it yet.  They've a few branches I could reach if necessary, but your experience doesn't sound impressive, so might give it a miss.  You could email again making clear the terms you agreed and expect to receive, and informing them of the inadequate service you have received. 

mills112

Rollinghome said:

 I opened an account with them but haven't funded it yet.  They've a few branches I could reach if necessary, but your experience doesn't sound impressive, so might give it a miss.  You could email again making clear the terms you agreed and expect to receive, and informing them of the inadequate service you have received. 

I had invested with them some years ago and their service is very basic but at that time, you could send them a cheque for the whole amount, which I did, £85,000.  I called them to ask that they confirm the interest rate on the account and someone answered straightaway and sent over an email to confirm.  That was before they merged with Zurich bank.

So although they provided a very basic service, they were fine and paid the bond value on maturity with the interest promptly without any issue.

That was why I used them again this time, but otherwise I would have preferred someone else as their service is far too basic.

I had given them the benefit of the doubt that this is the Christmas period so their operation may be in "holiday" mode and there is no one around, but they do seem to be lacking clear communication and customer service.  However, that may be why they are able to offer a good interest rate compared to other banks who spend more on this.

I will give them a call again tomorrow and see if I get any joy.  Thought I should ask around on here to see if anyone had experience of them recently.

When did you open your account with them?

Rollinghome

mills112 said:

When did you open your account with them?

23/12. Opening the account did look a touch eccentric.  If they allow 28 days to fund, I think that gives me to 20th.  I've got other fixes and have Ulster Limited Edition paying 4.50% to 4 March and then 4.25% to at least early summer. So another fix at 4.44% looks a bit marginal anyway - depending on where the MPC takes us and what the markets do.

My understanding was that it is still a private bank run by the Habib family. Their other bank, Habib Bank Ltd, was nationalised in 1974. There is an outfit calling itself the Zurich Bank for which the Central Bank of Ireland has issued a warning. No connection with Habib Bank AG Zurich afaik.  https://www.centralbank.ie/news/article/warning-notice-central-bank-of-ireland-issues-warning-on-unauthorised-firm-zurich-bank-(clone)-29-jul-2024

mills112

Rollinghome said:

mills112 said:

When did you open your account with them?

23/12. Opening the account did look a touch eccentric.  If they allow 28 days to fund, I think that gives me to 20th.  I've got other fixes and have Ulster Limited Edition paying 4.50% to 4 March and then 4.25% to at least early summer. So another fix at 4.44% looks a bit marginal anyway - depending on where the MPC takes us and what the markets do.

My understanding was that it is still a private bank run by the Habib family. Their other bank, Habib Bank Ltd, was nationalised in 1974. There is an outfit calling itself the Zurich Bank for which the Central Bank of Ireland has issued a warning. No connection with Habib Bank AG Zurich afaik.  https://www.centralbank.ie/news/article/warning-notice-central-bank-of-ireland-issues-warning-on-unauthorised-firm-zurich-bank-(clone)-29-jul-2024

I called them again today and the guy who answered the phone was yawning on the phone, like he had just been woken up out of bed.  I think these guys work out of their bedrooms!

He transferred me to the savings department again and this time someone did answer but the call signal was really poor so that I could not hear him at all.  He sounded like he was abroad somewhere as I could hear a road digger going in the background.  He confirmed that my money had arrived at my account but he said their welcome email doesn't confirm the interest rate or length of the bond.  You only get that confirmation when you have fully funded the account and they will then send out a statement of the funds invested and its terms.  He said he can confirm the details over the phone but they don't send that information out until the account has been fully funded and the funding window has closed.

I think I am going to look for another bank and ask for my £1,000 to be returned or to only leave the £1,000 there and look elsewhere.

AVOID this bank, honestly they shouldn't even be advertised on MSE tables as they are so poor and just appear to be very dodgy.  I had used them before but they seemed to have really gone downhill.

mills112

update - I sent an email to Habib on 06 Jan to ask for the £1,000 that I had deposited to be returned to me as I had no confidence in their customer service.  I was expecting not to get this money back for a while and having to chase them, but to my surprise I got the money back the next day.  There was no communication however, no response to my email at all.

I think they are legit but their processes are totally reliant on an automated system, which isn't very good with communication.  so you are never certain where things stand.  they don't seem to understand that customers need confirmation details of the product that they have signed up to before they put their money in and it gets locked away.  they don't have online banking, which isn't a problem if they communicate in other ways but they don't, so I can't see why you would want to invest with this company, when their rates aren't even that much higher than other banks who provide good customer service.

I won't be using these guys again.

Rollinghome

I'm sure you're right.  They are covered by the FSCS of course, but that does nothing for the hassle if something goes wrong.  

I recently met a friend who's partner was on his way to the office of Union Bank of India, near London Bridge, to sort out problems he was having with them. I don't know the details. He's an experienced investor, but was apparently pulling his hair out. Any possibility of that sort of hassle needs an exceptional return to make it worthwhile.

mills112

Rollinghome said:

I'm sure you're right.  They are covered by the FSCS of course, but that does nothing for the hassle if something goes wrong.  

I recently met a friend who's partner was on his way to the office of Union Bank of India, near London Bridge, to sort out problems he was having with them. I don't know the details. He's an experienced investor, but was apparently pulling his hair out. Any possibility of that sort of hassle needs an exceptional return to make it worthwhile.

with any bank, they need to have some sort of customer service as when things go wrong, who are you going to call?  not ghostbusters as they won't be any hekp!   so not having clear communication and not answering email enquiries is a no no for any investor.

i can imagine the mess this would get if they needed you to verify anything as you would be going round in circles because their phone service is appalling and they never answer emails.  sounds more like a dodgy retailer than a FSCS credited status bank to be honest.