Barclays cash ISA

bristolleedsfan

guidarufino wrote: »

Still no cheque!... Yet more promises of it being issued within "48 working hours". Of course I don't believe them but don't see what else I can do. Well a few ideas spring to mind, none of them legal and none I suspect would get me my money any faster. Does anyone know who the relevant body for me to complain to is? I've looked at the FSA website but it doesn't really seem relevant.

Strictly speaking people are supposed to go through the organisations complaints procedure in the first instance.

This is why I always suggest that people deal with matters in writing rather than phone calls, even visits to branches handing in written instructions people should ask for a stamped copy of what they are handing in.

http://barclays.metafaq.com/templates/barclays/main/answerPage?_mftvst:answerRef=%24http%3a%2f%2fapi.transversal.com%2fmfapi%2fobjectref%2fEntryStore%2fEntry%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.metafaq.com%2fmfapi%2fMetafaq%2fClients%2fbarclays%2fModules%2fday2day_banking%2fTopics%2fyour_rights%3a7558%3a6&_mftvst:moduleID=%24day2day_banking&_mftvst:topicID=%24&id=N2677O1F0888FIQO7G45V9OS8O

spcdust

WORD OF WARNING

Let's hope that Barclays process the ISA applications better than they did last year which for many (hundreds possibly thousands) was a complete debacle (Just check MSE forums last year). My personal experience was the worst customer service I have ever received and actually resulted in Barclays paying me £90.00 compensation.

Two applications, one for myself and one opened by my partner at two separate branches. Both completely messed up involving lost cheques, identity wrongly recorded in branch, no one knowing where applications were - the list goes on and on of totally abysmal organisation and the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. Ultimately applications which were made in the first week of April were not actually opened by Barclays until July and August respectively and this was pretty typical for many.

Don't get me wrong, the 6.5% rate is definitely attractive, but I actually have no faith in Barclays being able to process the applications efficiently. The most frustrating thing for many was opening an account with a nominal amount of say £10.00 with the intent to top it up once the account was opened HOWEVER due to the ridiculous backlog some accounts took 3-4 months to open and those people couldn't pay their remaining allowance in until after account was set up therefore effectively loosing 3-4 months interest. People might consider opening their account with a cheque with their full allowance at the time of application and if there are delays Barclays will backdate any interest to the date the application was received, therefore nothing lost.

Sorry, bit of a long rant but just warning others to be aware of possible problems.

spcdust

SavvyFan

Apparently Barclays are definately still accepting ISA applications till Saturday 5th of April - so I' gonna head to my local branch tomorrow.

John_3:16

I opened one last week it showed on line. Have now topped it up on the phone although long wait on the phone, so far no problem. Be aware you cannot top up the tax haven account isa on line it has to be done on the phon or over the counter. Thats what I was told?

guidarufino

Totally agree spcdust. Getting my ISA opened in the first place was a nightmare, I lost a few months' interest due to their slowness and incompetence in opening it and I'm still suffering now as it was obviously the branch that recorded my name incorrectly all those months ago meaning I can't get my money back now!

I have written a complaint letter to Barclays, 1 copy to the ISA department, 1 to head office and one to the ombudsman.

Barclays have these great rates to entice people in but have neither the resources nor the inclination to service the accounts once they're opened. Open a Barclays ISA at your peril!

bristolleedsfan

spcdust wrote: »

The most frustrating thing for many was opening an account with a nominal amount of say £10.00 with the intent to top it up once the account was opened HOWEVER due to the ridiculous backlog some accounts took 3-4 months to open and those people couldn't pay their remaining allowance in until after account was set up therefore effectively loosing 3-4 months interest.
spcdust

From 15th May 2007, Barclays allowed people to add to their ISAs at branches whether or not they had received their account opening details.

( dont ask me how it was organised, its just a fact that the facility was in place and my belief is that a poster from here has enquired with Barclays and has been told that facilty is remaining in place.)

I was one of many that gave submitted 2007/08 Tax Beater application form towards the end of March 2007 with a nominal 1.00 personal cheque with the intention of adding 2999.00 at the earliest opportunity.

As you say we were unable to add anything until at least the middle of May 2007. ( others obviously later as u highlight) Those who complained had the 2999.00 backdated to 6th April 2007, most of us had the 2999 in a high interest paying account so we did ok out of it.

redmerlot

Hubby and l walked into our local Barclays at 3.30pm yesterday afternoon. There was a long queue but were quickly attended to by a lady who came down from the upstairs office.

All done and dusted in 30mins and no hard sell. Left her with a cheque and she said we would get an account number in a couple of weeks.

By the way we had a Barclays account by default as our old mortgage was with Woolwich and we left £5 in the account in case we needed it again.

gillbee

guidarufino wrote: »

Still no cheque!... Yet more promises of it being issued within "48 working hours". Of course I don't believe them but don't see what else I can do. Well a few ideas spring to mind, none of them legal and none I suspect would get me my money any faster. Does anyone know who the relevant body for me to complain to is? I've looked at the FSA website but it doesn't really seem relevant.

I'm not sure who you'd complain to - but I had a Barclays complaint today and I used this number 0800 282 390. I got a really helpfull lady who rang round lots of different departments on my behalf to sort things out. Good luck.

Neiliboy

Lokolo wrote: »

I went into my Barclays with my form filled in, spoke to a lovely lady at the desk who then went and took photocopies etc., filled in my info, and I was out of there in 10! I think it depends where you go (branch wise).

me too....Barclay Cherry Hinton Road.....

My wife & I bowled in there on Tuesday afternoon....all our forms were filled in, we had ID, Drivers Licenses, Utility Bills etc.....wrote our cheques out.....the advisers were busy - nice Branch manager comes out, photocopies everything and says we'll get our info in the post in the next few days (to be fair we're still waiting but by no means worried)

Anyway - the whole process took 10 minutes tops.......credit where credits due :-)

calisto

Hi, all this debacle is news to me. I decided to open a Tax Haven ISA online, being a Barclays Current a/c holder. Not having sufficient funds in my account, I initiated a BACS from ICICI for 3k on 1st April, expecting the funds in Barclays to complete the ISA Application on 4th/5th April.

Unfortunately ICICI cocked up and the BACS went out 2 days late and won't show up 'til Monday/Tuesday. (This is a sign to me to get the rest of my cash out of ICICI)

Obviously with no cash available to fund the ISA, I decided to be a bit canny, and applied for a Barclayloan online of 3k (@17.9% !!!) last night, which was credited to my account first thing this morning (Funny how efficient they can be when its in their favour!).

My intention is to refund the Barclayloan when my BACS finally arrives on Mon/Tue, and to cancel my loan agreement under the Consumer Credit Act, and so have no fees or interest to pay.

Now I am hoping that all online processes are done by computer in real time, including the ISA application. If this is offhanded to a manual overworked staff then I am worried as I will have 3k sitting in a 0.01% interest current account that could have been sitting in a 6.16% ICICI account. I also needlessly had to take out a temporary Barclayloan for the privilege!

(PS. Anyone else with an online account can apply for a Barclayloan now, it will be there first thing in the morning. You will be able to apply for the ISA online on Saturday before 2PM. Then cancel the loan within 5 days of agreement arriving in post which gives ample time for a cheque or BACS to clear it)