iceshare won't transfer money on time

berlinhammer

hello there, new to the site.

i was hoping someone could tell me whether i am right to feel agrieved and whether to complain as i will miss out on my cash ISA allowance this year, in my eyes due to Iceshare not telling me from the outset that i was too late.

in a nutshell on the 26th March I set up the Iceshare 6.1% (i think) ISA, following all the '2007/8' links and so on and having all relevant info to hand and following their deadlines. when it came to the finalising click however the earliest it would let me transfer my 3 grand from my current account until 2 days after the deadline.
this concerned me and i emailed customer services immediately. they only just got back to me to say i'm right to worry and that the money has to be in before. there is a 30 min wait on the phone lines and other than write a snotty email back (i have done) i don't know if i can hurry my funds up or if this is beyond repair (probably is) then if i have a case to cause Iceshare some grief afterwards.

i feel i've missed out on my allowance because of their misleading links and subsequent slow customer service response, which now means it's too late for me to set something up with my current account provider instead.

thankyou for reading, boring i know.

annoyed, london

KTF

Could your identity not be verified online as on the ISA opening page it says:

IMPORTANT: After midday 26 March the only way we can guarantee your Easy Access ISA will be opened in this tax year is if we are able to verify your identity online (85% of our customers can be verified online) and you send us:

a) Your cheque by 1st class post (to: Icesave, PO Box 702, Wallsend, NE28 5AL) on, or before, 27 March.
or:
b) A CHAPS payment which reaches us on, or before, 3 April (your bank may charge for this service).

For any applications falling outside this criteria - we will endeavour to open your account in this tax year. If we are unable to do so we will open your Easy Access ISA in the 2008/2009 tax year.

From: http://www.icesave.co.uk/easy-access-isa-open-account.html

As you opened it on the 26th (Saturday) the payment from your account would have been processed on the 28th. Most BACS payments take between 3/4 days to process so hitting the 3rd would have been very close.

Opening an ISA so close to the deadline is always going to be 'risky' as there is no slack and banks are generally swamped with applications.

Btw, its 'Icesave'.

berlinhammer

thanks.

oops, yes icesave, didn't get much sleep last night.

if that's the case i just wish they would have been clearer about the risks, the way it was presented was very much 'to be sure of your 2007/8 tax year apply before midday 26th,' which is exactly what i did.

i'd have just gone for something with RBS (my bank) if i'd have realised this could happen.

do i have cause for complaint? the way the whole thing was setup i found to be very misleading.

Annabee

Berlnhammer, I am having similar problem with them. When I went to set my account up it was 20 March, which I thought was plenty of time, there was no warning on their homepage that I could see (maybe they only added it later) . I have been forced to cancel a DD which was due to leave on 2 April as when we phoned they said it would not arrive in time (I never knew DDs had to 'clear' and set up a CHAPS payment for which I am being charged by my bank.

I hae just logged in and seen that the other payment which they took by DD on Monday 31 is still showing as 'processed' not 'cleared' funds and then I found some small print saying something abouit SEVEN working days? AArgh!Why didn't they warn about that when we phoned on Monday?

In reality that money left my bank account on Monday, they certainly have it by now, they gave out no warnings and if they try and say the money wasn't there in time for 2007/08 I shall play hell with them. They don't seem to know how to run a bank!
Hope it gets sorted.