Halifax ISA Backlog ?

KeithEssex_2

Is anyone else waiting for their new Halifax fixed rate ISA to be changed from the initial opening ISA Saver to the fixed rate one ?

My money was received from HSBC on 1st May and yet they still haven't amended it to show the fixed rate.

They tell me they have a large backlog !! How long can this process take ?

Sapphire

KeithEssex wrote: »

Is anyone else waiting for their new Halifax fixed rate ISA to be changed from the initial opening ISA Saver to the fixed rate one ?

My money was received from HSBC on 1st May and yet they still haven't amended it to show the fixed rate.

They tell me they have a large backlog !! How long can this process take ?

You think you've got problems? I arranged for a transfer from the Kent Reliance ISA to the 2-year Nationwide Fixed Rate ISA Bond as far back as end of March, and have still not had any confirmation from Nationwide that the new bond has been opened, despite KR sending them a cheque dated 16 April.

It took looking at my accounts to see that what they have actually done was to add the sum to my previous FRSISA Bond, date September 2007, rather than opening the new bond!

When I tried phoning the number for the department that deals with these transfers, I was kept holding on for 15 minutes with annoying music playing in my ears. I complained today at the branch, but they say the central department is nothing to do with them (though they will be writing to the department and asking them to correct this foul-up).

Naturally, I am not best pleased with Nationwide at the moment. Their overall service is fine, but in this case they are sadly lacking, and don't fill me with a great deal of confidence.

I'll be taking my complaint further and in a stronger manner if the whole matter is not sorted out promptly. It's just all such a waste of time (which I don't have enough of anyway). :mad:

KeithEssex_2

Sapphire wrote: »

You think you've got problems? I arranged for a transfer from the Kent Reliance ISA to the 2-year Nationwide Fixed Rate ISA Bond as far back as end of March, and have still not had any confirmation from Nationwide that the new bond has been opened, despite KR sending them a cheque dated 16 April.

It took looking at my accounts to see that what they have actually done was to add the sum to my previous FRSISA Bond, date September 2007, rather than opening the new bond!

When I tried phoning the number for the department that deals with these transfers, I was kept holding on for 15 minutes with annoying music playing in my ears. I complained today at the branch, but they say the central department is nothing to do with them (though they will be writing to the department and asking them to correct this foul-up).

Naturally, I am not best pleased with Nationwide at the moment. Their overall service is fine, but in this case they are sadly lacking, and don't fill me with a great deal of confidence.

I'll be taking my complaint further and in a stronger manner if the whole matter is not sorted out promptly. It's just all such a waste of time (which I don't have enough of anyway). :mad:

That sounds terrible - I hate making chasing phone calls to get them to do their job properly !

The sooner the whole ISA transfer process is automated so we can do it ourselves on-line the better !!!

It must be costing the Banks / Building Societies a fortune in handling all our queries about the problems. Much better to get it sorted quickly and not get the irrate customer calls ....

Sapphire

KeithEssex wrote: »

That sounds terrible - I hate making chasing phone calls to get them to do their job properly !

The sooner the whole ISA transfer process is automated so we can do it ourselves on-line the better !!!

It must be costing the Banks / Building Societies a fortune in handling all our queries about the problems. Much better to get it sorted quickly and not get the irrate customer calls ....

Leaving apart the error Nationwide have made with my transfer, I've often heard it said that banks/building societies are very busy, and that's why it's taking so long to process ISA transfers. Well, I think that if they are so busy, they should be taking on extra staff to deal with the workload.

To my mind 'being busy' is no excuse when it comes to people's hard-earned personal finances. The whole process should not take more than a week after they receive the money, and they should certainly inform their customers once a transfer has taken place (not to mention carry out the transfer correctly!). Still :mad:

KeithEssex_2

Sapphire wrote: »

Leaving apart the error Nationwide have made with my transfer, I've often heard it said that banks/building societies are very busy, and that's why it's taking so long to process ISA transfers. Well, I think that if they are so busy, they should be taking on extra staff to deal with the workload.

To my mind 'being busy' is no excuse when it comes to people's hard-earned personal finances. The whole process should not take more than a week after they receive the money, and they should certainly inform their customers once a transfer has taken place (not to mention carry out the transfer correctly!). Still :mad:

For me the most annoying thing seems to be that no-one in the branch or on the phone is empowered to actually resolve the problem personally. They always say that it is "with the team" in some remote back-office somewhere.

I know this is not Halifax specific but the whole Banking industry seems to have lost the concept of customer service these days.

When I take the trouble to go into a branch to resolve a problem I do expect it to be fixed by the time I leave - apparently that isn't the case any more !!

Share your :mad:

KeithEssex_2

Spoke to the Halifax Customer Relations team on (08457 25 35 19) and the problem was resolved very efficiently.

It just took one working day for their system to update the ISA from variable to fixed. The higher 4 year fixed rate available on 1st May was also honoured.

Very happy now .... :j

It definitely pays to escalate these problems rather than use the normal call centre.

p.s. The whole transfer process took approx. 50 days. Roll on "faster ISAs" !!!