Transfer to A&L internet account.....

chambta

Opened one for a combination of the Quidco cashback and the decent interest rate.

Account is all opened and a d/d instruction set up on my RBS current account. I requested a transfer in 7 days ago with the online instructions stating it would take around 3 days.

Nothing has yet been taken from my account.

Is this delay normal?

YorkshireBoy

How long will it take for payments to be received into my account?

If the money is transferred from an Alliance and Leicester account it will take one working day to clear. Direct transfers from accounts held with other financial institutions will take four working days to clear. However, a Direct Debit transfer from a current account held with another financial institution will take eight working days to clear in the first instance, thereafter Direct Debit transfers from the same account will only take four working days, this money will then be available for withdrawal a following five working days from clearance.

http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/esaveruserguide/index.asp?page=page3

...which is why you should always make your first DD pull a nominal amount, ie £1.

MarkyMarkD

And yes, it's normal. It's a feature of the way the paperless DD system works, for all banks, not just A&L. As YB says, the workaround is to make an initial £1 deposit (which will suffer the delay) before you start making real deposits (which will only taken 4 working days).

funkyhitman

What would be the point of making a £1 deposit, waiting, and then putting the amount in you want? Surely it would be best to deposit the entire amount 1st time, thus only waiting 8 days?

YorkshireBoy

funkyhitman wrote: »

What would be the point of making a £1 deposit, waiting, and then putting the amount in you want?

To minimise the interest lost whilst you wait for the DD to be called.

Because you never know exactly when the first DD will be collected from your bank, you'd need to keep the funds 'at the ready' in a (possibly) poor interest paying current account.

Pulling £1 first, whilst keeping the rest in a linked (to your current account) savings account, is the way to go.