HBOS - Overpayments via online transfer

JoeShmoe_2

Id like to start making irregualr overpyaments of my mortgage from my LloydsTSB account.

I can setup and make payments from my online bank page using a sort code, account no and ref no. Now if I do this using my mortgage details and the roll number (A/xxx) as the reference will this be OK?

Alan_T_2

JoeShmoe wrote: »

Id like to start making irregualr overpyaments of my mortgage from my LloydsTSB account.

I can setup and make payments from my online bank page using a sort code, account no and ref no. Now if I do this using my mortgage details and the roll number (A/xxx) as the reference will this be OK?

You should be ok. The entry will go through direct to the account with just the sort code and account number as I'm fairly certain the mortgage accounts wouldn't have a collection account.

The roll number bit is only really useful for direct credits to individual sortcode and accounts numbers if the wrong details are quoted (helps identify te correct account from rejections rather than return the payment). If your payment is to a collection account then you would definitely need the roll number reference.

JoeShmoe_2

Thanks

Out of interest with the new BACS system, how long should it take? I might just pay 1 fiver initially to see if it all goes through as expected

moominyak

Hi Joe,

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this... my current a/c is with the Hfx (as is my mortgage), yet I can't make an irregular overpayment via an online transfer from one account to the other, I can't even do it over the phone, oh no, I've got to physically get to a HBOS branch to do it - how prehistoric is that?!

So after reading your post I'm thinking I might open a little a/c elsewhere so I can do it online and save the time (and the petrol!). Although I suppose it'd take a week, 3 days from my Hfx a/c to the new one and then 3 days back again - when's Halifax starting this faster payments thing?! :rolleyes:

Smifta

The small print of your mortgage. To see if the interest is deducted based on any overpayment or in blocks of £1000. Only, I found out to my cost that Leeds (formerly Leeds & Holbeck), hold any amount overpaid that is under 1000, on account until the next annual review. That means you are in effect saving nothing for that year and have lost any interest you might have had in a savings account.:mad:

moominyak

I've only made a few small (I think the most was for £250) overpayments to my Halifax mortgage, and each time, they've been credited to the mortgage account the next working day, so IMHO it's definitely worth paying them sooner rather than later no matter how small they may be!

Alan_T_2

moominyak wrote: »

Hi Joe,

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with this... my current a/c is with the Hfx (as is my mortgage), yet I can't make an irregular overpayment via an online transfer from one account to the other, I can't even do it over the phone, oh no, I've got to physically get to a HBOS branch to do it - how prehistoric is that?!

So after reading your post I'm thinking I might open a little a/c elsewhere so I can do it online and save the time (and the petrol!). Although I suppose it'd take a week, 3 days from my Hfx a/c to the new one and then 3 days back again - when's Halifax starting this faster payments thing?! :rolleyes:

You should be ok to do this internally from Halifax Current Account to Halifax Mortgage. It won't let you set up the payment using the roll number as A/ type roll numbers won't work via online banking. However you should be able to set up the payment as an external payment using the sort code and account number.

Siimple version of how this works... The payment in this scenario won't actually be sent out via BACS, what will happen is that the internal systems will sift through the file with all the external payments due to be sent that night and remove all the ones to other Halifax accounts, and apply these overnight.

Basically at the first step you are confusing the system into thinking it is an external payment, and when it realises that it isn't external when it tries to send, it will fix it for you .

Haven't tested this with mortgages, however I do know that this applies for other products.

moominyak

Hi Alan,

I've tried to set it up that way but it's having none of it, it just says "invalid account details" or something (and yes, I've checked and double checked the sort code and account number).

I rang the Halifax to ask them why this wasn't possible, they just said it's got to be done in-branch - they can't even do it over the phone, pah!

Thanks anyway though

mitchb

moominyak wrote: »

Hi Alan,

I've tried to set it up that way but it's having none of it, it just says "invalid account details" or something (and yes, I've checked and double checked the sort code and account number).

I rang the Halifax to ask them why this wasn't possible, they just said it's got to be done in-branch - they can't even do it over the phone, pah!

Thanks anyway though

I had teh same issue about a year ago with the same outcome. If you get a resolotioun please let me know

Smifta

It is deliberate inflexibility by your bank. Basically, they are happy to provide these products, but they dont want to make it too easy to make overpayments. The easier it is, the more likely the customer pays it off even more early, and they make less profit.

The same goes for the Leeds with their 1000 payment figure. A word of warning though: I would still check the small print of your mortgage, just in case they take the amount off the total, but still calculate the interest differently. Sometimes banks and building societies defy all reasonable logic. Credit cards are a prime example, where cash withdrawals and then spending on a 0% transfer card can be charged for indefinitely, (and get compunded with interest), if the original balance transfer is not first paid off.

Alan_T_2

mitchb wrote: »

I had teh same issue about a year ago with the same outcome. If you get a resolotioun please let me know

I'll have a think about it when I'm back in the office tomorrow... not sure what other options there are, but I'll pick a few brains and see what we can come up with.