Skipton closed account without telling me and I missed out on LISA bonus - should I be complaining?
JustJustin
Posts: 1 Newbie
I'll keep it short. I opened a Skipton LISA last summer and didn't pay into it until late March 2018.
I think at the time the bank staff said I could leave it until I was ready to pay in, but I couldn't swear on my life about this.
When I did try to transfer money, they returned my payment because the account was 'closed or on notice to close'. Quite a surprise to me.
I called them up and apparently if you leave an account with no balance for 30 days they close it...!
I didn't get a letter, or email warning me about this. I expect it was in their Ts&Cs (haven't checked yet), but I've missed out on the £750 future bonus now on my £3k, so I'm fuming!
Then again, maybe it's just hard cheese, my mistake, it's in the terms and conditions, and I wouldn't get anywhere by complaining.
What do you think. Any point escalating this?
I think at the time the bank staff said I could leave it until I was ready to pay in, but I couldn't swear on my life about this.
When I did try to transfer money, they returned my payment because the account was 'closed or on notice to close'. Quite a surprise to me.
I called them up and apparently if you leave an account with no balance for 30 days they close it...!
I didn't get a letter, or email warning me about this. I expect it was in their Ts&Cs (haven't checked yet), but I've missed out on the £750 future bonus now on my £3k, so I'm fuming!
Then again, maybe it's just hard cheese, my mistake, it's in the terms and conditions, and I wouldn't get anywhere by complaining.
What do you think. Any point escalating this?
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Comments
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Why did you not deposit £1 to start the 12-month clock? Most accounts do require an actual deposit to be fully opened.
If you think the bank staff said that, then raise a complaint, they'll have call recordings. If they didn't then don't hold out any hope.
You can still open it and put in £4k for this tax-year (and again at the beginning of the next tax year), you cannot use it until the next tax year now anyways.0 -
It wouldn't let me open mine unless I deposited at least £1. I didn't think you could open it on zero (not that I see why you would).0
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Yes I am not entirely sure how you even managed to open the account without an initial deposit?
Its always worth ensuring there is enough time to resolve any unexpected difficulties when making contributions near the end of a tax yer.0 -
To be fair, I've just had a quick read through https://www.skipton.co.uk/~/media/skipton-co-uk/pdf/savings/online-cash-LISA-terms-and-conditions.ashx and don't see any reference to a requirement to fund within 30 days, but suspect that this will have been stated in the account opening confirmation documentation, i.e. something along the lines of 'your account has now been opened and you now need to fund it within 30 days'.JustJustin wrote: »I expect it was in their Ts&Cs (haven't checked yet), but I've missed out on the £750 future bonus now on my £3k, so I'm fuming!
Then again, maybe it's just hard cheese, my mistake, it's in the terms and conditions, and I wouldn't get anywhere by complaining.
What do you think. Any point escalating this?
Check your confirmation and see how explicit it was to see if you have any cause for complaint....0 -
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I just went back and had a quick look at the docs they provided upon the opening of my account (replica of docs you're required to read during application process) and they state the following in the Ts&Cs under '2. Operation of the account':
2.13 The account opening date is the date that we receive your first payment. This is the date your 12 month period starts if you want to make a withdrawal for a first house purchase. If we don't receive your first payment within 30 days of application, the account will be cancelled.0 -
I just went back and checked those Ts & Cs I linked earlier and they're different! The relevant clause is 2.11 rather than 2.13 and does include cancelling unfunded accounts but specifies 60 days rather than 30....2.11. The account opening date is the date that we receive your first payment. This is the date your 12 month period starts if you want to make a withdrawal for a first house purchase. If we don’t receive your first payment within 60 days of application, the account will be cancelled.0
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I just went back and checked those Ts & Cs I linked earlier and they're different! The relevant clause is 2.11 rather than 2.13 and does include cancelling unfunded accounts but specifies 60 days rather than 30....
Huh, interesting that.. I opened my account in October so perhaps they've changed them since then?
Edit: either way, seems the OP is well beyond 60 days unfortunately
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I don't know if they've changed their policy since you opened your account, but I received multiple emails after opening my account in early March 2018 with the following message:
"Thank you for applying for an Online Cash Lifetime ISA with us. We've noticed you haven't paid into your account yet. To take advantage of the benefits of an Online Cash Lifetime ISA you need to make an initial deposit within 30 days of your account application, which you can do with as little as £1.
It's important to note that if you don't make a deposit within 30 days of your application, your application will be cancelled and you won't have subscribed to a Lifetime ISA for the 2017/18 tax year."
If you believe you were specifically told you could leave it open though with no initial payment, it might be worth trying to take StevenHP's advice and get the recording of your call (If that kind of thing is possible).
Best of luck!0
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