Santander Standing Order setup form doesn't allow hyphens in reference field
Fingerbobs
Posts: 1,640 Forumite
I just tried to set up a Standing Order from my Santander Current Account into a newly-opened Virgin Money Regular Saver account, but was thwarted because the new Standing Order setup form on the Santander web site will not allow a hyphen character in the Payment Reference field, which Virgin Money Regular Saver accounts require.
The same Santander account already has fully-operational Standing Orders to my previous Virgin accounts, complete with hyphens in the reference, so the problem is just that the new setup form won't allow hyphens to be entered.
Is there any way around this, or am I going to have to call them up on monday to set up the new SO?
The same Santander account already has fully-operational Standing Orders to my previous Virgin accounts, complete with hyphens in the reference, so the problem is just that the new setup form won't allow hyphens to be entered.
Is there any way around this, or am I going to have to call them up on monday to set up the new SO?
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Comments
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I set mine up with a space instead of the hyphen and it works fine.
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Why do you need a reference to be hyphenated specifically?
Surely just using the correct account number and sort-code is enough?0 -
Why do you need a reference to be hyphenated specifically?
Surely just using the correct account number and sort-code is enough?
Payments are all sent to Virgin Money's account number and sort code, and the Reference field is used to identify the Virgin account to which the money is destined. That is (or at least used to be) a very common model with savings accounts. The Reference field has to be correct, or the money won't reach your account, and it just happens that Virgin's account numbers include a hyphen.
It's similar to paying, say, a gas bill or a credit card - you send the payment to a standard account number and sort code for that organisation, and the reference field is used to identify your individual account.0 -
I've never been able to put a hyphen in the Santander ref - VM told me to use a space instead. It has worked for all my 6 or so VM RSs.Fingerbobs wrote: »I just tried to set up a Standing Order from my Santander Current Account into a newly-opened Virgin Money Regular Saver account, but was thwarted because the new Standing Order setup form on the Santander web site will not allow a hyphen character in the Payment Reference field, which Virgin Money Regular Saver accounts require.
The same Santander account already has fully-operational Standing Orders to my previous Virgin accounts, complete with hyphens in the reference, so the problem is just that the new setup form won't allow hyphens to be entered.
Is there any way around this, or am I going to have to call them up on monday to set up the new SO?0 -
I am with Santander and had a similar problem with another bank and they just told me to drop the hyphen. Instead of 123-45678, just enter 12345678. It works fine.Past caring about first world problems.0
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I dare say in the way the banking system is set up the hypens, slashes, full stops or whatever else are all arbitrary anyway. It's all about the numbers. Much like your sort code isn't physically 99-99-99, its just presented that way to you on your card and/or statement because a) it looks nicer and b) you can reel it off in three chunks of two.0
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NW only has room for 6 digits, so you cant put hyphens or spaces in anyway.0
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Thanks for the replies - sounds like the hyphen can be replaced with a space, but I managed to set up the SO including the hyphen using the Santander mobile app :-)0
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Fingerbobs wrote: »I just tried to set up a Standing Order from my Santander Current Account into a newly-opened Virgin Money Regular Saver account, but was thwarted because the new Standing Order setup form on the Santander web site will not allow a hyphen character in the Payment Reference field, which Virgin Money Regular Saver accounts require.
The same Santander account already has fully-operational Standing Orders to my previous Virgin accounts, complete with hyphens in the reference, so the problem is just that the new setup form won't allow hyphens to be entered.
Is there any way around this, or am I going to have to call them up on monday to set up the new SO?
Noting you've solved this using the mobile app: But if this or a similar issue occurs again - you could speak to the bank in branch or over the phone to get them to set up the SO. It sounds like this is a restriction with their internet banking site, rather than a limitation on the system, and the staff members may will have a different interface that doesn't have the same restrictions.0 -
I've noted the introduction of a new process for setting-up standing orders when logged-in to my Santander personal account. However, when logged-in to my Santander business account, which allows access to my personal accounts, the old process is still in place (with, I assume, the ability to enter hyphens into the Reference field), so I'd expect the Santander backend system to still have the same facilities.Noting you've solved this using the mobile app: But if this or a similar issue occurs again - you could speak to the bank in branch or over the phone to get them to set up the SO. It sounds like this is a restriction with their internet banking site, rather than a limitation on the system, and the staff members may will have a different interface that doesn't have the same restrictions.0
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