Avoid!
We opened a 1 year savings account so we could get a reasonable interest rate, knowing we would be withdrawing after the year using the money as a house deposit.
We were told after the year our money would transfer to a regular access savings account. This was not the case, our money was reinvested for another year without notification or our consent and we were told we could not have access to our own funds so we can put a deposit down on a house. That’s theft, in laymen’s terms.
We tried to withdraw 16 days after our fixed term came to an end and were informed that had we been 2 days earlier we could have done so without problem as there is a 14 day cooling off period before reinvestment. Another fact we weren’t made a aware of.
The only way we could get OUR money was to write a letter and it would be released at their discretion.
3 weeks later we get a phone call saying that we were 5 days late requesting our money (not 2?) but that as a goodwill gesture, they would let us have our money back!! A goodwill gesture?
We had a few reminders that our fixed term was coming to an end but absolutely nothing to say that our money would be reinvested with no access to it. And we still have to wait several days before it is transferred.
You cannot keep people’s money without their consent, simple. We should have gone to the police, let alone the ombudsman.
Reviewed on: 14th February 2020
