Savers lose out to costly delays

By Sylvia Morris

SAVERS desperate to move their Isa money to a better-paying account are suffering long delays which could cost them vital interest.

With banks and building societies cutting rates and axing deals almost daily, many savers are now stuck in an account paying almost nothing and urgently want to transfer.

But branches have asked customers not to visit unless it is an emergency, and telephone and postal services are currently limited.

This means Isa transfers, which typically involve more paperwork than other accounts due to extra regulation, are now taking so long to go through that some savers are just giving up altogether.

Money Mail reader Alfred Solomon, 85, from Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey, fears he and his wife Mary, 79, are each losing around £100 in interest because their Isa transfers have been stuck since mid-April.

The couple asked to move from the Nationwide Loyalty Isa to a fixed rate with Coventry

Building Society on April 30. Nationwide had cut its rate from 1.4 pc to a lowly 0.25 pc and Coventry BS was then offering 1.35 pc.

However, hold-ups at Nationwide meant both their transfers were delayed.

Alfred says: ‘We all know there is a national crisis but it shouldn’t have taken this long.’

Since Money Mail intervened, both transfers have gone through and the couple have each received £50 from Nationwide as an apology.

Transfer requests made by Peter, 58, and Brigitte Branston, 60, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, to move their money from Nationwide have taken more than six weeks.

They applied to move in April, when the building society announced its rate would drop from 1.4 pc to 0.25 pc. The couple are still waiting for their money to enter their new Shawbrook fixed-rate accounts at 1.48pc.

Marlene, 73, and Dave Carty, 74, tried to switch from Yorkshire BS to Kent Reliance on March 26. They earn only 0.95 pc, whereas their new deal offered 1.35pc fixed for two years. But after waiting weeks, the Yorkshire couple gave up and cancelled the switch.

Marlene says: ‘When all this is over, we will try again.’

If your transfer takes longer than 15 days, you should earn the higher rate from day 16 — though providers may pay it earlier.

A Nationwide spokesman says: ‘As a result of Covid-19 we have had a resource challenge on Isa transfers.

‘To help with this, additional resource has been moved from other areas.’

A Kent Reliance spokesman says: ‘We are sorry Mr and Mrs Carty have not received the level of service they expected. Like many other Isa providers, we have been affected by postal delays and the lockdown.’