In March I went to my branch of Nationwide to transfer £100,000 from a stocks and shares Individual Savings Account (Isa) into my existing Nationwide cash Isa.
They told me I could not add more to that account.
I therefore arranged to split the sum equally between two different Nationwide Isas – a two-year fixed rate and a one-year account. I signed the forms and received copies.
The first transfer was successful but despite me chasing for several weeks, the second has not happened.
I am having sleepless nights as the money has left my stocks and shares Isa provider. Please help.
J.R., Crawley.
Missing: A Nationwide customer has been left waiting for weeks after £50,000 disappeared when they attempted to transfer it from a stocks and shares Isa to a cash Isa
Sally Hamilton replies: You would expect a huge savings organisation like Nationwide to have well-oiled systems for receiving funds via an Isa transfer from another organisation without them going missing.
Transferring tax efficient Isas is meant to be straightforward, even if it involves moving from a stocks and shares plan to a cash account.
Transfers do not count towards a saver’s annual £20,000 allowance. To ensure the tax-free protection is not lost, the switch needs to be set in motion by the new provider with special transfer forms.
It’s vital customers do not cash in the old plan first. The new provider contacts the incumbent to request the funds be moved over.
You had taken all the right steps but were left in serious limbo regarding your missing savings.
You were let down not only by below-par administration at the start but also by poor communication not just with you but between the society’s departments as well.
I was unimpressed when you mentioned customer services warned you that it can take
them up to a week to get a reply from the transfer team and that internal contact was only possible by email. What an archaic way to run things, especially in an emergency.
Anyway, when you mentioned you had received and returned duplicates of the transfer forms you had already signed in branch, I was suspicious that things had gone wrong early on.
I asked Nationwide to investigate why it was taking so long to trace your missing £50,000.
My intervention prompted a rapid response, and your funds were soon found and directed to the new account within 24 hours.
It turned out your original forms had gone astray which was why you were asked to complete a second batch.
Separately, staff had been confused by your two transfer requests for the same sum, believing they were simply duplicates of a single transaction.
You thanked me enthusiastically for the ‘Sally magic’ in finally getting matters resolved.
A spokesman for Nationwide says: ‘This was an isolated processing error which we have explained and apologised for directly to the customer.’
Nationwide paid you £200 in compensation, plus £163 in interest lost by the delay.
Replacement Apple Watch won’t hold its charge
I bought an Apple Watch from O2 last year. The watch appealed because it has an in-built fall detector which is useful as I have Parkinson’s disease and I’m deaf which makes me unsteady on my feet.
The contract was for 48 months at a monthly cost of £5.99 for the device, £4.75 for the airtime and £10 for the insurance.
About 11 months later, on January 3 this year, while waiting to board a cruise liner in Southampton, I realised my watch was no longer on my wrist.
After passing through cruise security, I used my iPhone to track it. It said it was somewhere in Southampton.
I phoned the hotel I had stayed in, but they could not find it. I reported it lost to the insurer, which agreed to replace it.
This they did but the replacement was a reconditioned model that would not hold its charge for more than four hours.
I persevered but after several weeks I complained. The insurer refused to help but O2 said it would take the watch back and cancel my contract. They said they would send me a prepaid jiffy bag but several weeks later, it has not arrived. Please help.
F.N., Worcester.
Sally Hamilton replies: You told me that due to your hearing impairment you struggled to get your message across in phone calls to O2.
Despite requests they offer another means of communicating with you this didn’t happen.
On my intervention, however, you started to receive emails, including one which confirmed it would cancel your contract and waive any associated fees, once it had received the watch. A jiffy bag was finally sent out for you to return the watch.
When we caught up recently, you confirmed that the watch had been returned and your contract had been cancelled.
You were mightily relieved and are now deciding what to do about replacing the device. O2 customers who have hearing difficulties, like yours, have other options for getting in touch with customer services, including its online chat via the O2 website.
They can also register for its ‘access for you’ service through which they can elect a preferred method of contact.
It also offers access through the SignVideo Service, which they can use on their computer or smartphone. There is also Relay UK, where messages can be read out to the person being called, with the reply typed out.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
