Does anyone have a Post Office Instant Saver account? They have been well advertised for the past couple of years. They paid a decent interest rate plus a 1% bonus for the first year. It is run for the Post Office by the Bank of Ireland. We each opened an account but as the bonus period ran out we wanted to close the accounts. We each sent a letter (August 11th) as required asking for the accounts to be closed and the proceeds sent to our nominated accounts. By the 22nd nothing had happened and I was in the process of phoning them when the postman delivered letters asking us to contact them. After 24 minutes I got to speak to a human being. She told me that we had not put the sort code and account numbers we wanted our money sent to in our letters.They already had this information from when we had opened the accounts. In fact the first time I had wanted to make a withdrawal they had got my sort code wrong and the transaction failed and they did not inform me until I complained that my money had not arrived. She said that my account was Blocked as I had made three incorrect attempts to log into it. This they do not notice so they do not inform you of it and I would now need a new PIN number sent to me to use to unblock it. In my wife's case she had never received an I.D. number for her account despite having E-Mailed, phoned and written to them about it. They would now send my wife a new I.D. number. After a week we both get a new PIN number but she did not get an I.D. number. We phone them again on August 28th.(a 30 minute call to an 0845 number) We are told that we need not write again, giving them the sort code and account number (they already have) would suffice.After another week (5th September) I phone again as nowt has happened. A 20 minute call and are told that they have been very busy opening new accounts and issuing new bonds and that we must have slipped to the bottom of the pile. The manager will now gee them up. Again nothing happens and I phone again (11th September) on a Freephone number they have given me. This guy again gets his manager to fire another rocket at the handling department and suggests that a part solution will be for him to do a transfer of the daily maximum amount to our nominated accounts. We naturally agree to this and four days later the money gets to our accounts but nothing happens to close the account. On the 12th I phone the Financial Services Ombudsman with details of our problem. He takes note of my complaints and writes to The Bank of Ireland I can now access my account on line so I do a transfer of most of my balance to my nominated account. Without an I.D. number for my wife I have to phone them again on 17th September. He says that he will do a transfer of her balance to her nominated account and again get his manager to speed up the closure of the accounts with the interest to date. I won't hold my breath. Today I get a letter from the Bank of Ireland saying that they will investigate and get back to me in less than eight weeks:-) I E-Mail them some additional details and part of their reply:-
"Thank you for your e mail. This has been added to your file and we will respond to you shortly. I note the comments that you and your wife wish to close your Instant Saver account. This request needs to be in writing to Customer Service Centre"
I reply Madam, that is what our complaint is about:-)
Derek.
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