Millennium bcp Bank - WARNING

[pickwick]

Hi all

Last night (28 Feb) at 20:12 I recieved an e-mail from Millennium advising that "as of 24th February you will be able to make transfers in sterling pounds into your account with Millennium bcp via NATWEST (RBS Group)........" Much further down the e-mail was the following bombshell:-

"We wish to inform you that on the same day, 24 February, the transfer service via HSBC will be discontinued and the codes you use to transfer funds into your Millennium account will be deactivated. If you use these codes after the date mentioned above your transfer orders will be returned and you will incur charges detailed in the pricing of HSBC for which Millennium will not be liable".

In summary any regular transfers or any transfer you instigate now using the stored details in your online banking facility will "bounce" and eventually the funds will be credited back to your UK account less a fee charged by HSBC. I suspect that many regular transfers will be set up to transfer funds on the 1st or 2nd of the month. If so you need to act now and change the details for the transfer to the new details contained in the e-mail!!

This is a shocking way to treat customers with a major change to the funds transfer system advised in arrears without notice. I for one will be taking this up at the highest level in Millennium.

Pickwick

[e-richard]

Thats certainly pretty bad, and who knows how or why they left it so late to warn you. It will be interesting to hear their excuse.

FWIW, I bank with BPI, who also offered a transfer service via HSBC, but BPI emailed us on Feb 13th to notify us that this service would cease on Feb 28th ! The exchange rate offered was always somewhat better than other FX services, so I will certainly miss it

[pato]

Why are they refusing to deal with HSBC?

[e-richard]

Dunno, but could it be HSBC not wanting to deal with the Portuguese ? Or even HSBC not wanting to deal in Euros ?

Or most likely, the bonus that the HSBC manager might get has been cut by £0.5m and he is upset.

[widge]

I had a mail advising me that they had done a deal with RBS & that my transfers between Millennium & RBS / Nat West would now be free.

[pickwick]

Hi Widge

Sounds like the same e-mail. Did you also get it on Friday evening? The point is that the e-mail was 4 days after the event and that is simply not acceptable. The transfers via HSBC were also free so no benefit from changing to the RBS Group?? As it happens I instructed a transfer on the morning of the 27th via HSBC as normal but as is now apparent this was three days after the arrangement between Millennium and HSBC came to an end and Millennium did not have the common decency to advise me in ADVANCE. Needless to say I will be holding them reponsible for any costs I incur in this matter and will be demanding a reduction in the "service" charges they apply each month (probably to zero) as their "service" is non existent and if they do not agree and aplogise we shall take our personal accounts and business accounts elsewhere (not that they will be bothered as we have never had any loans or mortgage with them).

The issue is the arrogance and lack of consideration demonstrated by Millennium in telling their clients after the event and not having the common decency to tell us in advance as it seems, according to e-Richard, BPI did in the middle of the month. I shall be visiting both Millennium and BPI to discuss future terms Monday.

Pickwick

[tricky]

I got a letter in the post today to the same effect, but just saying that the HSBC transfers were free, no mention of anything else?

[widge]

Hi Widge

Sounds like the same e-mail. Did you also get it on Friday evening? The point is that the e-mail was 4 days after the event and that is simply not acceptable. The transfers via HSBC were also free so no benefit from changing to the RBS Group?? As it happens I instructed a transfer on the morning of the 27th via HSBC as normal but as is now apparent this was three days after the arrangement between Millennium and HSBC came to an end and Millennium did not have the common decency to advise me in ADVANCE. Needless to say I will be holding them reponsible for any costs I incur in this matter and will be demanding a reduction in the "service" charges they apply each month (probably to zero) as their "service" is non existent and if they do not agree and aplogise we shall take our personal accounts and business accounts elsewhere (not that they will be bothered as we have never had any loans or mortgage with them).

The issue is the arrogance and lack of consideration demonstrated by Millennium in telling their clients after the event and not having the common decency to tell us in advance as it seems, according to e-Richard, BPI did in the middle of the month. I shall be visiting both Millennium and BPI to discuss future terms Monday.

Pickwick

Good luck mate, it's never easy dealing with bankers !

[shanagarry]

I shall be visiting both Millennium and BPI to discuss future terms Monday

I would like to be a fly on the wall in both those buildings tomorrow morning

[sam]

I also got this email on Friday night. I was angry as I had made a transfer via HSBC on 25th, so the funds would not have gone through and I would be charged. However, on checking, the money did go through and was credited to my Millennium account on 26th. So looks like someone typed in February instead of March change over.
So, if people change payment to NatWest before 24th March will that go through? Very confusing.
Whatever, totally unacceptable for a bank.
As it is from a UK bank account to a UK bank account then any charges should be claimed and/or referred to UK ombudsman.

[pickwick]

Hi Sam

That is a big assumption and wrong. I put an international trace on my transfer and after calling "customer service" someone at Millennium found the cash and credited it to my account at 21:04 on Friday night. The actual date for shutting down the HSBC transfers was the 28th of February and not the 24th as stated in the e-mail. Nevertheless the e-mail was sent far too late as customers need to be told thesae things in advance!!!

I await a new offer of the service charges from Millennium, the refund of the cost of the call to "customer service", the refund of the £25 international trace and a written apology. They have until 17:00 Friday.

Pickwick

[shanagarry]

They have until 17:00 Friday.

What happens beyond that - if they don't meet your demands

[pickwick]

Hi Shanagary

Armagedon!!

Pickwick

[shanagarry]

Armagedon!!

You should sell tickets for this - it has educational content.

For those of you who don't know Pickwick - be in no doubt that 'Armageddon' is probably an understatement

[pickwick]

Hi Shanagarry

You know the routine - recorded delivery letters to the home addresses of all main board members (just like I did to the RBoS - and I still have the replies from Fred Goodwin, Tom McKillop et al!!!!!!!) stating the facts and making a resonable demand for compensation etc. It always helps to tell them that you are writing to them so as to inform them what is going on at the grass roots of their business. They usually do not have a clue what goes on day to day. As you well know I always get results (recently it has been car hires that have gone wrong) and I almost always get what I ask for.

Pickwick