Bank being unfair...what would you do?

I sold my house in April and got Â£150,000...the most money I have ever had by a long chalk. I checked with my bank whether I was in the best account for this to earn for me and was told 'yes'.
I have now discovered that I am getting 0.1%, not the 6% I was promised, having never fully read my bank statements.
I have complained to no avail as there is no documentary evidence of my conversation with the bank.
I have a Â£5,000 overdraft facility and am thinking of withdrawing all my money, plus the overdraft to cover what this has cost me. What do you think about direct action like this?
The alternative is to complain to the ombudsman, a process that could take years and I may still not get the interest I think I deserve. The bank has had my money and wrongly advised me.

You should of looked at your statments, move money into premium bonds, income bonds, Isa accounts, etc.

P.s. is you take out the overdraft, you will have to pay it back (Plus interest) otherwise you will be taken to court.

Like you say it was verbal so you have no comeback in law. It happened to me too just move your money to a high interest account

change banks to a high interest account or a mutual building society they are more trustworthy.Dont bother complaining it gets you nowhere anyway.There are loads of internet accounts with great deals Principality 6.10% and many others. Best of luck there is plenty of choice out there i wish banks would realize that.

Hey,

It's not toally clear how they promised you this 6% interest. Was this a verbal conversation over the telephone or during a one to one at a branch? It's a shame oyu don't have any evidence, but these days most banks keep a record phone calls that have been made, especially where advice has been given. If this is the case then you need to first make a formal, written complaint, this will result in a full investigation by your bank into your case. If this is rejected you can then go to the Onbudsman. This process doesn't usually take years, I've always works in the financial services industry and the onbudsman puts a lot of pressure to deal with these cases quickly and efficiently.

(I know you said you had complained, but I was just checking that you'd made formal complaints, not just complaining over the phone about the situation)

The only thing I do worry about with your case, is that you've clearly left the money in a current account, and if the bank did not specifically give you the advice that you would be receiving 6% interest, then you will be the one to lose out. There are lots of benefits to a current account, and they are more costly to run which is why they offer such small rewards compared to high interest rate accounts.

Re what to do now, you don't want to leave the money in your current account any longer, but only take out your positive balance.

If you go into your overdraft you'll be charged very high rates, and believe me, you will be made to pay it back at some point (unless you go bankrupt).

Â£150,000 is quite a big lump so you'll want to think hard about how important the money is to you, how much risk you're willing to take on (the more risk you accept the higher your potential rewards). If I were you I'd probably put it back into another house, either to live in, or buy to let.

If you leave the funds in a deposit fund you'll find it hard getting much more than 6%, which is nothing compared to the rewards that you could be getting for that kind of sum. An OEIC might be a good plan, if you want to invest it, I think that some kind of unit trust would be a better bet, slightly higher risk than a deposit account, but you can expect 5-20% returns depending on the risk you accept.

Any I've rambled on for ages, there are so many choices, you should go into your bank and ask to speak to a PFA (Personal Financial Advisor). you could go to an IFA (Independent) but they either charge quite a bit or get slightly poorer deals as the investment companies they use will pay them commission. Going straight through the banks often gets better deals. Or if you have time, try both before you commit.

But my main two points
1) Complain formally, then go to onbudsmen. Ask if they record calls if said conversation was over the phone. Ask for a copy.
2) Take out the money. Invest in. Don't go overdrawn!

Good Luck!

An overdraft is a loan. You will have to repay it.

That's recently happened to me, although I haven't the type of cash you are talking about in my account. It had only been half a year so I just put it all into a higher interest account. If I were you, I would do that now, incase your complaint comes to no avail, but keep record of the transfer so you can prove you had it in the 0.1% account. Then just keep ringing the bank, asking to speak to people higher up, until they give you the interest you deserve. Hopefully this will work for you if you keep nagging. I wouldn't take out the overdraft as obviously this will have to be paid back with interest/charges. Clearly you aren't desperate enough for money to take out an overdraft :)

You should withdraw your money for sure. I would consider a series of investments that have little to no risk such as money markets, CD's, or even mutual funds. That interest rate does not even keep up with the inflation rate. That means that you are actually losing money by keeping it in there. I would leave a little money in there in case of an emergency so that you had something totally liquid.

you really should if checked earlier, but if i was you withdraw it & place it in a better account with another bank tomorow. leave the overdraft where it is & close the account. you learnt a lesson but you have the oportunity to put it right.

then write a letter to your bank & ombudsman explaining why you have done it & that you are prepared to bank withthem if they give you a better rate than the one you have just changed to & a good will gesture.

If you dont ask you dont get.

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