# More Northern Rock Account Trouble



## Jethro Tull (19 Nov 2007)

Just logged onto my NR acount (I left a small amount in after transferring the bulk of my holding). The website is acting up AGAIN. After asking for my Customer ID & password it puts me straight back to the Customer ID screen again. The lad sitting beside me in work tried then out of interest and his accounts screen was blank. Anyone else have this trouble?


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## jfk (19 Nov 2007)

I got this message: We regret that this service is currently unavailable. 
Please try again later, or telephone our administration office on (01) 480 6050 for further assistance. Opening hours 09.00am - 17.00pm (GMT) Mon - Fri


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## Jethro Tull (19 Nov 2007)

Must say, I think I'll get the rest of my cash out as soon as I can. This type of rubbish isn't really acceptable from a 'demand' account.

Is it a co-incidence that this is happening the same day there is bad news re. take overs?


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## whatsmoney (19 Nov 2007)

just logged in now, and it appeared faster than normal....!


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## Jethro Tull (19 Nov 2007)

I'll try again so.....

EDIT: Just got in.


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## sherib (19 Nov 2007)

Jethro - you gave me a fright. However, I've just logged on and got through to my account. The only delay was after all the questions and when it said _service currently unavailable_ I just clicked on "Continue", waited, and up it came. The same happened when I tried to print my account details but again it worked OK when I just waited - less than a minute. 

I reinvested with NR, never closed the account, so I hope it's not going to start acting up all over again. What do people think? It's all too easy to start a panic. I didn't hear of any bad news about take-overs.


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## Jethro Tull (19 Nov 2007)

Maybe I was over reacting as it seems to be working fine now but I couldn't get in for about 2 hours. With regard to the take over news:

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/1119/northernrock.html


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## TSThomas (19 Nov 2007)

I sent them an email myself a few days back [Thursday, possibly Friday] querying why Monthly Interest had yet to be credited to my account... still no response & as yet no sign of the interest being added.

6:56;

_We regret that this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later, or telephone our administration office on (01) 480 6050 for further assistance. Opening hours 09.00am - 17.00pm (GMT) Mon - Fri _

Looks to have gone glitchy again... presumably the website's taking another hit what with the news today.


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## Dinarius (19 Nov 2007)

I was one of those who left money in.

But, I turned on Radio 4 at 8:55 this morning and heard the news summary. The last straw as far as I'm concerned.

So, I logged on at 9:05 and transferred all but €400 to my nominated account.

I opted for the transfer by 11:00a.m. option - you have to tick another box for this.

This afternoon I got in and checked. No transfer. I called them and they said that the "transfer by 11:00a.m." option was not available at the moment. They said it will take the usual 3-4 days. 

This is an electronic(!) transfer. Why does it take 3-4 days? More importantly, what is happening to the money during this time?

I've now opened an Rabo account and am waiting to hear from them.

NR are <expletive deleted>

Alistair Darling must be feeling like our lot did when AIB put a gun to their heads all those years ago. Pity no one ever went to jail for that. Ah, but sure there's no such thing as white collar crime.

D.


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## sherib (19 Nov 2007)

Having done a bit of reading about todays event, I'm wondering if there is reason to be perturbed - what do Banking savy people think? The following is on todays _TimesOnLine_
*



Are my savings with Northern Rock safe?
Yes. At present, Northern Rock is borrowing money from the Bank of England (£24 billion, so far) to fund its loans. 
The Government is also guaranteeing all Northern Rock savings accounts. HM Treasury today said: "Savers in Northern Rock can be reassured that their money is safe." 
Will the Bank of England loan continue if Northern Rock is bought or broken up? 
The Bank of England credit facility expires in February and the loan will not automatically be available to the new owners

The Bank of England credit facility expires in February and the loan will not automatically be available to the new owners. 
However, the Bank of England and the Government are willing to discuss the possibility that the loan can be renewed. 
If Northern Rock is nationalised, then all deposits will be backed by the Government, as is the case with National Savings & Investments. 

Click to expand...

 *The full article is here: 
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/t...nance/article2900599.ece?token=null&offset=12
As far as I can glean the biggest concern is that British Tax Payers may have to pick up part of the tab. Do people here agree that there should be no panic at least till after the end of the year and that the guarantee of savings is still in place; or is this just postponing the day for inevitable withdrawal of savings?


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## kilomike (19 Nov 2007)

I got out a few weeks ago. It's not worth the grief staying put and watching and worrying, trying to second guess what might happen next (IMHO).
I think investors *are *postponing the inevitable.


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## AlastairSC (19 Nov 2007)

sherib said:


> Do people here agree that there should be no panic at least till after the end of the year and that the guarantee of savings is still in place; or is this just postponing the day for inevitable withdrawal of savings?


 
I've got a decent lump sum with them. Was reassured about the BoE guarantee until this morning's news on Radio 4. Would be glad to hear other poster's views...


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## paddyb (19 Nov 2007)

I find it quite incredible that people are still worried about their money in Northern Rock.  The UK government is not going to let Northern Rock go under.  

In my opinion the Times article is sloppy journalism - How is Northern Rock going to repay the UK governemnt next Feb when the loan expires?  Have a look at the debate in the commons last week where the clear inference was that the UK government will need to lend money to Northern Rock for some years to come. Equally nobody is going to buy Northern Rock unless they can get agreement from the government to defer repayment of the debt.

If worried about Northern Rock then move your funds elsewhere but the reality is people should be much more concerned about property assets they own especially in many foreign locations.


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## Nemesis (20 Nov 2007)

Well said paddyb. I'm not worried about my savings with NR. I believe the money is secure. Of course, no one likes to see their bank the subject of negative media attention like this but there really isn't that much new here. The bids were always likely to be low given the situation at the moment and things haven't looked great for shareholders from the start.

The one thing that might concern me is not the security of the money per se, but access to it. If negative news like this provokes more people to withdraw their money because they're feeling uncomfortable and this causes delays or problems on the website then that is an issue. I've money in other accounts to fall back on if there were some delays or problems so I won't be making any changes on foot of today's developments. Perhaps this potential for negative news to create high traffic on the website is just too much for some to put up with. Everyone's got to make their own decisions on this, I guess.


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## ninsaga (20 Nov 2007)

Not overly concerned about it either.....just annoyed at the fact that logging into the site is a problem most of the time.


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## Danmo (20 Nov 2007)

I can't understand how everyone is so laid back when you can't access your money when you want it.


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## Afuera (20 Nov 2007)

paddyb said:


> I find it quite incredible that people are still worried about their money in Northern Rock. The UK government is not going to let Northern Rock go under.


I think this is a little simplistic paddyb. While I don't doubt that all despositors in NR will be able to get their money back (eventually), I'm not sure the British government can do that much to stop the company from falling over and being crushed by its own debts.
Currently the UK government is providing help under the guise of "emergency support", which can only be in place for a maximum of 6 months before the EU will request it to be removed. This gives them until February to get their act together. So far, no viable offer has come in and the credit situation does not seem to be getting any better. If they can get an offer together before the six months are up it's possible that the UK government could then try to provide "restructuring support" which may buy them a little more time, but it's very questionable if the EU will allow NR to continue receiving state support long term as it obviously gives them a competitive advantage over all other private banks there. I expect that most British taxpayers would be disgusted to see NR nationalised as effectively they would be the ones paying for the banks irresponsible business model and I know that the head of the BoE, Mervyn King, would be horrified at the moral hazard this would create so I don't think that's a runner either.
The fact that they've lost 60% of their deposits since the crises, the incredible churn rate of borrowing they've had to take on to keep going, the damaged brand that they have now become and the lack of any credible offers in a worsening credit crunch makes it look like a basket case at this stage. If you've no need to access your savings for a few years then you've probably nothing to worry about by leaving your money there (even if it goes bust) but really... what's the point, when there are plenty of other places you could put your money?


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## ninsaga (20 Nov 2007)

Danmo said:


> I can't understand how everyone is so laid back when you can't access your money when you want it.



... just a phone call away


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## Afuera (20 Nov 2007)

ninsaga said:


> ... just a phone call away


For now... I wonder how easy it will be to access after February?


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## paddyb (20 Nov 2007)

Do you really think that the EU is going to force the British governemnt to withdraw fundings?  Yes the EU does have 'state aid ' rules but as in the case of Crédit Lyonnais these are unlikely to used to disadvantage depositers.

As I said before get out now if you have any worries.

I just hope we can move on to talking about the impact of the credit crunch on the wider economy especially property.


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## smurf (20 Nov 2007)

Take it out ... its not worth the hassle


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## 10romans (20 Nov 2007)

*what about rabo?*

given the level of jitters re banks like northern rock, does anyone have any concerns about rabo? - who are the safe ones?


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## RaboDirect (21 Nov 2007)

*Re: what about rabo?*



10romans said:


> given the level of jitters re banks like northern rock, does anyone have any concerns about rabo? - who are the safe ones?


 
This has been discussed extensively on this thread 

Rabobank is the only AAA rated bank in Ireland and in terms of assets, is larger than AIB and Bank of Ireland put together. RaboDirect is a constituent part of Rabobank's Dublin branch and also has a full AAA rating. In fact Rabobank consistently maintains its AAA ratings. RaboDirect's customers are afforded protection under the [broken link removed]which currently offers higher levels of protection than the scheme operated by the Financial Regulator in Ireland. 
Rabobank is licensed by the Dutch Central Bank and also abides by the codes of conduct and business rules of the Financial Regulator. 

RaboDirect


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## pc7 (21 Nov 2007)

have to say agree with smurf, instead of having to monitor news to keep an eye on the situation put it elsewhere!


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## Danmo (21 Nov 2007)

ninsaga said:


> ... just a phone call away


 
Not quite. It took me 10 weeks to get my money out of them. Long story.
I know the gov has guarenteed the money etc but that's no use if they want it in a hurry. They shut down the web when they feel like it. If it all goes horribly wrong how long will you be waiting then? I like MY cash where I can get MY mits on it when I want it. But that's me.


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