Hi all,
Last week I opened an Ulster Bank Money Desk 1 year account @ 3.7 and still have not received a confirmation letter in the post.
04/05/11:
-I closed an account I had with another bank and dropped into my local UB branch with the bank draft.
-Confirmed the deposit rate was 3.7% for the Money Desk 1 year and decided to open it then and there.
-Spoke to a customer advisor who advised the draft was fine, they'll take it out as soon as it clears.
-Opened the Money Desk account (was advised I'll get a confirmation letter in the post with all the 'deal' details), selected my UB current account as the admin account and desposited the draft there.
06/05/11:
-Bank draft cleared (checked with online banking).
-Exact bank draft amount withdrawn (automatically) with 'INT' as the transaction code with various numbers in the description field seperated by commas and ending with my name.
13/05/11:
-Scratching my head thinking surely I should have received the confirmation letter by now (was advised the account doesn't register on your online banking).
Can someone please assure me that nothing has gone terribly wrong?
Ulster Bank have dreadful systems. It seems that the local branch can't do anything themselves. Everything is routed through Northern Ireland including opening and closing of accounts, issuing of letters etc.
Update: 16/05/11
Looks like patience does pay off here. Got two letters from UB. One was a welcome letter to the money desk accounts and the other confirms the details of my deposit (a specific ref no. to the account + a dedicated call line for money desk customers).
Looking at the return addresses at the back of the envelopes, they came from London (even though the contact details in the letter ref Belfast). So guess there's no surprise at the longer correspondence time.
For those of you wondering why it can't be checked online I'm guessing part of the reason is that it doesn't operate like a 'normal' account rather you have a nominated UB admin account for the purpose of processing your deposit and handling the maturity of your funds. Not sure whether that should be mentioned with it in the best buys sticky?
[broken link removed]
For administration purposes, an Instant Access Account (i.e. an Account that does not require notice of withdrawal) is required with Ulster Bank in the same name as the Deposit, if you do not hold one already. An Instant Access Account can be an Ulster Bank Easy Access Account or an Ulster Bank Current Account. The Instant Access Account will be used for the processing of funds placed on and maturing from your Deposit, together with interest due.