Kingseat

We're with RBS. Opened our ANZ accounts before we left and decided once we got here to transfer the funds. Got the contract with Halo and was told to transfer our funds to their account (we only decided on a bit of our funds to keep us going as exchange rate is pretty poor at the moment). Went online to transfer funds only to discover I need some new piece of kit from RBS (this includes Natwest customers) called a card reader. We don't have this, never have had it and no one has ever written or called us about it.

Telephone banking agreed to do over the phone transfers for us and we set 3 of them up to the maximum allowed everyday. Checked last week to see that the payments came off - they hadn't. Lots and lots of calls back to the Uk to be told that the fraud department cancelled the transfers because I didn't answer my mobile! They didn't even call - no missed calls on my phone. They then froze all of our accounts and nothing could open them up again until we had this card reader and went through all of our security set up again. Because the computer system wouldn't let internet banking or telephone banking through to see transactions without security questions being confirmed which we can't do without this flipping reader (which we were told would take 28 days to arrive!). Anyway, complete meltdown by me to my branch last Friday and they finally agreed to do a CHAPS transfer (the only security they wanted me to confirm after all of that was my NI number!).

Halo got their money and had to do a lot of reshuffling because they extended the contract (costing us more money) but they bought our Australian dollars last Friday however, we're still waiting on them coming through to our ANZ accounts which they should have done yesterday. Absolutely broke. Thank god for family!

Anyway, a long winded story but just to warn any RBS and NW customers to make sure they have this reader and that it works because if you get here and it doesn't you are in trouble.

carlap

Had a similar thing with Natwest. Didn't have card readers. When you transfer by phone, if over £10k they phone you up. I gave them a number to call. However, they didn't use that number, the number they used was an old mobile that we had long since got rid of. Could not set a new number up. so went round in circles as the people who ring you are from the security dept, not the phone banking people. So I transferred something like 5k, where they don't need to phone you back. Once you have transferred, then it is ok and they don't ring you up anymore. This was a while ago (last year), so things may have changed ie limits and things. Anyway, we have a card reader now.

jillandsi

Hi, just to say same thing happened to me, nightmare. However we have a Natwest card reader if you want to borrow it, we're in Duncraig.

Jillian

Kingseat

You are kind. Thank you very much. Some of our money came through today and my cousin posted over our card reader yesterday so we should be fine for now. Thanks again.