Absolutely miffed off with Abbey - Help Paypal!

[nightkd]

I know generally how it works! But basically, this is the scenario:

I'm in the US, still using my UK bank account. I'm in the process of moving money FROM that bank account to DH and my joint account in the US. Well my bank (Abbey - who are utterly CRAP BTW...I was going to open a new bank account with a different bank, but obv can't now!) keep blocking my card. Doesn't help that DH keeps trying to take over my daily limit out repeatedly even though I tell him not to but I've spoken to fraud three times now. I've told them I'm in the US and it's me doing the transactions.

Last time was a couple of days ago, they rang me at 4am my time, automated service, I was put on hold and told to hang up and they'd ring me back. They rang back 2 hours later at my UK HOME ADDRESS even though I've told them I'm only contactable on my US phone number!! I rang them the NEXT morning early and she said she'd unfreeze the account... She then went on about how amazed she was that they'd rung on my US number the other day because they don't have it, kept on and on and on and put me on hold, came back went on and on and on, so my phone bleeps. I tell her I'm about to get cut off - she wasted all my credit unnecessarily - and shortly after I do get cut off. Well after that I go straight onto my top-up website, top-up via paypal, all goes through, the account's unblocked... DH takes my card with him this morning and can't get ANY amount of money out! WTF? It seems like they've frozen it again!! The hell is their problem?! The only transaction I did was to top my phone up since I spoke to them, so what have they frozen it again for?!

Soooo basically, what I'm wondering (if it works) is if I can transfer money to the Paypal account linked to DH and my bank account, then transfer the paypal balance to our bank account - how do I do that and how long will it take?

The reason we're transferring money by cash to his account is because it was meant to be faster than transferring between bank accounts, MEANT, until Abbey stuck their oar in. I'm just wondering if transferring between paypal and bank accounts will be faster than transferring purely between bank accounts?

ETA: I don't particularly want to speak to Abbey again if possible right now, because that's another $25 of credit down the pan that I'd rather not be spending right now. Obvo I'll have to if they've completely blocked the account; just seems strange that I could use paypal but couldn't withdraw money!

 

[nightkd]

Okay, screw that. I can't send Paypal amounts again either now, I did wonder. F*cking Abbey! I'm so sick of them screwing me around! I mean a DAY after I talk to them, do one transaction and I have to ring them again!!!!!

 

[nightkd]

Okay folks, panic over (because I know everyone was really worried about this! ) I rang Abbey - who last time told me rather bluntly I had to ring straight to the Fraud department, not them - spoke to a woman who had on that cheery 'customer service' voice that you can't get mad at and she put me on hold...listened to some rather frantic hold music, then a young man answered the phone. He was really helpful and unfroze my account straight away. Then told me to "Take care" I think I'm in love! Haha, just nice that I actually got my problem dealt with quickly and got over and done with without wasting more credit than I needed to ($7 instead of the $18 that the woman yesterday/day before wasted by putting me on hold for no reason and talking to herself whilst keeping me on the line!!). Well I'm content for now. Just want to get all my money over here so I don't have to fuss around with Abbey anymore.

 

[Maffie]

It's a common pattern for fraud on accounts to be done by topping up phones, so that may keep flagging your account.

 

[nightkd]

It's a common pattern for fraud on accounts to be done by topping up phones, so that may keep flagging your account.

Thing is I told the lady this the other day. She asked what the paypal payment was that kept coming up frequently, same amount, fairly regular (more regular around the times they freeze my account and I have to ring them!! ) and I told her. She said "Oh right, okay, that's alright then.." She made a note of a date in November that I would be returning to the UK (for safety reasons, just gave me a few extra months in US that hopefully they won't just freeze my account for having a transaction in the US!!) on my account, so why not this? I mean, it was one transaction too. I can understand if it was like 5 top-ups within a week or something, but topped up the same day I spoke to them (after telling her I was about to run out of credit) and then the next day I couldn't use my card again!!

Hope it's not going to happen every time I top up my phone from now on. Though should be doing that from our joint account now really.

 

[Maffie]

I've had similar problems with cahoot (also part of abey and santander) Hate them. Thankfully not my main bank.

 

[GersPrincess]

Gosh, I was just reading your posts and I'm glad I'm not with the Abbey anymore. Have they offered you any compensation for all the credit you've had to keep putting on your phone to call you?
I am with HSBC, and they were fab went I went to the caribbean earlier this year. I called them before I went, said where I was going and for how long and I had no issues with my card or making payments at all. They put some kind of flag on the account to say where I was.

Just a thought, but do Abbey do online banking? would it be easier for you to go online and do a transfer to your oh's account that way? hope you manage to get it sorted, must be really frustrating for you!

 

[nightkd]

My mum said I should apply for compensation, not too sure I can be bothered right now tbh. Guess it might be worth making a note of the calls and cost of them though for the future.

I spoke to them and told them I was in the US, they said fine and that they made a note so it wouldn't automatically trigger a freeze...but then do it again. I was going to change over to Lloyds at one point, but didn't get the chance what with payments going in and coming out...then I ended up over here!

I've got online banking but it takes 2-3 days for payments to get to my mum's account (she's also with Abbey) so I thought it would probably take quite a bit longer to get overseas to DH's account...we needed that money in there asap, now DH has incurred bank charges amounting to $108 because the money wasn't there and now one of the checks for immigration stuff has bounced. All because Abbey unnecessarily froze my account AGAIN and then AGAIN so we couldn't put the money in there quickly enough. Got it in there today, expect a letter from the immigration people requesting a new check now.

DH's bank is really crappy - they bounced the immigration payment which came out FIRST, but didn't bounce the payment to themselves for new check books which came out after the immigration stuff. WTH?! So basically they're just trying to make as much money as possible for themselves... And one of the above overdraft charges ($36) came out BECAUSE of the payment for the check books!!! It's ridiculous. So now we have over enough money in there, but we're down $108 and the immigration people don't have their money yet, so don't know how it's going to effect our application.

Abbey have really f*cked me off on that front and our joint account here is crap - all the banks I've looked at seem to be the same, they clear payments before clearing deposits (even if the deposits were put in first) so they can charge you for going overdrawn. It's like you've constantly got to have a few hundred dollars as a buffer just INCASE they decide they're going to send you overdrawn before clearing your deposits to cover the payments that send you overdrawn....

Anyone in the US recommend a good bank?!