Q. I had \u00a380,000 in a two-year fixed rate bond with Coventry Building Society that came to an end in December last year. I received several emails in the run-up to Christmas that I am afraid I didn\u2019t read at the time, telling me that my money would be reinvested in a new two-year fixed rate savings account.<\/p>\n
When I finally got round to attempting to withdraw money in the new year, I was unable to do so as my money was locked in a new fixed account until January 2028. <\/p>\n
I phoned Coventry and was given short shrift by the young woman who took my call, telling me that I had been sent emails warning me this was going to happen. I said that I was really sorry, that I was not au fait with these kinds of things.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a 69-year-old artist and really am not used to having much money but I inherited this from my parents a couple of years ago. The last thing that I want is for my money to be locked up for another two years.<\/p>\n
I asked if there was some way to release this money and she told me that I\u2019d have to wait until 2028, when I will be given another window to take the money out.<\/p>\n
The woman I spoke to said she would raise the complaint and that I would be called on the following Monday or Tuesday. I said this would not be convenient because I am at work on those days and can\u2019t take time out, as I run an arts service for adults with learning disabilities who all have extremely challenging needs.<\/p>\n
She made a big fuss about this, saying that it meant that she would probably have to de-escalate my complaint as there was only a short window of four days before it got registered as a lower-level complaint or words to that effect. I said I could be free on the Wednesday, which she begrudgingly agreed to and said someone would call me at some time that day.<\/p>\n
I know I\u2019ve been a bit daft and feel embarrassed to have not read the emails properly, but I\u2019m not used to dealing with financial products. I don\u2019t understand why I can\u2019t take the money out and just lose a few days interest as a penalty.
Robin, London<\/p>\n
Holly Thomas writes<\/p>\n
I was rather incensed by your letter. Being told you couldn\u2019t access your money after explaining the circumstances sounded ludicrous, and your experience on the phone was most upsetting. You admit that you could have paid more attention to the account in the run-up to the crucial deadline, but no one should be made to feel foolish or given short shrift when managing their money. <\/p>\n
The funds you saved with Coventry were an inheritance from your parents received a little over two years ago. You parked it in a fixed savings account paying a decent rate of interest while you decided what to do with it.<\/p>\n
A few months ago, shortly before the money would become available, you found a financial adviser who could help you make a plan for it, along with more savings held in different banks, to help generate an income for you.<\/p>\n
You have been self-employed most of your life and have not saved in a pension, so having access to this money is important as you approach your seventies.<\/p>\n
You didn\u2019t relish the thought of another telling-off by Coventry staff on the phone on the day you were promised a call-back, so you wrote to me for help.<\/p>\n
I checked the terms of the new account on the website, which state that after a 14-day \u201ccooling-off period\u201d no withdrawals are permitted.<\/p>\n
Like you, I couldn\u2019t understand why Coventry took such a hard line on this after you had explained the reasons behind missing their deadline, which boiled down to a genuine mistake in the run-up to Christmas.<\/p>\n
I spoke to Coventry, which agreed to allow you to access your money after all. It transferred a total of \u00a384,546.24 and offered to pay you \u00a325 by way of an apology. You accepted to allow you to draw a line under this.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Comment: The government must reverse course on inheritance tax relief<\/a><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t feel that \u00a325 reflected the upset caused by the phone call when you asked for help, so I asked Coventry to increase this figure, but it declined.<\/p>\n You said: \u201cI\u2019m very grateful for your help. I\u2019m just pleased the matter is over as I\u2019ve found it all rather upsetting. I just hope nobody else gets caught out like I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Coventry said: \u201cOur customer services team have spoken to the customer in detail to understand his exceptional circumstances and have apologised for any offence caused when he called us after the maturity window had closed.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of a fixed rate bond there is usually a window within which savers must request a withdrawal or the money gets placed in another account. It\u2019s important before you sign up to check when the fixed rate comes to an end and what the options for your money will be at that stage to avoid being caught out. Note the maturity date in your diary and any cut-off dates in correspondence in the weeks running up to it so you don\u2019t miss the deadline.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve asked 17 people at Ovo to spare my parents from debt collectors<\/p>\n Q. My parents are both in their mid-eighties and are very upset with the way Ovo is treating them. <\/p>\n Back in September Ovo wrongly closed their electricity account after a request from a property in the same street. On discovering the issue their account was reinstated, and told nothing further was required. But soon my father realised their meter was not working correctly and it was not registering their two-tier tariff, which gave them ten hours of low-cost energy. <\/p>\n This is important as they don\u2019t have mains gas in their village and rely on electricity to power everything. My father explained this to Ovo.<\/p>\n Despite assurances that this would be rectified, we remain in the same position many months later and now Ovo is demanding a large bill of about \u00a31,300 and has instructed a debt collection agency. My father, who is the account holder, has spent many hours on the telephone trying to resolve this issue and has spoken with 17 different people from Ovo, with no success.<\/p>\n They do not want to pay a large incorrect bill, but Ovo seems unable to rectify a situation caused by its mistake. This is causing my parents significant anxiety. I have tried to engage with Ovo but I am not the account holder so can\u2019t progress this. Holly Thomas writes<\/p>\n Your parents\u2019 electricity supply was incorrectly transferred to another supplier, which can happen when a wrong address is accidentally selected by a neighbour when switching utility companies.<\/p>\n While the Ovo account was reinstated a couple of weeks later (there was no loss of supply, thank goodness), there seemed to be crossed wires when it came to the matter of billing.<\/p>\n Before the account was closed it was on a Simpler Economy 10 Direct Debit Plan, which is designed for high-usage households (often with all-electric heating, as in this case). That plan offers ten hours of cheaper electricity per day, paid for by monthly direct debit to secure lower rates.<\/p>\n When the supply was returned to Ovo, the meter configuration was not automatically restored to the two-rate Economy 10 tariff and so bigger bills were accumulating. Plus no direct debit had been set up, so a balance was building up with no monthly payments. Ordinarily there might be a surplus left in an account, but when the account was closed (in error), the surplus of \u00a3640 was returned. <\/p>\n \u2022 TfL sent debt collectors after my elderly dad over someone else\u2019s fines<\/a><\/p>\n In January your father paid \u00a3500 to Ovo to show willing, but still wanted the account reconciled properly. The remaining balance of \u00a3807.63 then got passed to a debt collection agency.<\/p>\n When I got involved Ovo quickly halted all activity from the debt collection agency and looked to resolve this. It analysed historical billing data from the previous year, confirming that typically 40 per cent of the energy used by your parents was during off-peak hours.<\/p>\n By applying this 40 per cent split to usage between September and February, Ovo calculated that \u00a3206.92 needed to be removed from the bill. It also credited your father\u2019s account with \u00a3250 as a gesture of goodwill to acknowledge the poor customer service he received, which he has accepted.<\/p>\n This left a final balance of \u00a3350.71, which your father has paid in full. Ovo has restored the Economy 10 tariff and a monthly direct debit at \u00a3200 a month has been set up.<\/p>\n
Jon, Somerset<\/p>\n