I won £715 interest from Abbey

Updated: 20:13 EST, 15 December 2009

Keith Rawlings, from Hythe

In this column, you can share your money experiences with other Mail readers.

Here Keith Rawlings, 70, a retired insurance broker from Folkestone, Kent, explains how he took on Abbey, winning backdated interest of more than £715.

He says: 'About 20 years ago, I set up a charitable trust with my wife Sue and invested it in a savings account with Abbey. We use the account to make contributions to concerns of interest to us and regularly make deposits into the account. Over the years, we have invested about £500,000 in it.

'In July, I was making a deposit at my local branch and asked what rate our trust was earning. I was appalled to find we were getting just 0.1 per cent on about £200,000.

'The consultant then said that a rate of 3.2 per cent fixed for a year had been available since January, but could give no good reason as to why I had not been informed.

'I immediately transferred £120,000 to this bond and insisted that this higher interest rate be backdated to January. Later, I was told by another member of Abbey's staff that the 3.2 per cent rate was available only to new customers.

'I said I would transfer the money elsewhere and transfer it back the next day to get the 3.2 per cent rate. They recognised this absurdity and conceded that the account could be opened with effect from September 28, but at 3 per cent.

'After much haranguing, Abbey agreed to apply the 3.2 per cent rate and make an ex gratia payment of £715.71 into our trust.'

An Abbey spokesman says: 'There were some misunderstandings during the application process, including missing identification, when Mr Rawlings attempted to apply for a Business Bond.

'We have worked with Mr Rawlings to come to a satisfactory resolution. As he is a loyal customer, we have, as a one-off, offered to backdate the bond interest to the date the bond application should have been processed.'