What attracted me to IF.com was the interest rates. They compare very well and came out on top when I did a search using www.moneysupermarket.com (another one of my comments). However my experiences from applying to this moment in time are far from good.
Apart from taking almost 3 weeks to open my original plan (a savings account that doesnt even require a credit check)the contact between IF and myself was particuarlly poor. For security they have this type of "instant messaging" which is the only way to contact them. They dont accept ordinary emails. This is ok but it is time consuming and they reply is far from quick in coming. They do have a call me back facility on the web site but for the past 2 months it has been unavailable. I sent a message to them from the web site about this and another matter and 3 days later got a reply. Apart from not resolving my original query they also informed me that they had no idea when the facility might be available. What the hell is the point in it being there then??
IF works by being completely internet based. There are only two ways of getting money into your account (cheque by post & direct debit) and one way of getting your money out. Now aside from the fact that the first 3 deposit i made never materialised and just vanished, this is where they guys & gals at IF really show their intelligence. You log in to the account and request a deposit (eg Monday). This triggers off a direct debit request to your chosen linked account. Now come Thursday or maybe Friday at the latest the request arrives at your external account and debits it. Now bear in mind that direct debits only get paid by the bank if there are sufficient funds to pay it. (I should know I worked for 6 years for HSBC). On the same day the deposit arrives in your IF account. Now that fact it hasnt been recalled or refused for payment means it is CLEARED funds. But oh no. IF then show this money in your account for 4-5 days before it appears as cleared and you can get full access to it. Not bad eh? That means it has taken about 8 working days to get the money from one account to another. But more importantly it means that IF have use of YOUR money for 4 full days every time you make a deposit. This annoys me greatly and I have given up trying to get a response from them as all I seem to get a standard email replys not actually answering the original query.
I am seriously considering looking at another net based bank such as Cahoot because I am very disheartened with IF. After all good interest rates arent everything. I much prefer good customer service and ease of use. Something I have yet to see from IF.com
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I have had similar experience with recent dealings with this bank. There seems to be no sense of customer service at all. When I said I wanted to complain about an issue, they told me there would be no point in me complaining because the issue would be marked 'completed'. When I stated they must have some complaints procedure in place to deal with unsatisfied customers they just said there was no point in me complaining because it would not make any difference. Quality! I am stuck for a couple of years, but as soon as I can I will be moving my mortgage elsewhere.
leroyisourking 23.06.2004 12:56
i have just had similar experience - all i wanted to do was open an ISA and after 2 months of ridiculous letters to and from them I have called them to find that my application has been rejected because I do not have a landline number. I will never be using them again despite the attractive interest rates - i spent more time and energy trying to open the account than the interest would ever be worth!!
polli 08.11.2001 21:25
I am contemplating getting an IF credit card (alas, no op's on them) but this op has made me a bit more wary. thanks for the advice, polli
Advantages: Low interest rates and besides you don't lose anything just by looking!! Disadvantages: Obviously you are borrowing money which means debt but other than that - none really!!
Paula_23_uk 07.05.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Intelligent Finance
Oct 15th, 2001
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