I went to the Coventry Building Society to arrange a transfer of my ISA from Metro Bank.
A few days after the ISA matured, the society told me it was awaiting the transfer. A month later, it said it had still heard nothing, and that staff had written to Metro by recorded delivery.
I went to Metro and got someone there to ring the society, but still nothing happened. I thought transferring an ISA took 15 days.
Mrs A.G.
Mysterious: Metro Bank said it had no record of being approached by the building society until it received the signed-for letter
Tony Hetherington replies: Metro Bank told me it had no record of being approached by the building society until it received the signed-for letter.
According to the bank, it then sent a cheque to the society within 15 working days, and the cheque went into your new ISA.
The Coventry Building Society paints a different picture. Staff there explained that Metro Bank does not use the usual electronic transfer system, and everything has to be done by post.
The society started the process on the first day you went to your branch, and then chased this up until eventually they had to email the bank a copy of your transfer application.
According to the society, it received a cheque from Metro bearing a date a fortnight before, so though it did not have your money for that period, the society has backdated your account so you do not lose out.
Staff at the Coventry say their original transfer request was also signed for by Metro. But Metro told me it had no record of receiving it.
The society then gave me a picture of the proof of delivery, signed and dated by Metro. The bank now says it received other transfer requests from the society, but not yours.
A Metro spokesman told me: ‘Evidently something has broken down somewhere.’
