Well, it had to happen. With the proliferation of online savings accounts all offering the same high interest rates, some of them are struggling and going under.
I'm not too fussed as I also have an ING direct online account which I tend to use more anyway. The Esanda one gave me $25 when I opened the account - the main reason I opened it. Probably a lot of other folks did the same thing.
When announcing the closure they informed me that their parent company (ANZ bank) has already opened an ANZ online account for me! But I'll NOT be taking up their kind offer to activate this account by taking in 100 pts of ID to an ANZ bank to open a regular bank savings account with them - they charge $5 per month in fees!
As the ANZ online account ONLY works with an ANZ bank account, it's not really competitive with ING, which lets you link to ANY existing bank or credit union account that you have.
2 comments:
I am absolutely furious at the way the Esanda accounts have been closed.
I cannot gain access to an ANZ branch during bank opening times to again provide another 100 points of ID (which I already had to provide to Esanda in the first place) - hence why I had opened a completely online account.
I now cannot access my money - even though I have not agreed to the terms and conditions of the new ANZ account - until I go into an ANZ branch to activate the accounts.
I have never heard of a more disgusting way to do business - they are literally holding people's money to ransom!
I think that it is also their duty of care, legally, to provide each customer with a product disclosure statement and will all the terms and conditions of a contract (and the customer needs to agree to them) before opening the account - surely what they have done is not only morally wrong but is it actually legal?
If anyone else has been effected by this change - I would love to hear from them (uglystick@optusnet.com.au)
I hope you've got your money back by now - if you didn't accept ANZ's "kind" offer to open an account with them (and pay $$$$ fees each month!), the Esanda online saver automatically transferred your closing balance back into your "linked" bank account. My money came back out without any problem.
ps. If you need an online account, I've had one with ING Direct, and have had no probs. As they are a LARGE international bank, and ONLY have an online presence in Oz, they are less likely to close the online account than the other ones available. They also let you link to any existing bank or credit union account.
Post a Comment