IF Internet Banking www.if.com Review

Overall Rating

None

Rubbish customer service
Interest rates on Offset loan now 10.3%, was 7.9% 8 weeks ago
Layout of internet site is easy, getting back in took 5 days
Customer number, Plan number, jar number, security number, 4 security questions how many different things to log in

Intelligent Finance - I decided to transfer my Smile ISA's to IF 10 weeks ago. This process all went smoothly I was told I could add current accounts and savings later if required, so I did. Big mistake -- my ISA and my current account and saving are now allocated to 2 different plan and customer numbers. I have been trying to get them all into one place for 3 weeks and they are still no closer to arriving.
My main incentive for opening an IF account was the ISA rate and that I was shortly planning to purchase a new car and it made sense to offset my ISA's against this.
Since then the rate of an Offset loan has increased from 7.9% to 8.3% to 9.3% to 10.3% whilst the Bank of England base rate shave changed by 0.5% and the rate on the ISA has changed by 0%. It now no longer makes sense to Offset.
Plus, having been given 2 sets of customer numbers, 2 sets of pin numbers, 2 plan numbers, 2 internet log in names I ultimately fell victim to getting numbers mixed up an getting locked out of my internet plans. I then find that if you are locked out of the internet site you are also locked out of the phone banking service, so you have to wait 5 days for you new pin to arrive, and in the meantime can do nothing.
They have also managed to mess up the ISA transfer. I was transferring previous tax years' allowances, on the paperwork it states that if you do not want a mini-cash ISA for this tax year then don't send a cheque and to remove the statement of the documents and replace with transfer of previous years ISA's. This I did, but, low and behold, 2 days ago I get a letter telling me I have opened a mini-cash ISA for this year and every subsequent year.
Their customer service staff are helpful, but to be honest are as sick as the reviewers on this page with the faults of their company and I even got one to admit that she constantly has infuriated customers who are locked out and then find that they are locked out for 3-5 days with no way of performing the transactions they wished.

My smile account was so much better, if you get locked out, ring them up, answer all the security questions and they switch you back on. I will be looking for an alternative company that offers good rates on ISA's and a company with a low loan rate for my car loan and will stick with INGDirect and Egg for my savings.

IF such a great idea, such a badly run company.