A person contacted the bank frustrated to have received the letter
Halifax has explained why it sometimes has to send out letters to customers(Image: Getty)
Halifax has addressed concerns about receiving misdirected letters. The bank has explained that sometimes it is legally required to send out certain correspondence.
A person took to social media to express their frustration at Halifax after receiving mail not intended for them. They said: “No wonder scammers get our details with your lack of security.
“You continue to send other people’s mail to my address after 10 years. I spent over 1 hour on the phone and was assured it was resolved.”
The frustrated customer also posted an image showing a letter marked: ‘This person has not lived here in 10 years’. Halifax replied to first offer their apologies for the inconvenience.
The bank clarified: “We do have a legal requirement to send some forms of correspondence to the last address we have on record and cannot change this until the customer updates their details I’m afraid. You have the right idea in returning it to us.”
A similar situation arose earlier in March, with someone telling Halifax they had wrongly received letters for more than two decades. Halifax replied in that case: “Please return sender and mark ‘not known at this address’, or hand them into one of our branches.”
However, Halifax similarly warned that there are instances where they are “legally obliged” to dispatch specific letters. Barclays also recently provided some guidance related to a letter going out to customers.
A saver contacted the bank disappointed by the drop in their interest rate. Barclays said in response: “Interest rates can fluctuate based on market conditions and are subject to change. A letter would’ve been sent out to you prior to this, explaining the reason for the drop in interest rate.”
The bank also advised: “If you have the app, you can view this letter by tapping ‘More’ on the homepage then ‘Statement and documents’.” In the wake of the base interest rate cut from 4.5% to 4.25% earlier in May, many savings providers have followed suit in reducing their rates.
Amid these changes, some financial experts are advocating that people try investing over traditional savings. Wander Rutgers, UK CEO of investment app Lightyear, said: “The UK needs to come out of its savings shell to reap the rewards of investing.”
Lightyear’s analysis suggests that funds placed in the FTSE100 rather than cash ISAs over the last nine years would have yielded returns five times greater. Mr Rutgers urged: “To build meaningful long-term wealth, investing in stocks and shares needs to become the rule, not the exception.”