Ally Bank Canada - large transfers not clearing?

[queerasmoi]

From this thread:
http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/v ... 324#339324

I opened an account with ally just after they started up, mailed them a cheque and have had my linked account verified with micro deposits.
Subsequently I made a deposit transfer from my linked account to ally.
Today is day 3 with the money shown in my ally account AND the money is also still in my linked account. Weird!!

The interface is pretty easy to use. A transfer I initiated Friday night from TD vanished on Monday night from my TD account and appeared at Ally on Tuesday afternoon, no hold.

Okay so this is weird: I initiated 2 more transfers to Ally last Tuesday (the same day I received the first transfer), one from HSBC and one from TD. Both amounts are showing in my Ally account but it's now the following Monday and neither bank is showing a debit. I e-mailed Ally and they said they would look into it - but they guarantee I'm earning interest on the money in the meanwhile.

Same thing happened with me and they are showing the funds available.

Same story here. Initiated a transfer from PCF to Ally on Friday, Sept 18th. Ally account shows the funds. PCF account has not been debited.

Wow, clearly something weird is going on. The transfer that worked quickly was a $100 test transfer; this one is more like $1000. Ally suggested over the phone that large transfers are taking longer to clear than small ones. They suggested to ask them once 5 business days have elapsed and see if there is still a problem.

ig17 - you're clearly more than 5 business days now so you should give them a call and ask.

I wonder if large transfers *out* will be this problematic too.

Yup, me too. It seems as though the larger amounts are not clearing on time. In my case, it's been 6 business days.

I called them last Friday and they stated they are looking into it. Well, I'm going to try the secure email route instead as it should force them to provide me with a more appropriate response.

Since my two transfers from Sept 15 and 16 are still outstanding, I have sent a secure email.

Speaking to them directly on three occasions did not produce any results.

Also, my Ally statement dated Sept.25, while it shows the correct balance. the summary section shows Deposits and Other Credits of over $300,000.

Not a pleasant experience.

[theoldtimer]

The email to Ally accomplished nothing.

They said:

Please be assured we are still researching your case and are working hard to find a solution for you. You should be receiving a call within the next 3-5 business days if there is an update for your case. At this time, we would like to apologize for this continued delay and we thank you for your patience.
Your funds are not available to you at present as they are on a hold until we can clear the funds from the external account. They will be immediately available to you upon the resolution of this case. Even though the funds are on hold, you are still earning interest on them.

[theoldtimer]

I just spoke to Ally again and I have been assured that they know about the problem with the transfers and they are working on it.

It is a system problem and they are unable to give a date when it will be corrected.

[queerasmoi]

Nifty! An account I can fill up with imaginary money and still earn interest on it... Oy.

I'm glad this is not money I need in the next month or so.

[Pickles]

Nifty! An account I can fill up with imaginary money and still earn interest on it... Oy.

I'm glad this is not money I need in the next month or so.

Although that's usually why people keep cash in high interest accounts; to earn some interest while having it readily accessible. Not an auspicious beginning for this bank.

[ig17]

The email to Ally accomplished nothing.

Yep. I received a similar canned response.

Thank you for contacting Ally, and thank you for bringing your situation to our attention.

We apologize if this has caused you any concern. Transfers do not usually take this long to process, please be assured we are researching your account and Electronic Funds Transfer for a resolution to this issue. We greatly appreciate your patience in this matter. Your deposit of $X has been posted to your Ally account. The funds are not available to you at the moment, as they are on hold until we can clear the funds from your external account. It is very important that we advise you that if you do remove the funds from the external account before completing this transfer, this will cause the transfer to 'bounce' resulting in an NSF fee.

[theoldtimer]

I was told that I could cancel the outstanding transfers if I wanted to.

The cancellation would take effect in 3 to 5 days.

[queerasmoi]

Well in the case of my transfers from HSBC to Ally... I guess it's earning 2.8% for as much time as it's stuck in the system.

[BRIAN5000]

I talked to Ally...they won't clear transfers till after your initial check has cleared and deposited in your account, money laundering. This takes 7-10 days from when you send your check. If your check is deposited you should be good to go. You can do micro deposits before check clears.

If your check don't have pre-printed name address etc. its no good. You will need to send a bank statement or utility bill.

Is this the case with anyone?

[queerasmoi]

I talked to Ally...they won't clear transfers till after your initial check has cleared and deposited in your account, money laundering. This takes 7-10 days from when you send your check. If your check is deposited you should be good to go. You can do micro deposits before check clears.

If your check don't have pre-printed name address etc. its no good. You will need to send a bank statement or utility bill.

Is this the case with anyone?

My initial deposit (a $10 cheque) cleared just fine but they're still putting a hold on it. Before my cheque had even reached them, though, I had already verified both my HSBC and TD accounts.

Incidentally I've alerted Ellen Roseman at the Toronto Star to this matter. Couldn't hurt!

Then I initiated a $100 transfer from TD->Ally and the day they received my cheque, the money left TD and it appeared the next day at Ally.

The problem was when I tried a $1000 transfer over a week ago. The money appears on Ally and (as "available balance") it doesn't appear to have any hold on it at all. But it never left TD. There is no indication whatsoever in my online account at Ally that they don't really have my money yet.

[ig17]

My transfer is finally gone from PCF account. 8 or 9 business days after I initiated it on Ally side.

[theoldtimer]

My Sept 15 and 16 transfers cleared my external account overnight.

[Subby]

I just checked and I've been able to confirm that my transfers have cleared as well overnight. It's about time

[queerasmoi]

Wow, well, good to know at least that it finally happened.

Anyone want to test how long it takes to move the money back out?

[jeebuz]

I thought I'd add my experience with Ally to the collection here.

I initiated a transfer earlier this week from RBC to Ally for a "large" amount (i.e. >$1000) and it cleared successfully in two days (in fact I initiated the transfer just before midnight so this is fairly impressive in my view)

Maybe I'm different from the rest of the people here but personally I'm not that bothered by slow clearing of transfers mostly because there is no period where I am losing interest (because of the fact that Ally starts paying interest the day after the transfer is initiated). If this were not the case I'd be plenty bothered.

Overall my experience with Ally has been comparable to ING in terms of customer service and transfer times, i.e. not that bad.

- Jeebuz -

[queerasmoi]

I got a cheery phone call today from Ally informing me that the problems were resolved. I informed her that my TD and HSBC accounts still have yet to be debited for the transfer amounts. She sounded surprised and she said she would escalate the issue.

Perhaps the system was "fixed" recently in such a way that newer transfers (such as that of jeebuz) are not experiencing the same issue?

[ig17]

It appears that Ally got their act together. My second transfer from PCF to Ally took only 2 days. Initiated on Wednesday. Complete today.

[queerasmoi]

Aha. Finally the transfer initiated last Tuesday, Sept 22, has finally been debited from HSBC 10 days later. The one from TD still has not, but this is a hopeful sign.

Edit: TD cleared too later in the day.

[jonathan]

All mine have cleared too. Happy so far. Would be happier if it wasn't owned by GUM (Government Union Motors)

[Bylo Selhi]

TorStar's Ellen Roseman features this thread on her blog

[83_gemini]

Now I can get my act together and start mailing cheques.

[queerasmoi]

TorStar's Ellen Roseman features this thread on her blog

You're welcome

Also I think GM only owns something like 9.9% of GMAC now after restructuring.

[Pickles]

TorStar's Ellen Roseman features this thread on her blog

You're welcome

Also I think GM only owns something like 9.9% of GMAC now after restructuring.

Great work! Not only are you alerting other folks to a potential problem with the "new kid on the block" but you are promoting and advertising the FWF at the same time. Wonderful!!!

[queerasmoi]

Ellen Roseman is always a good ally to have onside (no pun intended). She has helped me, my sister, and one of my colleagues with our Rogers/Bell/Primus/Telus woes. She might as well be the ombud for every company in Canada with irate customers.

[Bylo Selhi]

Ellen has also helped me in resolving issues with large companies whose concept of "customer service" isn't allowed to extend outside their marketing department. (Yes, that would be you Sears.)

We need a lot more Ellens.