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Great Timing! USERS BEWARE, my story I used the service for two years and just had the most surreal disastrous experience since the year flipped. I religiously

by emp_ 6y ago

Great Timing! USERS BEWARE, my story I used the service for two years and just had the most surreal disastrous experience since the year flipped. I religiously send a the same (about 5k USD) to my home country every month so I can pay my mortgage and other bills I left when moved to NA. 2021 arrives, I start a transfer on January 27, days pass, nothing. I contact support 10 days later (of something that in the past 24 months took 3 days), they say I need to prove I’m the recipient so I ask them to cancel the transfer so I can start it from my personal account instead so both accounts match and no documentation is needed, another 10 days go by, still nothing. I contact support again and found out that they withheld my deposit because they needed me to give, bear with me, POWER OF ATTORNEY among tons of other more resonable documentation to the destination country bank, so instead of signing my life away I cancel the transfer again: 26 days an counting TransferWise held my money which I will NEVER deal with again and tell this tale whenever I get a chance.

climb_stealth 6y ago
Thanks for the warning! Have you decided on what you are going to use instead?
- emp_ 6y ago
  Going to try Xoom next, looking at conversion rates plus the big name behind (Paypal) which is not short of horror stories themselves.
esperent 6y ago
Unfortunately I have come to believe there is no banking service that won't do things like this at some point. For example, I used to swear by N26 until I had a small issue (involving some tiny amount <€50). I told support very politely that I wasn't happy. Their response was full nuclear "pay everything immediately or we're sending your details to a collection agency". I was amazed, I had been a loyal customer for years and this was such a disproportionate response to something tiny. I had been intending to try and work things out,but from that response I simply withdrew all the money from my account and closed it. Now I use Transferwise, and have had no such problems, so far. But I'm under no illusions that I won't have problems in the future.
- dazc 6y ago
  In the UK we have the Financial Conduct Authority. For a registered financial institution you have protection of, I think, something like £80,000 in case the bank goes bust and you can also ask them to investigate any complaint. I have done this once for my own account and a couple of times for others. They really do look into every detail and will award compensation if it's clear the bank was at fault. Institutions that don't have this protection include Trasferwise and Revolut, both of which I have had issues with in the past.
  - tdido 6y ago
    They seem to be under the FCA: https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2932699/what-is-the-fca https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2932699/what-is-the-f... Do you mean they don't subscribe to the 80k protection or something like that?
    - dazc 6y ago
      Sorry, yes, the £80k protection is under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) https://www.fscs.org.uk/ https://www.fscs.org.uk/ Transferwise are not in it and say they protect your money in other ways... https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2949821/is-it-safe-to-keep-money-in-my-multi-currency-account https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2949821/is-it-safe-to...
    - OJFord 6y ago
      There are more services regulated by the FCA than which fall under the protection of the FSCS. AIUI it would have to sign up to stricter regulation, and be treated as an actual bank account, or maybe as an investment (forex) account.
- wildfire 6y ago
  This. I also used N26. There support used to be bad, now it is atroscious. The details of my situation are not important, however I was in contact with Christian Krabus - Head of Customer Care (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-krabus-075a7887/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-krabus-075a7887/ who it appears no longer works for N26). I would regular have to ask for status updates; email the managing directors and only then would things get progressed. My issue stemmed from May 2019 right until Mar 2020; when he stopped responding (and according to linkedin, left the firm). Basically, every support interaction required multiple pulling of teeth. That should not be how a bank interacts with you, especially when they have your money. I now use another bank in Berlin, just a normal one, and the interactions are about average ( I ask a question; they take a week to get back to me -- but they *tell* me it will take a week).
dazc 6y ago
Not quite so severe but I had a problem logging in which resulted in my account being frozen until I could prove my identity. This was a simple matter of providing a selfie whilst holding a photo ID. Every attempt resulted in a message that the image wasn't clear enough. The delays bewteen messages were also days and weeks apart. Eventually I gave up and I no longer have access to the account. Thankfully, there was no money it.
eafkuor 6y ago
> I religiously send a the same (about 5k USD) to my home country every month Good lord, how much money do you people make in the US?
- jeofken 6y ago
  You’d be surprised how rich a society can be with a high IQ demographics, low taxes (I.e. barriers), and free enterprise. In Europe, landlocked no-oil Switzerland is a good example of this.
  - maeln 6y ago
    The average IQ in the U.S.A and the E.U is roughly the same[1][2]. The tax rate is also very similar [3]. Salaries can also vary a lot. If a tech worker in SF can have a salary that dwarf most of its EU colleague, a minimum-wage worker is often going to have a better salary and benefit in the E.U (although it vary a lot per-country basis and the same can be said with states in the U.S.A). [1] https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php [2] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-i... [3] https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CTS_ETR https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CTS_ETR
    - jeofken 6y ago
      First, I never mentioned the EU. If I didn’t include the intelligence caveat, one could point out lower tax countries with less opportunity, such as how Somalia is the anarcho capitalists dream. Even if the US and Switzerland are more economically free than many other more socialist western nations, intelligent demographics is makes or breaks that effect. The average American also makes more than the average European - not only in SF. In more economically free European countries this is not the case though, but these are few. Except for the highly regulated (thus inefficient) American Heath insurance market, having a regular job is a better deal there.
  - eertami 6y ago
    The things you mentioned aren't what make Switzerland a rich society. In my experience living here, it is the strong social security net (70% of your previous wage if unemployed), high minimum wage (up to 25$/hr in some areas), and general workers rights/protections.
marban 6y ago
Same with Klarna or Revolut. I've come to the conclusion that Zawinski's Law for Fintechs goes like: Every Fintechs attempts to expand until it adds customer support.
nly 6y ago
For anyone in the UK looking for alternatives for simple transfers and no interest in another banking service I've had good experiences with Azimo. Wasn't sure where to plug the recommendation
postingawayonhn 6y ago
A relative of mine recently had their account permanently terminated for attempting to do a low six figures transfer. They had been a customer for at least a year and frequently used their TransferWise debit card during that period.
danlugo92 6y ago
For anyone reading: use normal banks, dont use these EMIs they are very very trigger happy and won't think twice about blocking your money.
112012123 6y ago
As someone that had a similar experience with Transferwise (actually also a 5k transfer), I'll give you a piece of advice: sue them. In the US, you can file a small claims easily and without a lawyer. Some jurisdictions will even let you file 100% online, and the filing fees are very low. After 2 months of Transferwises' excuses, they wired the full amount + legal fees to my account within a few hours of them receiving the notice.

by emp_ 6y ago

climb_stealth 6y ago

Thanks for the warning! Have you decided on what you are going to use instead?

emp_ 6y ago
Going to try Xoom next, looking at conversion rates plus the big name behind (Paypal) which is not short of horror stories themselves.

esperent 6y ago

Unfortunately I have come to believe there is no banking service that won't do things like this at some point. For example, I used to swear by N26 until I had a small issue (involving some tiny amount <€50). I told support very politely that I wasn't happy. Their response was full nuclear "pay everything immediately or we're sending your details to a collection agency". I was amazed, I had been a loyal customer for years and this was such a disproportionate response to something tiny. I had been intending to try and work things out,but from that response I simply withdrew all the money from my account and closed it. Now I use Transferwise, and have had no such problems, so far. But I'm under no illusions that I won't have problems in the future.

dazc 6y ago
In the UK we have the Financial Conduct Authority. For a registered financial institution you have protection of, I think, something like £80,000 in case the bank goes bust and you can also ask them to investigate any complaint. I have done this once for my own account and a couple of times for others. They really do look into every detail and will award compensation if it's clear the bank was at fault. Institutions that don't have this protection include Trasferwise and Revolut, both of which I have had issues with in the past.
- tdido 6y ago
  They seem to be under the FCA: https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2932699/what-is-the-fca https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2932699/what-is-the-f... Do you mean they don't subscribe to the 80k protection or something like that?
  - dazc 6y ago
    Sorry, yes, the £80k protection is under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) https://www.fscs.org.uk/ https://www.fscs.org.uk/ Transferwise are not in it and say they protect your money in other ways... https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2949821/is-it-safe-to-keep-money-in-my-multi-currency-account https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2949821/is-it-safe-to...
  - OJFord 6y ago
    There are more services regulated by the FCA than which fall under the protection of the FSCS. AIUI it would have to sign up to stricter regulation, and be treated as an actual bank account, or maybe as an investment (forex) account.
wildfire 6y ago
This. I also used N26. There support used to be bad, now it is atroscious. The details of my situation are not important, however I was in contact with Christian Krabus - Head of Customer Care (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-krabus-075a7887/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-krabus-075a7887/ who it appears no longer works for N26). I would regular have to ask for status updates; email the managing directors and only then would things get progressed. My issue stemmed from May 2019 right until Mar 2020; when he stopped responding (and according to linkedin, left the firm). Basically, every support interaction required multiple pulling of teeth. That should not be how a bank interacts with you, especially when they have your money. I now use another bank in Berlin, just a normal one, and the interactions are about average ( I ask a question; they take a week to get back to me -- but they *tell* me it will take a week).

dazc 6y ago

Not quite so severe but I had a problem logging in which resulted in my account being frozen until I could prove my identity. This was a simple matter of providing a selfie whilst holding a photo ID. Every attempt resulted in a message that the image wasn't clear enough. The delays bewteen messages were also days and weeks apart. Eventually I gave up and I no longer have access to the account. Thankfully, there was no money it.

eafkuor 6y ago

> I religiously send a the same (about 5k USD) to my home country every month Good lord, how much money do you people make in the US?

jeofken 6y ago
You’d be surprised how rich a society can be with a high IQ demographics, low taxes (I.e. barriers), and free enterprise. In Europe, landlocked no-oil Switzerland is a good example of this.
- maeln 6y ago
  The average IQ in the U.S.A and the E.U is roughly the same[1][2]. The tax rate is also very similar [3]. Salaries can also vary a lot. If a tech worker in SF can have a salary that dwarf most of its EU colleague, a minimum-wage worker is often going to have a better salary and benefit in the E.U (although it vary a lot per-country basis and the same can be said with states in the U.S.A). [1] https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php [2] https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-i... [3] https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CTS_ETR https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CTS_ETR
  - jeofken 6y ago
    First, I never mentioned the EU. If I didn’t include the intelligence caveat, one could point out lower tax countries with less opportunity, such as how Somalia is the anarcho capitalists dream. Even if the US and Switzerland are more economically free than many other more socialist western nations, intelligent demographics is makes or breaks that effect. The average American also makes more than the average European - not only in SF. In more economically free European countries this is not the case though, but these are few. Except for the highly regulated (thus inefficient) American Heath insurance market, having a regular job is a better deal there.
- eertami 6y ago
  The things you mentioned aren't what make Switzerland a rich society. In my experience living here, it is the strong social security net (70% of your previous wage if unemployed), high minimum wage (up to 25$/hr in some areas), and general workers rights/protections.

marban 6y ago

Same with Klarna or Revolut. I've come to the conclusion that Zawinski's Law for Fintechs goes like: Every Fintechs attempts to expand until it adds customer support.

nly 6y ago

For anyone in the UK looking for alternatives for simple transfers and no interest in another banking service I've had good experiences with Azimo. Wasn't sure where to plug the recommendation

postingawayonhn 6y ago

A relative of mine recently had their account permanently terminated for attempting to do a low six figures transfer. They had been a customer for at least a year and frequently used their TransferWise debit card during that period.

danlugo92 6y ago

For anyone reading: use normal banks, dont use these EMIs they are very very trigger happy and won't think twice about blocking your money.

112012123 6y ago

As someone that had a similar experience with Transferwise (actually also a 5k transfer), I'll give you a piece of advice: sue them. In the US, you can file a small claims easily and without a lawyer. Some jurisdictions will even let you file 100% online, and the filing fees are very low. After 2 months of Transferwises' excuses, they wired the full amount + legal fees to my account within a few hours of them receiving the notice.