Saver still waiting for �24,000

Rhys Livsey was told his money has been "held up"

A saver is still waiting for a �24,000 transferral from the UK arm of an Icelandic bank to appear in his bank account three weeks after making it.

Rhys Livsey, 29, from Cardiff, withdrew the money from Kaupthing Edge a day before it was taken over by ING Direct after a financial crisis in Iceland.

In an email the company told Mr Livsey his money "had been held up".

A spokesman for ING Direct said the administrators were working on clearing payments from prior to the takeover.

Mr Livsey, who works as a PA, told BBC News he had decided to move his money, a total of �24,067, after reading some reports of problems with the bank on the internet.

He made the transfer to another account on 6 October, and the money cleared from his Edge instant access savings account on 7 October, but has failed to arrive in his account.

Kaupthing Edge, an online UK subsidiary of Iceland's Kaupthing bank, was taken over by ING Direct on 8 October, and guaranteed all the deposits held in the bank.

Whenever I phone them, they're just fobbing you off

Rhys Livsey

Mr Livsey has telephoned the company at least twice a week to find out what is happening with the money, but says he has only been given a standard response, rather than one looking specifically at his situation.

He said: "I get the impression they know the money isn't going to get through. I just feel there isn't much I can do.

"Whenever I phone them, they're just fobbing you off. They say they're trying to trace the money and they'll get back to you in a couple of days.

"One girl did get back to me but she couldn't tell me anything."

Delays

After a further phone call on Wednesday, Mr Livsey received an email which stated: "Regrettably I have to inform you that the recent transaction from your Kaupthing Edge Account to your nominated linked account has been identified as being held up."

The company added they were working with a clearing bank to release the money, and stressed the money was "safe", promising to refund the loss of interest caused by the delay.

However, Mr Livsey said he had had assurances before that the money would be released and it had not been.

He has also asked the bank to advance him a proportion of the money, but that has not happened.

"I wouldn't mind if I could just get a grand (�1,000) on it," he said.

"I pay for things on credit card and pay it off at the end of the month so there's about a four-week delay, but I'm starting to run short of money," he added.

He also wanted to know if they would pay any charges if he ran into overdraft as a result of the delay, but the company said he could only send a complaint once the problem had been resolved and they would look at it then.

A statement on ING Direct's website posted on Wednesday evening said: "There are still outstanding payments that need to be resolved and the majority involve payments originally requested between the 6-8 October.

"This was at the time when the company went into administration and before the transfer to ING Direct happened.

"The administrator tells us that these payments are now being made and we will be working with them to clear these final payments."

A spokesman for ING Direct said he could not give an actual timescale for payment.