Brits' money frozen with Icesave

Icesave savings still frozen

Monday, 20 October 2008

By Becca Talbot becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

British savers with money in the collapsed Icelandic bank Icesave are still waiting to find out when they will be able to start claiming back their money.

Heritable and Kaupthing customers were told on Friday (17/10/2008) that they can expect to receive compensation forms this week from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so they can apply to recover their money. However, savers with Icesave have yet to find out when they may be able to start the claims process.

Over the weekend, the FSCS said it has no information on when the compensation operation will begin, but says it does have a claims team in place to start processing forms as they come in. In the meantime, homeowners and property buyers with their finances frozen in Icesave savings accounts are resorting to desperate measures to make sure they have the funds in place in time to remortgage or finish purchasing their property.

Many are having to ask relatives to lend them thousands of pounds to make sure they don’t lose the property, according to mortgage brokers speaking in The Observer.

More than 320,000 British savers who have accounts with Icesave should have received information about how to start the compensation process at the end of last week, but the FSCS has yet to announce any information.

While the Financial Services Compensation Scheme has stressed it is ‘aiming to deal with compensation in a matter of weeks, rather than months’, and has agreed an accelerated payout to depositors, savers who need their money urgently are suffering considerable difficulty.

Chris Eagle, commercial manager at CreditChoices.co.uk said: “It is disappointing that Icesave customers have been left in the dark over when, and how, they will be able to claim their money back. A lot of people need their money to be able to pay their mortgages, or to pay their rising energy bills.”