HSBC customers have complained of long delays transferring their Isas, with one telling how her £20,000 savings 'disappeared' for two weeks. 

At the start of the new tax year, HSBC launched a double whammy of cash incentives for new customers, meaning they could get up to £1,000 in free money. 

To do this, they needed to open a Premier current account and transfer a large Isa balance from another bank or building society to HSBC. 

This led to a rush of applications - and it appears this has overwhelmed the bank, leaving some customers waiting well beyond the 15-day period in which banks should normally complete a transfer. 

One frustrated customer told This is Money how she has waited for six weeks and counting for her £52,000 life savings to be transferred, with another telling how her money 'disappeared' for two weeks, not showing up in either her old account, or the new one with HSBC. 

Mass emails have been sent to customers waiting on Isa transfers saying that 'Our competitive rates have been very popular, so we're currently receiving more transfer requests than usual. 

'This means some transfers are taking a little longer to complete.' 

Customers who contacted This is Money had all applied for the one-year fixed rate Isa. 

This was an especially good deal, as it had a competitive interest rate of 4.5 per cent - compared to the easy access Isa at 3 per cent. 

One told This is Money how her £20,000 Isa cash effectively went missing for two weeks with no explanation - while a further £40,000 transfer from a separate account was also delayed. 

Suzanne, 53, from Lancashire, who didn't want her surname to be published, applied to transfer a £20,000 Isa balance from Lloyds to HSBC on 3 April via the app, keen to take advantage of the 4.5 per cent rate and £150 bonus. 

But the money did not appear within the promised 15 working day period. While this is the maximum time banks promise to transfer Isas in, many in reality can complete it more quickly. 

On 27 April, Suzanne opened a complaint. Shortly after, the money left her Lloyds account - but it didn't show up in the HSBC one. Her life savings had effectively 'disappeared'. 

When she complained to HSBC, she was met with an automatic reply saying the bank could take six weeks to respond.

It was not until 11 May, five weeks after she first applied for the transfer and two after the money left her Lloyds account, that it finally landed with HSBC to Suzanne's great relief. 

'To not be kept informed of our life savings is disgraceful,' Suzanne said. 

'I believe that by offering a leading cash Isa interest rate that HSBC have not been prepared for the response to their offering.' 

She is so disappointed in HSBC she is now 'looking into her options' regarding moving the money out of the account, even though exiting the fixed deal early will come with a penalty. 

But this was not the end of the story. Also on 3 April, Suzanne had initiated a separate transfer of £40,000 from a Santander Isa to HSBC, though this would not be initiated until 1 May when the Santander one-year fixed account matured. 

When no money had been taken from that account within the 15-day time frame, and given the trouble she had with the other account, Suzanne cancelled the transfer and moved the money to an account with another bank instead. 

Altogether, she estimates she will lose out on £200 in interest because of the delay. 

'I lost all faith with them so decided to cut my losses,' Suzanne told This is Money. 

'I am looking into my options regarding the funds they did manage to move as I am concerned the serious delays will occur again in one year when the HSBC Isa matures.'

It is not the first time HSBC customers have been hit with 'vanishing' cash and transfer delays. 

At the start of the 2024-25 tax year, some customers who opened a one-year fixed rate Isa with HSBC told This is Money they could not see or access money paid in, with one losing track of a £61,000 Isa transfer. 

Another saver told This is Money how she begun the Isa transfer process on 16 April, but was still waiting for it to happen six weeks later. 

Lorraine from Scotland, who also didn't want her surname to be published, was transferring a total of £100,000 from three separate Isas into HSBC's one-year fixed Isa paying 4.5 per cent. 

She also opened a Premier current account to get the full £1,000 cash bonus.

She went online to initiate a transfer of about £28,000 from her Gatehouse Bank Isa to HSBC, which she was able to do. 

She then wanted to transfer in £52,000 from a Shawbrook Bank Isa, with the remaining £20,000 coming from another cash Isa with HSBC.

But when Lorraine tried to transfer the Shawbrook Isa, the bank didn't appear as an option when she was prompted to choose her existing provider from the drop down menu. 

She was advised by HSBC to visit a branch, but she lives in a rural area and the nearest is a five-hour round trip. 

Lorraine was left with no option but to apply by post. She sent off the forms on 16 April by recorded delivery and HSBC confirmed receipt on the phone on 17 April.

Nothing happened until 7 May when she got a text message saying 'We've got your Isa transfer and we're dealing with it'. 

It said it could be 15 working days from this point, which would take it until 28 May.

'In dealing with HSBC, I thought I was dealing with a very well established and professional global bank,' she told This is Money. 

'In reality there are many other banks, including relatively new start-ups who are transferring Isas within days and who put HSBC to shame.'

At this point, Lorraine called HSBC and was told she needed to travel to a branch and provide a 'wet' signature - meaning pen on paper. 

Despite applying three weeks earlier and speaking to many people at HSBC, this was the first time she was asked to provide this. 

If she had been able to complete the transfer online, as she did with the Gatehouse Bank cash, no wet signature would be required. 

She has therefore queried this request, and made a formal complaint. The transfer has still not been made.

'Banks really need to stop closing branches but then insisting their customers must go to one,' she says. 

'I absolutely dread the maturity date next year, when funds may need to be transferred or withdrawn in the same numbers that HSBC can't cope with this year.'

Another customer was also delayed for weeks  by having to apply on a paper form - and waited so long he decided to give up altogether. 

David Newman, 69, from Leicestershire wanted to open a new one-year fixed rate cash Isa. He wanted to transfer in £20,852, meaning he would also get the £150 bonus. 

He wanted to take the money from an account with Castle Trust, but again, the transferring bank did not appear in the list he was asked to choose from online. 

He then completed a paper form at the Hinckley branch of HSBC on 9 April, and was told the transfer would happen on 22 April - the day the old Isa matured. 

On 21 April, he was told the application was being 'held' as it had been misdirected as an Isa subscription (a cash payment in to a new account) rather than an Isa transfer. 

'The information was entered onto HSBC system by the staff in the branch at Hinckley, who knew full well this was an Isa transfer. 

'They had given me the form as Castle Trust was not listed on their computer system,' David told This is Money. 

Doing a transfer through the official process, rather than simply transferring in money, is vital as this maintains its tax-free status. 

On 24 April, HSBC promised to call David to update him on the situation, but the phone never rang.  

He believes the transfer into the fixed rate Isa had been confused with a separate application he made, also in early April, to open a new Isa account to fund with new money. 

In the end, David was so frustrated he opted to cancel the transfer altogether and move the money elsewhere. 

He received an apology from HSBC on 15 May, but had already cancelled the transfer as he was so disappointed with the service. He is now keeping the money in a new account with Castle Trust. 

David said: 'I have completed many Isa transfers over the years and have had no issues at all, so why was I experiencing so many problems now?

'Why are the team who have held up this transfer not contactable, and why have they not informed me?

'For a customer of long standing, 50-plus years, HSBC has treated me abominably. It would have taken one phone call to put this matter right, but that was too much for it to do.'

None of the customers involved have been offered any compensation. 

However, HSBC has confirmed they will receive the interest rate they applied for, and if they were eligible for the cashback offer would still receive it, even if a delay meant their transfer was not completed by the deadline. 

A spokesman for HSBC said: 'We're currently experiencing higher than usual Isa transfer volumes following strong demand for our savings products, which regrettably means some transfers are taking longer than expected to complete. 

'Customers can be assured that they will continue to earn interest during the transfer process, and do not need to take any further action as this time.'

Faced similar problems? helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk