Post Office Savings

These guys offer an ‘Instant Saver’ account that has ‘instant access online, by phone, post or at your local Post Office’. So I made the mistake of giving them some money that I would need… erm… instantly. It had the usual gotcha that the 2% interest bonus was only available for 12 months, but I would be long gone by then.
Except when the small print arrived it was all ‘BACS can take up to 5 days’ and ‘cheques can take 5 – 7 days to arrive’. I persevered and sent them my bank details, and waited for my ATM card.
When I needed the money I dutifully logged on to the internet and made a transfer to my current account. I got no errors, and sat and waited for the money to move. Nothing happened for 7 days. Then the money reappeared in my Post Office account. Not exactly what I was expecting.
So I rang the helpful people at the Post Office who told me the sort code was incorrect, and it would take 5 working days to correct it. I know, I though. I’ll use my ATM card and carry the cash to my bank. Only the pin didn’t work. In the end, I had to wait another 10 days to get my cash back. Not ideal if you need your cash in an… erm… instant.