“I liked the Icesave website and the rate was good, so I decided to make an inquiry. I received a response at the beginning of December. It confirmed receipt of my application and said that it had accepted my direct-debit instruction to set up a savings account and transfer £1,500.

“By January 6, however, the £1,500 that I had taken out of my previous savings account was still waiting to be moved over. It was far longer than the three working days talked about in the letters I received — and that’s taking account of Christmas. I tried to get on to my Icesave account on the website but was locked out and have not been able to log on since.

“I tried the customer service number, but an automated message said that I would have to wait at least 20 minutes because of the volume of calls. I waited for more than 30 minutes, calling on four different occasions, but never got through. Communication was a real problem for Icesave. I did not feel that I could be happy managing my money in an account where I couldn’t get through to anyone. I decided to stop the direct debit on January 8.

“I would not deal with the company again. I have spent hours trying to get hold of them on the phone, hours online and have also lost interest on my ING savings account, where my money was before I moved it to my current account to make the deposit to Icesave.”

After the intervention of Times Money, Icesave has apologised for the service Mr Robinson received, blaming an extremely high level of calls, which meant that it has found it difficult to maintain the expected levels of service.

For more on savings visit www.timesonline.co.uk/savings