Bank won’t let me retrieve credit on credit card

You are being obtuse. You don't have to open up your app everytime and send the exact amount to a savings account. Just send 649bwhen you've spent 640.
Anyway, glad to hear you got the money credited. It's the Principle of it that important. Have a happy evening.

This.
You've created much more admin and stress for yourself with your contact with the bank, your starting a thread.
It really wouldn't take long to spend £640 and when it's done, put the money that didn't come out of your current account into the savings account. Or do it after a week or whenever you prefer.
You're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

Do you not notice roughly how much transactions are going to be before you make them?! It would be easy to check back on your statement too. If you were wanting to make sure that you don't spend a penny over, to have done with this bank, you could always have done what PP suggested and bought gift vouchers for a round amount - for Christmas presents or just ones to then use yourself.

But that's all irrelevant now - well done on getting it sorted.

This seems different. The OP seems to have to have transfered her outstanding balance to another provider and wants it returned to their card, not a bank account.

How is it ridiculous? Nobody is suggesting that you use it to buy a packet of crisps every single day for two years; a tank of fuel is £100 or more now, and your weekly food shop is likely more than that.

You don't have to work it to the exact penny; just spend up to and a little over £640 on the card, then when you get the next bill for £14.62 or whatever, pay it and don't use the card again, if you don't want to.

My late Dad had a credit of 150 on his credit card when he made and online transfer to it, meaning to add it to savings.

It stayed there for years because they said he had to go into a branch to make the transfer but he had no branch left near him, then he got dementia, etc etc

I meant to do it when I enacted the POA but never got round to it and then, one day, he suddenly had a credit in his main account of £150!

They certainly dont make it easy to get the money back! Especially with all the branch closures

What's actually ridiculous is the amount of barriers you are putting up to all the solutions offered. Spend 649 on the credit card. When done. Put 640 in the savings account from where yiuvwoukd have spent 640. All sorted. No stress, no issues.

Unless you're on your uppers - which it doesn't sound like, if you've earmarked the money for savings rather than needing it to pay your winter fuel bill - then just transfer the whole amount to your savings in one go, either before you've spent any of the credit on everyday expenses or after you've spent it all.

Unfortunately, you tried to 'play' the banks with a balance transfer - and absolutely no criticism whatsoever for doing this, as it's a wise and standard move - but on this occasion, it didn't quite work out for you, so you've ended up with a little bit of extra admin as a result.

It's a solution though. As explained previously, they can not give it as cash. So do you want a solution or do you want to try and break statutory money laundering restrictions and go through a time consuming complaints process that will not get you the money. Or is it the 'principle' that's important. Nothing like being in the right, so crack on with complaints process.

I had this with Lloyds (holiday refund) and they transferred it straight back to my current account when I asked. Both were with Lloyds though. Which bank is it @tellingeveryonehowbadly?

I would have been v pissed off if I hadn’t had it transferred back and it’s not ‘a fuss’.

Hopefully once the pending status has gone they will clear it.

Just transfer £640 from your current account to savings and then use the credit card for spends until the credit balance has been used?

Cancel the card

OP, are you sure bank will charge interest if you withdraw cash?

I top up my Mastercard before travelling and use it for spending and cash withdrawals. No interest charged as long as account is in credit. That’s fairly standard as far as I know.

I mean you’re not supposed to put a credit card into credit for money laundering reasons. I suspect that’s what they will say and that you’re in breach of the T&Cs

can you see what the pending transaction is if you look on an app or the website?

Buy £640 of gift cards for Amazon or wherever you're likely to shop over the next few months?

yes it’s annoying because it’s your money and you should be able to do as you please , but the easiest and quickest resolution is to stick your food shopping on your credit card, then transfer the money from your current account into whichever pot the original £640 came from.

You are making this difficult for no reason. Put your normal spending on the card and use up the money.

Many people just charge everything and pay the bill in full once a month so wouldn’t even notice this. The card company just isn’t going to see a reason to process a cash refund.

Also, if you are not expecting a pending transaction surely thats a red flag for a possible fraud? Have you tried that route?

Yes I think you have to lodge a formal complaint first and they have somethingg like 8 weeks to respond etc before an Ombudsman will even accept a complaint.

I'd be annoyed that they are refusing me access to my own money,

That would depend on their T&Cs.