Abbey: just how long can they get away with it? Please share your experiences here.

j03

Gawd, they sound as bad as Alliance and Leicester, oh look, they are the same company.

Middlestitch

I've got a Business Reserve account with Abbey, which doesn't pay the greatest rate! Anyone know, please, what other options they offer for business savers? I don't need an instant access account. Have yet to get through to anyone sensible on the telephone to discuss (aparently my local branch can't do it because it is business banking!).

Merlinexcalibur

Mostly everything has been covered here. But if anyone has experienced their truly diabolical overseas call centres I empathise very much. You get nowhere. Waste of a phone call.

Back to what I was going to post. At my local branch the behaviour of counter staff is severely out of order. Anywhere else in a public sector they'd be out the door ASAP. Recently I was asking about my account, as one example of this, and suddenly, for no reason I could see, the cashier suddenly held my card out and spoke to her colleague feet away serving another customer, and in front of the other customer, 'this guy, right, has asked for a fee refund; not a chance!'. Quite blithely, without any care whatsoever for me, the customer or anyone else hearing it. Other times they have passed personal comments about customers which has been totally out of order. So, I've got to ask this but do they want customers at either this branch or Abbey National itself?

Apart from that they've screwed my account up on more than on occassion. Do they apologise? Nope. It's their error but they have the typical approach we see so many times these days that it's your fault, you sort it out. I only stay with them because they are my only current account and I will find it difficult to get another. Especially right now, with the banks like they are. So I have no choice but to keep it.

As for overseas call centres ... I put the phone down straight away if I hear a non-English accent. Because I know perfectly well it will be totally useless continuing with the call and wasting money on a wasted call. It's ridiculous.

You may add to that the number of customers I have seen left very frustrated after being told to use their inbranch phones to get a problem sorted out that the staff at the branch should be more than capable of handling. Apart from that, using their phones means everyone waiting can hear your personal and private business. Not very security conscious, then.

Oh, as for being the customers fault at Abbey? Erm, well ... few months ago I had a standing order which was correctly set up, left unaltered since it was initiated to pay my rent. Horrifyingly, logging in one day, I was shocked to see the amount had gone TWICE in 3 days from my account! As it was an evening, I was left severely panicking, then got embroiled in their attrocious overseas call centres and left wanting to chuck the phone through the window with frustration. I eventually went into the branch I opened the account at. Spoke to them. It was obvious it was down to a system error but would they apologise or even admit to it? Nope. I did get the money back as I was told it could take weeks for them to 'investigate' and see where the money had gone. I knew where it had gone. I had to wait for the money to reach the agents before I could get it back. Abbey didn't nor weren't going to refund it to me. Their error. Were they hell. No, I was left waiting for a few days of severe worry for the money to show up on the agents system before they would let me have it back. As a result I have ceased all debits, standing orders with Abbey as they obviously can't be trusted with the simple little things.

But it's the attitude, really. A simple apology. Really does matter. Rather than allow the customer to worry, placing blame on them at the same time. Sorry, but I am very big on companies apologising if their mistake. It put me through a hell of time worrying over it as I was left with no money until I got it back. And it puts other people through needless worry. If they just owned up, just said 'sorry' I am sure it would be some way towards good customer relations.

DarkShadow

So far so good. I've been with them for 6.5 years. Only complaint is they are offering 6% to new customers, how could they leave the old customers with a crappy 2.5% rate?

Mrs_Ryan

I had a basic account with them opened when I was Abbey staff. Never had a problem when I was staff - but it was closed when they said they thought it ws quite acceptable to take TWO WEEKS to clear my NHS Pensions bursary cheque as they suggested that most cheques paid into basic accounts were fraudulent, and why was I in such a rush to have it cleared???
Every time I went into the branch asking about something they would enquire whether I was off benefits yet so they could 'try to upgrade my account!' In the end they actually had to put a screen note on saying 'Please check account history, customer is full-time nursing student and former Abbey staff, has never claimed benefits and does not intend to!'
(No offence to anyone on benefits, it just annoyed me slightly when they could clearly see the only credits in were wage/bursary credits and had been since the account was opened and they still persisted on asking me when I came off benefits!!!)

Mike1989

Merlinexcalibur wrote: »

Back to what I was going to post. At my local branch the behaviour of counter staff is severely out of order. Anywhere else in a public sector they'd be out the door ASAP... So, I've got to ask this but do they want customers at either this branch or Abbey National itself?

I'm not an Abbey customer but I did pop into the Cleveleys branch of Abbey a month or two ago to pick up some leaflets concerning a savings account and/or a current account leaflet. Anyway, I go in and it is on a Saturday I think, if not a Friday and the plastic things are up at the counter (not the right name I know). Customer comes in and the cashier is on the customer's side of the counter and the cashier climbs over the plastic thing to get to the other side, or at the very least he climbed over the counter though I am sure there was those plastic barrier things up. Though I cannot say for sure, either way climbing over the counter was not a very good advert for any potential new customer.

It did make me laugh as to why he didn't just walk around the usual way that any sane person would do. It certainly would not happen in the Halifax were my Dad works, and I am pretty sure that behaviour would not happen in any other bank. As climbing over that thing is surely a health and safety accident, and at the very least its not a very good advert for Abbey if their staff do such stupid things like this.

sallymally

I had fraudulant transactions on my Abbey bank account of £3,867.62, leaving me more than £1000 overdrawn.

This happened over seven weeks ago and dispite contacting Abbey continually and sending two letters of complaint, I have not been contacted at all until yesterday, when I received a standard letter, unsigned, and a disclaimer form. I have been asking for the disclaimer form to be sent to me since reporting the incident. However, when the form arrived yesterday, it only contained details of £67.62, completetly overlooking the £3,800.

I feel that the Abbey customer services are exceptionally poor and could be improved considerably.

Merlinexcalibur

Currently being investigated by the FSA is ShAbbey using the term of 'Financial Advisor' by staff who are nothing more than unqualified customer service staff.

Fully agree with that. Though I didn't know the FSA were investigating them ... I asked for a block to be put on my account in the branch. Clueless! Didn't know how nor what to do. First time they messed it up and I again had to explain in the simplest terms possible without drawing dot to dot pictures what I wanted. Already been told on the phone it was simple AND they were easily able to do it. I wanted my money protected from unauthorised DD, as a company kept trying to set one up. So as no one can keep an eye on their accounts 24/7 unless they sit at their PC's watching all day for one, I requested a block stop stop every DD. Also placed it there because of what they did with my standing order previously. Such a simple procedure was turned into something bizarrely complex. But now I know of this issue I will look on them in a different light as it certainly explains a thing or two.

Embarassingly, due to their incompetence yet again I had my card confiscated in branch because someone at their phone centre had completely misinterpreted my instructions and, suddenly, my card was noted on their system as 'stolen'. Which it never was and trying to explain this at the branch got me nowhere. So I had no card for several days, not able to access nor make purchases until a new one over a week later was issued. They also didn't tell me that whilst the block was on the account I couldn't withdraw money from a cash machine. And, unless I used an AN cash machine, left unable to view my balance, get a ministatement. So, have to go inbranch to draw money out. Each time I do they keep asking me for my postcode. Really gets my goat that does. When you've been using a branch for months and they STILL do not remember you. I'd hardly be putting money IN to an account that wasn't mine would I?

Communication. Is very lacking. And that's the biggest issue of them all. Simple communication.

debralee_2

I haven't had any major problems with Abbey but a couple years ago on the day of my 18th birthday they just gave me a £2,000 overdraft! I never wanted one, never asked for one and they got really funny with me when I went in to tell them to take it away. It was like they thought I was nuts for not wanting an overdraft. It took about a month and several visits to the branch for it to be gone!

sallymally

Yes, Abbey seem totally unable to communicate at all.
I'm sure that there would be far less disatisfied customers if they were contacted to inform them of the state of play.

I have been in contact with the Financial Ombudsman and have received a form to complete and return to them.
Watch this space !!!