Lloyds just get worse with the hard sell

willo65

Inactive wrote: »

Yes I am aware of that, apparently they were all given the benefit of a whole 8 hours training each.:rolleyes:

given that to most it should be common sense do you think more than that is required?

willo65

mrcow wrote: »

Companies also need to take responsibilty for their actions too.

A lot of customers are simply not savvy enough to know when they are being fed a complete line. To take advantage of someone else's financial ignorance is one thing.....but to do it in the guise of "helping them out" is just plain sly.

I'll go back to my Barclays example. My mother was transferred to an upgraded account without even being asked. And when she complained, Barclays didn't want to know......until she kicked up a stink that is. Funny how when she offered to go to the FSA they all of a sudden gave her all her money back plus £200 by ways of an apology. A company like Barclays knows better than to behave like that.

you are right, no one should ever be upgraded to a packaged account without their consent

Inactive

willo65 wrote: »

given that to most it should be common sense do you think more than that is required?

Yes. I would have hoped that they would have got more than just 8 hours.

Surely there must be more to it than " common sense ", that doesn't require any training surely.

chambta

Inactive wrote: »

Answered in my earlier post.

I did someone a loan earlier. They asked for me by name, having dealt with me for the last couple of years. A mutually beneficial arrangement I guess. Customers know and trust me and I get repeat business and new customers recommended to come and see me by their friends and family.

I also asked her about home insurance as we are pretty cheap at the moment and she thanked me for reminding her as she actually had none after Halifax cancelled it in error. The quote I gave her was acceptable to her and after discussing the policy summary she was pleased to take our cover immediately.

I actually wasn't supposed to be working today but offered to go in to see the customer in question as she couldn't come in any other time and wanted to get underway with the home improvements.

Whilst I was in the appointment some customers of another branch came in on spec, desperate to arrange a mortgage for a house they'd had an offer accepted on. Though I had my jacket on and was about to leave for home I took them into my room so they could get the application underway.

They applied for, and were subsequently approved, for a keenly priced fixed rate mortgage and I was able to fax confirmation to the selling agents so the property could be taken off the market.

Once again the customers thanked me for my time and I also quoted them a new life policy that gave sufficient cover at only £2pm more than their existing cover which was for a far lower amount. They told that when the mortgage is sorted they will gladly come back to arrange it.

I thought I had a good morning. Happy customers, business done, and no sniff of a hard sell,

mrcow

Inactive wrote: »

Yes. I would have hoped that they would have got more than just 8 hours.

Surely there must be more to it than " common sense ", that doesn't require any training surely.

Well perhaps the training is on how to explain finances to people? (I don't know). I think 8 hours would give oyu a good head start!

A lot of customers don't understand simple things, like how interest works, how mortgages work, about credit cards and how interest is charged, how to open a savings account, what different insurance products do etc. None of it's rocket science, but it can seem like it to those who are intimidated by the way that finances work.

Inactive

mrcow wrote: »

A company like Barclays knows better than to behave like that.

Obviously they never learn, it must be a deeply embedded culture thing with them.

Inactive

mrcow wrote: »

Well perhaps the training is on how to explain finances to people? (I don't know). I think 8 hours would give oyu a good head start!

A lot of customers don't understand simple things, like how interest works, how mortgages work, about credit cards and how interest is charged, how to open a savings account, what different insurance products do etc. None of it's rocket science, but it can seem like it to those who are intimidated by the way that finances work.

Fair enough, to be honest I don't really know enough about this new system to be able to judge things.

willo65

Inactive wrote: »

Yes. I would have hoped that they would have got more than just 8 hours.

Surely there must be more to it than " common sense ", that doesn't require any training surely.

The reason people get into difficulties is because they lack common sense so with someone to point them in the right direction they could be much better off - I think teh training was more of a what can and cannot be said (ie not recomending bank products etc)

chambta

mrcow wrote: »

I couldn't comment on Natwest - I wouldn't go with them anyway for a loan because at 16.9% apr on a simple £3000 loan I'd be an absolute fool to even consider them. I'm glad to hear that they don't sell packaged PPI (and charge copious amounts of interest on the premiums) anymore however. At least it's a step in the right direction.

In this climate a large proportion of people are not going to get significantly better rates on this amount.

mrcow

Inactive wrote: »

Fair enough, to be honest I don't really know enough about this new system to be able to judge things.

lol me neither. I'm only taking the poster heres word for it. But it sounds like a step in the right direction on face value at least.

Anything that helps to educate people that money doesn't have to be intimidating and needs to be fully managed is a good thing in my opinion. If that's what this Natwest initiative is about then its a good thing. If it's just another guise to selling poorly place products - then shame on them.