Smile and internet banking

princessali

I filled out an application for Smile - the apparently easy internet bank - and it was so much hassle that I just can't be bothered with it anymore.
The whole point is that it is done over the internet and easy but I ended up getting lots of messages to phone them - and then wait in queues.
I even got an email saying they can't discuss things over an email when i told them I was joining another bank instead and I needed to phone them. What is the point of an internet bank if it is too incompetent to do things over the internet and you spend more time than if you actually went into a high street bank.
I personally will never use Smile again.

scoobie

princessali wrote:

I filled out an application for Smile - the apparently easy internet bank - and it was so much hassle that I just can't be bothered with it anymore.
The whole point is that it is done over the internet and easy but I ended up getting lots of messages to phone them - and then wait in queues.
I even got an email saying they can't discuss things over an email when i told them I was joining another bank instead and I needed to phone them. What is the point of an internet bank if it is too incompetent to do things over the internet and you spend more time than if you actually went into a high street bank.
I personally will never use Smile again.

I found migrating to smile lots of hassle, and their were lots of mistakes around Direct Debits. Banking with them is isn't great though they are friendly on the phone and you don't have to queue too long

realaledrinker

I think you were just unlucky. I don't remember having any problems in signing up & on the very few times I have needed to contact them, have found the service to be first class. Your loss.

The whole point of them not wishing to discuss problems via e-mail is that it is not a secure medium. That's something to commend them for, not criticise, I would have thought. Contrast egg's cavalier attitude to e-mails for example.

CopperPlate_2

Found that opening my smile current account was a piece of cake. Have never had any trouble with my accounts and any queries have been dealt with quickly and without the need to constantly refine it to get the answers I need.

Would recommend them highly, that said, they have been sneaky with their interest rate cuts recently (but they are a bank I suppose!)

CP

[Deleted User]

smile is an excellent bank and I can`t praise them highly enough. I would recommend them to anyone. They always answer the telephone promptly and are efficient and polite. The internet site is very simple to use. Re the current account cut: yes it is down to 3% but I use smile in tandem with ING and now with the A and L but I will definitely keep smile as my main bank. I use their savings account at 4% as a feeder account to the current account. They have a secure message system which I have used several times and have always had a good response.

arrowsmith

I've been using smile for 6 years, they were good. I applied and got a credit card recently and they made so many mistakes, I think I might move if it continues that way. They seem to be going downhill, didn't even bother to reply to my last email.

They send the credit card agreement twice because they didn’t record if they'd been sent out so just sent another anyway. Emails get sent saying you have a message (but you don't) and the guy on the phone just said “forget it as the messages wouldn't be important anyway”.

Its not just smile of course, i'm thinking of closing Halifax too, because for some reason they keep phoning me trying to sell stuff, I keep telling them to take me off any list they have.

CopperPlate_2

kittie wrote:

smile is an excellent bank and I can`t praise them highly enough. I would recommend them to anyone. They always answer the telephone promptly and are efficient and polite. The internet site is very simple to use. Re the current account cut: yes it is down to 3% but I use smile in tandem with ING and now with the A and L but I will definitely keep smile as my main bank. I use their savings account at 4% as a feeder account to the current account. They have a secure message system which I have used several times and have always had a good response.

I'm doing the same thing but with Nationwide, but keeping all the DD/SO's with smile (just in case NW don't work out!).

My main issue with smile, and it always has been with banks/BS, is that what they give with one hand they often take away more with the other. Smile was a case in point a few months ago - BoE cut interest rates by 0.25%, smile cuts their ISA by 0.35% - still a reasonable rate if you have the current account as well, but why cut it by more than BoE rate? It didn't sit well with the ethos of a "happy wallet" as they keep going on about.

The other thing is to do with their ethical policy. A great idea in theory: but the Co-Op bank surely must invest in other banks like the "Big Four" who in themselves may lend to organisations that the Co-Op would not? So taking it at face value, yes I agree totally, but digging a bit deeper raises some questions which just aren't answered on the smile/Co-Op bank website.

Anyway, that apart, smile are still a great bank and better than a lot of the others.

CP

CopperPlate_2

arrowsmith wrote:

I've been using smile for 6 years, they were good. I applied and got a credit card recently and they made so many mistakes, I think I might move if it continues that way. They seem to be going downhill, didn't even bother to reply to my last email.

They send the credit card agreement twice because they didn’t record if they'd been sent out so just sent another anyway. Emails get sent saying you have a message (but you don't) and the guy on the phone just said “forget it as the messages wouldn't be important anyway”.

Its not just smile of course, i'm thinking of closing Halifax too, because for some reason they keep phoning me trying to sell stuff, I keep telling them to take me off any list they have.

smile did that to me once when I tried to phone and arrange a temporary increase in my overdraft to cover a payment which would have been paid once a cheque cleared. Tried to get me to take out a loan for the same amount and WOULD NOT take no for an answer. Even tried to tempt me by saying "you know, Christmas is coming, and it might be handy just to have it there", no that didn't work, so then it was on to "well, you can get the loan, and if you don't need it, just re-pay it". Wasn't impressed, but glad to say that I've never had a repeat of it. Complained though about the pushiness and got a standard reply...

CP

johnllew

Smile - excellent bank. A Which? magazine Best Buy and has their highest customer satisfaction rating - and well deserved. A few will always have problems and are likely to be more vocal about it. Don't be put off.

CopperPlate_2

Would tend to agree. Apart from the hiccup above I've never had any problems with them - and you do tend to hear nothing but horror stories about some banks...A&L anyone...?

lowedb

Likewise, no real problems in 7 years with them. Only thing that happened was cancelling an old DD ended up cancelling all DDs with the same recipient!

Tried the smilemore account, but the travel insurance is with Norwich Union now(Bargepole) and the cost went up recently, so binned it and went back to Std account no probs

There have been the odd ocassions when the site was down, but never for very long