Bradford and Bingley 6% Fixed Rate Monthly Saver (Abbey)

peter_percent

I spotted this, We live in Oldham my nearest Abbey inside BB was in Rochdale some 7 miles away, checking with the drip feed calculator we could gain £70 here , seeing as we had no work today (self employed) worth half a gall of fuel and a pound to park we thought, as not to have a wasted journey I phoned this lunchtime to check it was still on offer, yes was the answer, I'll get over this afternoon then ?, make sure to bring your ID with you was the other answer.

We arrived and queued for 20 mins, when we got to the counter we were asked about our "appointment!!!". WHAT TO SAVE £62 A WEEK???. I can fit you in at 2.30 tomorrow we were told, no good as we will be earning 4x what we would have gained today. Then the insult " do you have a bank account that could be used to pay into this?

I snapped and was given a lot of drivel , new system, only the manager can take applications, he can only do 4 per day, so that would take a month to do 100, hacked off at my wasted time and expense, We walked over the road to the Halifax, in ten mins we had a similar product with twice the amount allowed each month

Milarky

Given the (non) proximity of these branches to most people, is it possible to make a postal application - or am I just being particularly dense this evening?

JoeCrystal

I expect the branch thought you live locally in the town... :rolleyes: Maybe they do not meet people from next town that often. As it is, there are large number of branches in Poole so I think I am rather lucky.

edda

Milarky wrote: »

Given the (non) proximity of these branches to most people, is it possible to make a postal application - or am I just being particularly dense this evening?

No - it has to be opened at a branch:

http://www.abbeyatbradfordandbingley.co.uk/

and only certain branches (not that I've managed to find a list of these).

I also have the leaflet - plenty of those in one local branch.
Written in "plain English", it states access to your account is via the branch.
Management of the account is via branch, passbook, telephone.
Post is specifically excluded (at least, the little envelope symbol is missing) from the easy-to-read explanation. :rolleyes:

Milarky

edda wrote: »

No - it has to be opened at a branch:

http://www.abbeyatbradfordandbingley.co.uk/

and only certain branches (not that I've managed to find a list of these).

I also have the leaflet - plenty of those in one local branch.
Written in "plain English", it states access to your account is via the branch.
Management of the account is via branch, passbook, telephone.
Post is specifically excluded (at least, the little envelope symbol is missing) from the easy-to-read explanation. :rolleyes:

I was probably being rather ironic last evening and fully understood the 'requirements'

BTW the list is obtained from a 'find your nearest branch' link on the account details page your link (above) directs to. In the whole of SE England (outside London) for example there are just FOUR available branches - and even these are 'clustered'; High Wycombe, Oxford, Reading and Slough. None in Hampshire, Sussex or Kent, for example...

At one level this is a good offer. But at another it reveals just how pathethic Abbey is in taking over B&B accounts without much of a 'plan A' for customers of either bank. The only reason for the apparently !!!!!! requirement to apply 'in-branch' (limited number of) is so that they can 'cross-sell' some B&B product which the saver doesn't want/need. It's 'know you customer' but more like ''make your customer feel slightly stupid and uncomfortable as you indulge your 'new business strategy' on them''. Today I am going to apply for an account with a small building society on the other side of the country. I downloaded a form from the internet and I will send it them with my cheque. Amazingly, they won't ask me to come in for an interview about my finances. I assume they'll find cashing the cheque more useful to them. Yet Abbey (alone, it appears) has a strategy of forcing people into branches so that the staff can start flogging products. Maybe they should just train them to pick up the phones instead?

mary

My nearest Abbey is 3 miles away, nearest B&B 12 miles away. Although I hate having to go into a branch to open an account and have had several Abbey 5,6,7 accounts etc., on balance it has been quicker to open the account doing it that way, than the time I applied online, they lost the form etc. I complained, got a £25 compensation for their inadequacies, then after about another month got a letter for me to take into the branch to open the said "lost" account, which I did. End result I had 2 simultaneous Issue 6 accounts coexisting. They didn't realise. Got the full amount of interest on both accounts and had the last laugh!

When in the branch, my opening line, is "I've come here for one item only, please don't try to cross sell me anything else and delay me, my time is precious, as I'm sure yours is too." Has worked so far!

peter_percent

I tried a second time today (see my other post), I was shopping in Ashton u Lyne and my ID etc was still in my bag from my Rochdale episode, this branch was not yet listed on the site. I strolled in, three cashiers and two others hovering in the background, no one else in the branch, I asked, you know what's coming? " You will have to make an appointment" SIGHHHHHH

apt

I managed to open one of these without appointment. As noted above only one unfamiliar Abbey machine in the branch. Fortunately I was already on the Abbey database so it only took 10 minutes. For those who miss no payments and make no withrawals the account is pretty good and better than Barclays. That's because it is essentially a thirteen month account with thirteen monthy payments. Anyone opening an account in February and putting the maximum in would have £3,250 plus interest maturing on 1.4.2010. So it's a good saving vehicle for a Cash ISA. You cannot put in any money in the month you open the account. You then make 13 payments by standing order starting the following month. The standing order has to be dated between 2nd and 21st of the month. (Second of the month is the best option to maximise interest.)

Careful_ly

We opened this account last week after making an appointment, our B&B has one Abbey till. We were already on the Abbey system, it took 30 minutes to open our 2 accounts, we left the branch without passbooks which have been posted out to us, these took 1 week to arrive. Someone without an appointment arrived shortly after us and had to wait whilst ours were opened. I think anyone opening one of these should make an appointment to save a wasted journey.
There was no attempt to sell us any other products.

Jane2112

We already have B&B saving accounts and a timesaver account, but no Abbey accounts. Would that make it easier?
I am going into town tomorrow - watch this space.