Barclays Golden ISA feedback

radish293

Spot on Mr GUMBY...... its not service..... like you I can not arrange for both my wife and me to be at the Branch at their convenience.

hebron

I opened an golden ISA for my wife in about 4 minutes. No trouble.
What I did find though was when I was in her side of our joint account was my own instant access account. What was this doing on my wife details? Not that I have anything to hide but if I did I wouldn't be happy.

SavySaver_2

radish293 wrote: »

Spot on Mr GUMBY...... its not service..... like you I can not arrange for both my wife and me to be at the Branch at their convenience.

If you have a Barclays bank account why didn't you open the isa by telephone?

bankemployee101

hebron wrote: »

I opened an golden ISA for my wife in about 4 minutes. No trouble.
What I did find though was when I was in her side of our joint account was my own instant access account. What was this doing on my wife details? Not that I have anything to hide but if I did I wouldn't be happy.

Hi hebron, when opening a new account for an existing customer (this only applies for existing customers who *already* hold a joint account) there is the option to open it as a sole OR joint account; whoever opened it must have opted for it to be joint (if he/she didn't ask, then he/she should have). This can be solved fairly simply by opening a new account and transfering the balance over (we do this on a day to day basis to pay as much interest as possible using the latest accounts). If this causes any problems and you're not happy with the result (eg. switching over any regular payments into the account from an external source) then we will raise a complaint and sort it out (one way or another) - all of this is probably most conveniently done over the phone, and don't forget, if you call our international number, the call is just a local number. Remember, if you're looking to switch over any standing orders you have set up over the phone, you'll need to use your telephone banking passcode (otherwise we won't be able to switch them over)
For data protection reasons, we can't close a joint account over the phone, however, so the erroneous account (even though it is neither needed nor wanted) would need to be closed either in writing or in any branch.
Hope this helps (and glad you found the ISA opening pain-free!)

notahopeinhell

I decided that I would open a Barclays Cash Golden ISA and as my local branch said that new customers had to see an adviser I duly made an appointment for myself and my wife to see the said adviser.

Two days before the appoinment he rang to say he couldn't make it so we re-arranged for the following week, same day, same time..

He rang the day before to say.........at which point I gave up on Barclays. :mad:

evenasus

MrGumby wrote: »

That's because you already have a Barclays current or savings account, something that I, for one, am not prepared to do.

It should be possible for all of us to open a Golden ISA in a few minutes, as you did. All they have to do is take the initial payment by debit card, for example, or allow it to be opened with zero balance and then credited by cheque or BACS. But, unlike most of their competitors, they don't. Why?

I went through the process of opening a fixed rate ISA with Halifax last year.
It took them so long to open, (3 weeks) I went elswhere.
The 'empty' ISA is still sitting there on my accounts page when I log in.

bankemployee101

MrGumby wrote: »

No, I don't call it service. While some people might like to spend their time phoning, travelling to and sitting in a branch, others do not. Some will live a considerable distance from a branch, even a ferry-ride away.

So, by all means make in-branch account opening an option, but why make it mandatory, especially when so few of your competitors do? All you have to do, to open an account by phone or Internet, is open it with zero balance or take payment by debit card. How much would that hurt dear old Barclays?

Hi MrGrumby, Barclays endeavours to be available through as many channels as possible, and it's a shame to see you've had to go elsewhere because of this problem - given the mistakes that came about with ISAs in previous tax years, Barclays did as much as possible to prevent this problem for the Golden ISA - with this in mind, I'm sure something will be done to simplify the process even more for the next ISA (I realise this doesn't help with your problem, but felt it was worth pointing out). Furthermore, please bear in mind that a current account is no pre-requisite for an ISA with Barclays, which is certainly NOT the case with many other banks (once again, I realise this isn't related to your comments).
Barclays offers very competitive products and services, and once again, it is a shame that you've been discouraged by this lacking facility.

Sarahcat

You'll love this one:eek:

So I went into my Barclays branch on Wednesday 8th April having read that without a Barclays account I would have to open an ISA in the branch rather than online.

First problem-the queue to reach the one cashier on duty.
Second problem-the 10 minutes it took her to realise they couldn't fit me in for an interview till the following week-slow computer didn't help.
Third problem-the grumbling queue growing behind me.
Fourth problem-the cashier telling me that it's been so busy-like she hadn't expected it.

So she promised to leave a message on my answerphone with an appointment.
Yes she did for those who doubted her! :T
Although she told me they'd expect me on Thursday 16th at 12pm I still rung to confirm as I had another place to be by 1pm and didn't want to be late.

So I arrived at Barclays yesterday at 12 and waited by a desk where a woman was sitting whom I assumed was the person I needed to see.
At the time she was telling a man that she couldn't deal with him now, that she was fully booked and he needed to join the ever-present queue to make an appointment-one unhappy guy!

So I introduce myself and guess what?

Fifth problem-my appointment is for 12.30pm.
Sixth problem-I'm told it's not her fault as she doesn't make the appointments.
Seventh problem-she can't see me until next week.
Eighth problem-I would have to queue to make another appointment as her 12pm customer is waiting.

Barclays problem-I walked out!!:eek:

So I'm going to lose about £15 in interest but you know I don't mind as I would not want Barclays to be looking after my money!
I've gone for a lesser fixed rate at my own bank and it was done immediately. :j

hebron

bankemployee101 wrote: »

Hi hebron, when opening a new account for an existing customer (this only applies for existing customers who *already* hold a joint account) there is the option to open it as a sole OR joint account; whoever opened it must have opted for it to be joint (if he/she didn't ask, then he/she should have). This can be solved fairly simply by opening a new account and transfering the balance over (we do this on a day to day basis to pay as much interest as possible using the latest accounts). If this causes any problems and you're not happy with the result (eg. switching over any regular payments into the account from an external source) then we will raise a complaint and sort it out (one way or another) - all of this is probably most conveniently done over the phone, and don't forget, if you call our international number, the call is just a local number. Remember, if you're looking to switch over any standing orders you have set up over the phone, you'll need to use your telephone banking passcode (otherwise we won't be able to switch them over)
For data protection reasons, we can't close a joint account over the phone, however, so the erroneous account (even though it is neither needed nor wanted) would need to be closed either in writing or in any branch.
Hope this helps (and glad you found the ISA opening pain-free!)

I changed my (joint) day to day account into a active saver account. When I asked for a card for my wife later on they told me it had accidently been open only in my name. My wife wasn't bothered but I was surprised yesterday to see it listed in her account.

mdr86

I've opened an account in a branch (I wasn't a previous customer), it was opened straight away, but I was told that I couldn't transfer money in and out online, only in a branch, all I can do online is to check balence! This seems quite ridiculous...