Intelligent??? Finance

farn75

Please tell me that I'm not just unlucky but that someone else out there has experienced the same problems with Intelligent Finance customer service that I have. My issue with them relates to their call centre and how efficiently they deal with queries. To cut a long story short I’ve had a lot of problems over the last 2 months in switching my mortgage and the issues are bulleted below.

1. Every time I call I get a different person who knows nothing about my situation and so I must spend 10 mins getting them up to speed on where we are right now.
2. When they eventually understand they asked to put me through to someone in a different team that deals with my kind of issues because it’s not their job (even though I’ve just went through 5 minutes of selecting different options from a recorded message so that I’m speaking to the correct person).
3. Occasionally I’d get cut off here and have to return to step 1.
4. Invariably they won’t be able to get through to that team because they are busy. I don’t know what has them so busy, definitely not returning phone calls anyway (refer to step 5&6).
5. “Sorry sir I’ll e-mail that team and get them to phone you back. It might be tomorrow as they’re very busy”
6. They don’t call back today or tomorrow and so I call their premium 0845 number yet again two days later. Return to step 1. When you have done Steps 1-6 three times or more repeat steps 1-5 and then explain that calling back doesn’t actually work and progress to step 7.
7. Get the direct number for the person you need to speak to.
8. Call that 0845 number and go through a lengthy process of selecting different options from a recorded message so that you get to speak to the correct person. Eventually get put through, for the first time in 2 years, to someone who you’ve spoke to before. That someone unfortunately happens to be on the team you called on the other 0845 number. Apparently the team you were trying to get through to was busy not calling people back so you got forwarded to this number and because it was 3 days ago that they spoke to you they can’t remember the details and you’re back to step 1. You can try those steps again or skip quickly to step 9.
9. Totally lose the plot. I mean go psycho.
10. Suddenly you’re speaking to the very person dealing with your account. They even have a name instead of a number and they’re not too busy, or on the phone NOT calling people back anymore to speak to you.

My advice is to go from step 1 to step 9 if you ever need to call these people for anything.

I would speak with my feet and leave but they actually have the cheapest option for me and I don’t mind some pain for significant gain. But why do they have to make everything so bloody difficult?

Has anyone else had the same experience with IF or is it just I?

aliasojo

We had a small issue when we opened a plan in the name of my other half only, then a week later decided that we should in fact have made it a joint one.

Granted, the problem arose through our indecision but we were told it was an easy procedure to change the plan over, then we were told it wasn't. It went on for about a week and I finally called and refused to speak to whoever answered the phone. I told them I wasn't willing to waste anymore of my time going through the saga yet again and could they please pass me onto a supervisor.

It was eventually dealt with properly, we received an apology and some compensation with regard to the phone costs we'd incurred trying to get the matter dealt with.

Like you, I.F. were and still are the best provider of the package we needed so that's why we're still with them.

I often think that places like this and call centres generally should employ average joe to road test their systems rather than some overpaid I.T. bod in an office somewhere. Average joe would soon put them straight I think.

Savvy_Sue

Is it me or have they changed their slogan? It now seems to be "Until money grows on trees", but didn't it used to be something like "One day everyone will be as !!!!!! as us every bank will be like us"?

I agree their phone service is worse than useless. Appalling. Honestly, I had more problems getting through to them than I did to the Tax Credits people!

£$&*"($£&(

I tried to transfer my Tessa only ISA to them. I had to explain the difference between a Tessa only ISA and a Tessa....at least three times. In the end I thought they had got it. When the documents turned up it was clear they hadn't. I used someone else.

Anya

I opened two ISA's with them, one in my name and one in my husbands. They haven't even sent me an access code for my ISA and whenever I try to get through on the phone, I can't for some reason. Really annoying as I still cannot access my account after opening it in October.