Abbey Account - Visa Electron Sent

savagej

http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/business/documents/pdfs/bin_rules.pdf

according to this the new card number is indeed "Visa Debit", I note the old Co-op Visa Electron card BIN in a bigger font. Maybe people were not taking enough notice of it. Funny way for a bank to highlight a problem.

Toe-Jam

just_about wrote: »

Do you have the full current account with them ?

The reason I am asking this is when I tried to open a current account with them, got refused and opened their insta plus account with the electron card, however got upgraded after 6 months to their current account, and the advisor said the system says I can have their MFC full visa debit card.

so if you don't mind me saying this then i suggest you try for the full offline debit, if you indeed have the full current account, as i think after santander stopped doing the cheque guarantee card they must have relaxed their criteria for the full visa debit card, unless you are happy with you electron !!

I have a full current account with abbey, I dont ever use this account I was mearly pointing out that they have not dropped visa electron, contrary to speculation.:) Why would i a blood donor card (sorry abbey debit card) that charges £1.75 per item if used abroad. I used to use it for ryanair flights, and thats gone now, so this account is for the chop when i get round to it.

simax

Just to confirm I got a replacement Electron card today. Pile of cr*p. Won't use it as main account until they sort it out.....

jfke

Funny this should come up...

I opened a basic account with Abbey having not lived in the UK for many years and having no credit history. For some reason they were naturally suspicious despite me having payslips for over £1k a month and cheques ready to deposit. After about four months they told me to arrange a meeting to upgrade my account to a full current account.

This was declined yet again and I was instead upgraded to a Visa Electron and the Instant Plus account in October 2008. I've been merrily using this "Kiddy Switch" for the duration and it wasn't until I recently moved that I decided to pop in to my local branch and ask about an upgrade.

I had a quick impromptu appointment and was told I've now been upgraded to a full current account. I asked about getting a new card to go with the account and the advisor checked to see if it would authorise it. It passed me for a Visa Debit cheque guarantee which she said was strange as they have discontinued this card. She asked if I wanted a cheque book and I said there wasn't any point as I never had cause to use them. She then advised me to check back in a couple of months of using my new account to move to the Visa Debit.

Is this because they're overhauling the system or should I push for the full offline Visa Debit? Are people with the "unembossed Visa Debit" Instant Plus account holders or current account holders?

Thanks

stolpis100

Thought it may be of interest to some here.

Just got off the phone with Santander Customer Services as I was asking if I could get a Visa Debit card as opposed to the current Electron I have on my Instant Plus account. I have had the account for only 4 months.

He said the maximum I was allowed right now was the Electron, but as long as I continued to paid at least £1000 PCM into my account then after 6 months they would send out letters confirming I'd been automatically upgraded to a Visa Debit and also offer an overdraft facility. So only 2 months to go now!

colin07

They told me the same thing paid in 2000 pound a month since january last year still they will not give me a visa debit

nsimpson123

Hubby and I have a joint Santander account both with Visa Electron,we have had the account approx 2 years - twice we have been sent letters saying to call them and we will be upgraded to a Visa debit card - every time I contact them they say it cannot be done still??? I have tried doing this on the phone and by going into a branch - the service we get is awful :mad:

jfke

She seemed pretty keen to give me a Visa Debit but her system kept showing a cheque guarantee which she wasn't happy to authorise as they're phasing it out (see earlier posts). I've had the account 18 months and it was formerly an Instant Plus and for the past week it's been a preferred in credit current account which is good for me.

Got a cheque book on the way now too. Anyone know if you can ask for a card upgrade over telephone banking as I rarely find time to get into the branch?

Regarding customer service of Abbey/Santander; I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones as for 18 months I've had nothing but sterling service in branch and over the phone. Though when I was last in branch a woman ran out screaming "YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!" ...oops!

book12

I would suggest you guys move to another bank, who will give you a Visa debit card with your current accounts. Try other banks, as they don't offer Visa Electron cards anymore.

jfke

Book12;

Have to disagree with you there matey. I arrived back in the country with a fairly well paid job and accrued 4 months of cheques before I found a bank that would take me on. As documented in other basic account threads a lot of banks keep these accounts on the down low and never inform customers about them.

Abbey could see my predicament and sorted me out with a basic account (mid 20's British Citizen with no credit history is a big credit risk) and told me if I kept depositing the cash they would upgrade. It took a few months to get Instant Plus and promoted to the Electron card I could use online and in shops. Since I was very happy with the Electron, suits all my purposes, I never thought to upgrade. I did however want a current account status and so popped into my branch at the first available opportunity. The change was hassle free and immediate (advisor even sandwiched me in between her appointments to do it) and I left after being told I could get a Visa Debit if i came back at another time as the wrong card was being shown as approved on the system.

As previously mentioned in the thread, Abbey/Santander are dropping "Traditional" Electron in favour of two forms of Visa Debit. One is Debit in name only and is effectively a Ghost Electron card. As part of this overhaul Abbey/Santander are dropping their "cheque guarantee" card. The reason I couldn't get my card then was that this was the only one showing on her upgrade screen...no big deal, I'll get it later.

Abbey/Santander get terrible press and last I looked they were ranked 23% for customer service but all I can say is they've been awesome to me.

Banks that refused me and didn't offer me a basic account;

Co-operative
HSBC
Barclays
RBS