Very Very Very Angry! The 3rd and (hopefully) final installment of this gripping saga

snoozer · 3 July 2006 at 2:30PM

Conrad and Lipidicman,

I think that you are being unrealistic. You can't possibly plan for every eventuality and we shouldn't have to.

As customers we have a right to expect decent service. Yes, mistakes are made every day but in my opinion the banks too often blame the customers for their errors or say tough it's happened there's not a lot you can do about it. Consumers are just starting to learn that yes there is something they can do about it.

Mirtos · 3 July 2006 at 2:30PM

Lipid, I am interested in your philosophy. Of course, I agree with you that one should take responsibility for one's finances in all eventualities. Perhaps you can help me out - do you have a spreadsheet that can calculate the infinite possibilities of what could go wrong to enable you to cover them all? If so, does it draw on string theory, or is it based on more simple quantum mechanics? Do you have a time machine to go back and forth in time to allow you enough hours to make all the necessary preparations for covering ALL POSSIBLE EVENTUALITIES manually? If so, can I borrow it? Thanks for your insights guys.xxx

lipidicman · 3 July 2006 at 2:44PM

Mirtos, we weren't blaming you (I certainly wasn't: I asked why you reduced your DD and then said ' That said, I hope lloyds put their mistake right!'). However it is possible to manage your accounts defensively and then go on the offense. The defensive strategy here would be keep the biggest OD they will offer you, but use as little as possible. There is no need to reduce it that I can see

I do have a spreadsheet and a scientific degree and PhD if you would like to delve further into the matters you touch upon above so glibly. I think my advice to be defensive, to phone a second time to check your instructions have been carried out is a good idea which you seem to have discounted offhand. It wont save us everytime, but it can often forewarn you of problems.

Mirtos · 3 July 2006 at 2:59PM

I did call to double check. Was assured all was well. I also checked with internet banking several times. IS your spreadsheet to calculate infinite possibilities??? Seriously. can I borrow it if it is??(Yes that was a bit glib of me wasn't it?

) Don't agree with you on keeping the OD open however. Cheaper credit is available elsewhere if necessary, and closing it is a good motivator to get my debts of doom down. Glad to see you've got a Phd - it's my graduate degrees that got me so into debt! (well, me spending while on them anyway!) All of this however, doesn't change the fact that this was APPALING customer service from Lloyds, and that was what the original post was about;) Peace? xxx

lipidicman · 3 July 2006 at 3:15PM

Mirtos wrote:

Don't agree with you on keeping the OD open however. Cheaper credit is available elsewhere if necessary, and closing it is a good motivator to get my debts of doom down.

Ok, fine. If you need this artificial construct of a lower limit to motivate you then stick to your approach. I was merely suggesting that you keep the OD offered so kindly by the bank but don't use it. I do not see the problem with this. I have an overdraft. Why don't I go and blow it on things I don't need? Because I do not want to pay the interest rate. Why do I have the overdraft? So if I forget an outgoing it will be covered by my generous overdraft limit.

Also to bring us up to date, lloyds have refunded the DD fees and called back to say all the DD's have gone out as normal according to you. Did this happen?

Finally I want to reiterate that I do not blame you for the mistake, I have had similar happen to me in the past with an OD being withdrawn without notice (so I am not being holier than thou. This was offered at 0% so I leapt at it, then got a little burned by their unclear policy). Lloyds sorted it in a similar way, they refunded the fees, they sorted out the problem. Since then I have learned to be a little more cautious and I was merely suggesting that you may like to do the same.

Mirtos · 3 July 2006 at 3:36PM

Yup. All gone through! Hooray!!!! At least they can clear up their mistakes once they make them.

Macduff_3 · 3 July 2006 at 3:37PM

elantan wrote:

no wonder your angry i would've been to..where do they get off with taking your money ..and as for cs ..arghh i don't know how the rest of you feel about phoning india ..but with my strong scottish accent it is a total nightmare ..these people may be able to talk english better than i ever will but understanding what your trying to say arghhh..ive' often had to go through the spelling one letter at a time

I have to call LTSB a lot on behalf of clients for my work and although most people are ok, whenever they put me through to the Financial Management Unit, I get somebody who doesn't understand me, doesn't get where I'm calling from and is incapable of comprehending what I'm trying to get across. i'm with Natwest for my banking and although they have their failings, they always speak English! Once upon a time you had to have a degree to work in an Indian call centre - I remember when I felt that my English was inferior...!

lipidicman · 3 July 2006 at 4:04PM

Mirtos wrote:

Yup. All gone through! Hooray!!!! At least they can clear up their mistakes once they make them.

Happy days!

So why does this constitute appalling customer service? I will grant you it is an unfortuanate mistake by the original CSA (who you describe as an idiot) but lloyds had sorted it out between 7:59 and your post at 10:21. Not bad IMO. I have had banks take weeks and months to get to the bottom of things!

Macduff_3 · 3 July 2006 at 4:12PM

sickofhavingnomoney wrote:

calls should be recorded so they will be able to listen to the call and verify that their member of staff acted incorrectly.

PLEASE do not rely on the companies to record their calls. Their disclaimers will always say 'calls MAY be recorded'. Most companies will monitor calls whilst they are happening rather than recoding them so please do not rely on there being a hard copy of your conversations somewhere. Even those companies that do record will usually only save them for a week unless a member of staff specifically requests a manager to save the call long term.

It is much better to record the time and date of the conversation, the content of the conversation as best as you can remember and the full name of whoever you speak to as you can request a copy of your account notes at any time and the call will be (hopefully) noted there.

seven-day-weekend · 3 July 2006 at 4:45PM

We have been with Lloyds TSB for fifteen years, apart from a few niggles we've found them OK, but I don't like talking to Sukhwinder in Bangalore, as I can't understand what they say. I even wanted to open an account where you get 10% interest for two years on the phone, this involved moving money around and I couldn't make her understnad what I wanted to do. Have to wait until I go into the branch, which won't be until September as I live in Spain.