Contacting NatWest electronically?

Voyager2002

As per the title, any suggestions?

I am in Africa and want to get my money out of an ISA with them. My on-line banking allows me to move funds to a deposit account with them, but nowhere else. And they don't seem to have any functionality for sending secure messages. Telephones from here may or may not work, but the cost of being kept 'on hold' for ages would more or less wipe out the funds in my ISA.

HappyMJ

So why don't you open up a savings account over the internet with natwest then transfer the money into that new account then from there you can set up a transfer into any account with any bank. A First Reserve account comes with a visa debit card.

Kavanne

You can't transfer money from a First Reserve to another Bank online. What account is your 2nd account at the moment , OP?

CG19a

Remember, Natwest online banking requires you to use the card reader to setup payments/transfers to new accounts for the first time.

cottager

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I am in Africa and want to get my money out of an ISA with them. My on-line banking allows me to move funds to a deposit account with them, but nowhere else.

If the deposit account you mention is their e-Savings account, you can set up a payment arrangement out of there (but as CG says, you'll need your card and the reader to do so, so if you didn't order a card reader or didn't take it with you, unfortunately you'll be stuck). I send online payments directly from my e-Savings regularly, and if the destination a/c can receive Faster Payments they arrive instantly.

As far as I know there's no secure messaging feature -- only wish there was, it would be immensely useful! You could, however, try the live chat option to ask your question? It's the box at the left of your secure online area, headed Help 24x7, and they're there round the clock as the header indicates.

Voyager2002

My thanks to all responses. The second account is some kind of savings account, I think it is First Reserve, and it does not offer on-line funds transfers. When I opened the account I was not offered a card, nor card-reader, and now I have left the country it is not going to be easy getting access to them.

To make matters worse, I wrote to them asking for assistance and gave my mailing address in the USA (I don't trust the African postal system with anything related to banks, but mail comes from the USA by courier every month) as well as my current telephone number. Their idea of responding was to send a 'change of address' form to my former address in the UK (my wife received it) along with a stern note saying that they won't reply to any letters until the form has been completed.

To make matters worse, the interest rate they pay has dropped to almost zero, and of course they didn't bother to tell me. I need to get the money to a new home, and they are making things as difficult as possible.

I never noticed the Live Chat facility: if it works that would be an enormous help.

Voyager2002

cottager wrote: »

As far as I know there's no secure messaging feature -- only wish there was, it would be immensely useful! You could, however, try the live chat option to ask your question? It's the box at the left of your secure online area, headed Help 24x7, and they're there round the clock as the header indicates.

Sadly, the 'help' box does not connect you with a real person. It simply brings up responses to 'frequently asked questions': you enter text, and the computer selects whichever responses seem likely to be helpful. Just what I needed -- not!

cottager

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Sadly, the 'help' box does not connect you with a real person. It simply brings up responses to 'frequently asked questions': you enter text, and the computer selects whichever responses seem likely to be helpful. Just what I needed -- not!

Oh my gosh, apologies, you're quite right... wrong box!
So sorry, I've only ever used it once and it was a while ago: it had slipped my mind it wasn't the one from the secure area.
Go here:
http://www.natwest.com/personal/savings/g1/instant-access/e-savings.ashx
and you should see a green box to the right of the screen. This certainly is live chat to a savings adviser, but not specific to your account (nor secure presumably, so avoid giving account details), though it is 24 hrs as I made a point of asking that during the 'conversation'. When I used it, it was only a general question and not account-specific.

Looking at the page where it is, out of the secure area, I realise now it probably is only intended for answering general questions, and not designed to address something like your own situation or anything to do with a specific account. They may be able to offer a direct telephone number for the section you need, but down that route you'd still have the cost factor of calling from where you are.

As for a card reader, you could probably still order one, but I imagine a card to operate it will be the larger hurdle and may not be possible without a signature, ID etc. A reader's no use on its own but in any case, in your situation it would be a while before you got it, particularly with the way your mail is re-routed from home. (Purely for info, to order a reader you'd take the link for Account Admin from your secure area and the option is there.)

There are people from Natwest here who hopefully will be able to make much better suggestions. Sorry again for mucking up the chat thing and misleading you, and also if 'chatting' turns out to be no help.

Good luck.

fawinds

I have contacted them by email before: Customer.Relations@natwest.com

Not sure what they can do by email, but I had them remove a credit search they made when I applied for an ISA and also got my debit card replaced by a Visa Debit.