Anyone with the Co-Operative Bank?

DurhamGrad

I am currently with Barclays having banked with them since i was 17, but over the last year I have noticed a staggering decline in their standard of customer service. (I used to rave about them!)

I have reached a point now where I am seriously considering moving to the Co-Operative Bank not least for their ethical policy, but also because they have a UK based call centre that operates 24/7 although I am quite nervous about leaving Barclays in case the Co-op is worse.

I have tried RBS, Natwest (which owns RBS) and HSBC. All are c**p (they have either lost me and my friends money or made me cry). Now I'm leaving Barclays which leaves me little choice. Am very reliant on internet banking so need a bank that provides a reliable internet service.

Does anyone have any feedback re the Co-Op? I just need a standard account with debit card, cheque book, linked savings account and good internet banking facilities. And a reliable service.

jambosans

From what I've read* customer service wise the Co-Op are excellent, their internet banking is not the best, and their product line-up is average/ poor (in terms of savings rates).

If we ignore the other banks you've tried there's either First Direct (owned by HSBC); Lloyds TSB or Halifax. Oh, and there's Santander (ha).

First Direct: best telephone banking service. Adequate online (although I've read it's a little dated). Half decent product range.

Lloyds TSB: never had any issues customer service wise. Dated online, however it's due for an overhaul later this year. Good rates for high-balance current accounts.

Halifax/ Bank of Scotland: never had any issues customer service wise. Excellent online. One of the best free-in-credit current accounts on the market.

Now, saying that, it's worth mentioning, the opinion you will get on here is purely subjective. Plus, the fact you've manage to burn your way through three of the big four banks shows you have a less than healthy relationship with banks. This indicates to me that someone could recommend Halifax, and you may still encounter problems. Likewise many people on here would recommend HSBC, yet you've had issues. So, asking for opinion on a public forum may not help you.

Customer service wise the big banks always come out average, smaller "banks" like First Direct, smile, or the Co-Op tend to always come out top (partly due to a smaller customer base, and the scale of their operation). In terms of product range, you have to shop around, but bigger banks can often be more competitive. Internet banking is a tough one, because it depends on what you want. Almost all banks provide a half-decent user experience, but it depends what you want in terms of functionality. For example Halifax only offer a Faster Payments limit of up to £2500, whereas Barclays offer £10000. RBS allow you to see up to six years of bank statements, whereas other banks are significantly less.

You've got to weigh up what's important. Customer services is a difficult one to gauge as like I've said, it's subjective, and one customers experience may be vastly different to another. Why not contact Co-Op, and have a chat with their customer services? Check out the internet banking offering, Co-Op have a free demo (like most other banks). Also look at the product range.

Hope this helps (I've linked appropriately).

*I'm not a customer of Co-Op, smile, HSBC, First Direct, RBS (or NatWest), Barclays; or Santander.

Edit: it's probably worth having a look at the Nationwide Building Society, being a mutual, they should work in the member's interests.

GEEGEE8

I'm with the co-op..
If you go on the bankruptcy board you will see a lot of people recommending them as they and Barclays are the only one's that take bankrupts.. (not that you are!)
They have a good call centre, good online banking (altho can take a day or two to update) and service has been good for the 2.5 yrs I've been with them..

I used to bank with Barclays before and I'd say I haven't been disappointed with co-op in comparison.

DurhamGrad

@ Jambosan's

It's not that I've burnt my way through the banks, it's that the customer service has been appalling.

RBS chased me as a student for not having put any money into my account even though I had not used the overdraft during a time when I was very sick with cancer. (They knew this) I eventually got the matter cleared up but after two years. I should also point out that when I opened the account in my home town, no-one thought to point out that there wasn't a branch in Durham!!! Customer service was very poor on other occasions when I went into my home branch and would be overlooked when waiting to be served, in favour of those who had just walked in the door.

Halifax - wouldn't want to bank with them because they lost over £2000 of my mother's money and she spent nine months getting it back.

Natwest - lost over £ 350 of my uni housemate's cash and never paid it back. Plus they own RBS and after my exp with the latter would never join Natwest.

HSBC good, although credit card linked to account would never allow me to buy anything online. Which was the whole point of having it in the first place!! Overseas call centre was another downside.

Barclays have gone from great to AWFUL in the past year - staff are rude and disrespectful (I've banked with them for nearly 12 years) and the overseas call centre staff drive me nuts. Even when speaking with UK customer relations, I have noticed that complaints just taken an aeon to be processed and are never resolved. Never had a problem with them until May last year. I used to recommend them to everyone. Now I can't wait to leave. Internet banking is excellent though.

Think I will move to the Co-operative. Thanks for the internet banking demo.

DurhamGrad

GEEGEE8 wrote: »

I'm with the co-op..
If you go on the bankruptcy board you will see a lot of people recommending them as they and Barclays are the only one's that take bankrupts.. (not that you are!)
They have a good call centre, good online banking (altho can take a day or two to update) and service has been good for the 2.5 yrs I've been with them..

I used to bank with Barclays before and I'd say I haven't been disappointed with co-op in comparison.

Thanks for the advice. Why did you leave Barclays to go to the Co-op?

rescynic

signed up for a co-op account today and have to say the following:

1) OMG i spoke to a real person
2) it really didnt take long at all and did i mention i spoke to a real person and not an IVR/ robot

DurhamGrad

rescynic wrote: »

signed up for a co-op account today and have to say the following:

1) OMG i spoke to a real person
2) it really didnt take long at all and did i mention i spoke to a real person and not an IVR/ robot

LOL! I know what you mean about the real person thing and not a robot! Those automated services drive me insane and what I really like about the co-operative is the uk-based call centres.

Quiet_Life

I left Abbey for the Coop a few years ago.
3 years ago I switched to Smile, the Coops internet only bank, because of their free overdraft offer. I have absolutely no complaints with either. I find Smile very reliable, their website sufficient for all my needs and I usually have about £60 of vouchers each year to spend at the Coop [ great aroung Christmas time]. I can lodge and withdraw money from any post office as well as all the usual ATMs.

GEEGEE8

I left Barclays due to me owing them money in my bankruptcy, co-op was my only other option.

jambosans

DurhamGrad wrote: »

It's not that I've burnt my way through the banks, it's that the customer service has been appalling.

It could have been worded better but I was simply making the point that you've had issues with three of the largest banks in the UK. Subjective opinions from the lovely folks on MSE does not mean you will not encounter similar problems with other banks.

Banks always tend to perform poorly in customer services the more complex the circumstances. You could place any banks name in front of those situations and there will be a customer out there who has had a similar experience.

There was no offence intended.

ceh209

FYI, RBS own Natwest not the other way around. Not that it really makes any difference to their customer service!