'I lost my rag in a Lloyds TSB branch' blog discussion

digitaldai

Abbey again for me - terrible.

An account I never used + moved house and Abbey started charging me interest (account was on 0.00). I had to make about 5-6 visits instore at Kensington to close the account, after having been played ping-pong between phone and store, neither department taking responsibility. I just ended up shouting until I got what I wanted, something I have never done before. Staff told me I was being rude and I just kept repeating I just want to close this account it has been about 6 months already, they always wanted some extra paperwork or the manager dealing with it wasnt in today etc. It was crazy I have never been treated like this by a reputable firm in any context ever. I had been with Abbey since I was 12 around 20 years. never again.

HSBC are much more customer friendly in my experience!

maybe we need a guide to customer service, specifically closing accounts?
my experience:
Abbey (specifically Kensington branch + phone support) 1/10
HSBC 8/10

bexster1975

very sympathetic to Martins plight. Left Lloyds TSB 5 years ago and never looked back. It is fair to say most of the big banks are the same but that doesn't mean we should just tolerate their behaviour. If needs be keep moving until you are happy (if you are lucky you will pick up a couple of hundred quid whilst your swapping!);)

KevinTC

Kafkaization of all banking systems and staff is nearly complete. This is the necessary upgrading of the old bureaucratization, and is forging ahead rapidly resulting in splendid headway especially with all new additional essentials of obfuscation methods. It has been most successful within the asymmetrical bilateral quasi-mutual customer-facing adformational exchange of data procedures.
If you understand the above please apply for a managerial position at Lloyds.

interdave

I have never seen so much ire expressed in a forum. I thought I was the only sufferer.

I am currently trying to get Cheltenham & Gloucester (a clone of LTSB) to repay a bond which expired eight days ago and my current 'promise' is that a cheque will be sent on Monday which will not be cleared until Thursday at the earliest. I have tried to get their ceo's name and e-mail address but the branch could not give me it and are threatening to get a guy from customer services to sweet talk me into believing that it was all a dreadful mistake, has never happened before and they (at head office) are distraught with guilt and remorse and would I accept a five pound note in full and final ex gratia payment for my trouble.

With a bit of research I found the ceo's name and his e-mail address. He is also the ceo of LTSB.

I intend to e-mail him in an attempt to hasten him on a bit and up the anti by a not inconsiderable amount. I would not for a moment suggest anyone else should follow my example as it might overburden his e-mail and make him think that the only way out of that problem would be to treat their customers properly leading to additional cost which might in turn reduce bonuses.

John_Pierpoint

Blimey only ten days - it took me about a month to get money out of Barclays. Then I proved the wrong interest had been added and finally I extracted interest for the month "lost in the works"; but I was haggling about a 50K investment.
They probably rely on the average punter with a 4 figure sum to shrug and accept it.

Bubblegum86_2

Hi all,

Im having some trouble with Lloyds TSB atm, ive been banking with llyods tsb for over 2 years. I use to live in my overdraft, but I never went crazy and spent it all at once, until one day lloyds decided to take the interest out of my account on a different day, they usually take it out beginning of every month but for some reason they took it out the middle of the month, which made me go over drawn. Now I wasn’t aware I was overdrawn didn’t recieved no letter letting me know etc. Until I received a letter saying im overdrawn £250!! Now baring in mind I went overdrawn only a few quid, they charged me 10 days worth of bank charge of £25.00and 25.00 on top for every letter they send out. as my wages went in and bills going out and living on the overdraft I couldn’t afford to pay for the bank charge. I received another letter saying they are going to take the £250 the following month. Which they did, so I was short £250 to last me the whole month, which made me go over drawn again. So I was stuck, they piled on the £250 for the next 4 months plus interest for going over drawn!!!

Now with a help from my uncle, went into my bank and spoke with someone about it, now she agreed it was all blown out of proportion and I prove that it was them that made me over drawn, now she promise me she was going to reverse 1 month worth of bank charges and refund me the money they took out for no reason what so ever. I had to fight for the rest of the bank charges, which llyods had refunded me after 2 to 3 months fighting for it. Didn’t received no money what so ever they just removed it.
I told lloyds I wanna close my account, but I still had 300 overdarft to pay off, so I agreed to pay it of monthly of 36.00.
Now I felt so much better it was all sorted, but I was no were near the end, I received constant phone calls from lloyds saying I havent made no payment of 36.00 pound on the first month which I did!!, the lady on the phone said she couldn’t find that information!! After 15mins on the phone with her she found the 36.00 pound debited to lloyds account, she apologise for any inconvinient. Now she said I shouldn’t get anymore phone calls as this is arrange debit into lloyds account. I ask her to send me the copy of the agreement of monhtly payment of 36.00 and to put writing everything she said. But didn’t recieved no letter what so ever. The following month I received the same phone call regarding about not recieveing 36.00, now I didn’t kick up a fuss as I though I another computer error. But it happened every month!! So I got worried thinking where does my money go if you cant see it coming in to lloyds account. I asked them to send me the copy of the agreement but no one ever did send it to me. I received constant phone calls!! got so fed up with I stop paying it.
When they next called me up again saying they havent recieved any payment I said I know, I wanna speak to the collection department about my account, no one wanted to speak with me, I ask the lady to get someone to call me back about my account no one ever did. I just didnt know what to do,I know I shouldn’t of stop paying it, but when u received constant phone calls, and telling you that you havent made any payment. but good thing was though I didn’t received a phone call from them for 1 month.so I thought everything is sorted as I havent heard from them. Now as months went by, I started recieveing letters after letters bank charges piling up again I was shock to see they have done it again!! When no one has bothered speaking to me or call me back. I have stuck to my part of the deal but they havent.
I didn’t know what to do!! Then they closed my account and past it on to the debt recovery called Moorecroft, now they are threatning me with courts etc. WHAT DO I DO!! Some one please help me, this is the only debt I have.

Premier_2

Hi Bubblegum86. and welcome to MSE. :hello:

You appear to have already posted the same content here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=36869212&postcount=8

Be aware that according to MSE terms and conditions section 9.2.10, posting the same comment more than once is considered spamming, which may result in you having your posting privileges revoked.

JimmyTheWig

Premier wrote: »

according to MSE terms and conditions section 9.2.10...

Slightly harsh!
Maybe they just couldn't find their original post?

timbo58

Im paraphrasing my own post from elsewhere but since it's much more relevant here: I'll post it!

Apart from the problems I've had with Halifax credit card applications recently (noted elsewhere in these forums) I also opened a current account with them 2 months ago:

1.They have f**ked up my loan (ironically with themselves) twice in two months (i.e. 100% failure rate!) causing me to pay late the first time and incur a charge (which they revoked after I complained) and this month they took the money from my employers account and not mine! (they had the account details as this is the account I get paid from) -They even inferred I had set up the DD online! (bullsh*t as I left all the DDs/So's to them, I hadn't even set up my own internet banking at that time).
How embarrassing was that!
2.I also found out today they hadn't set up or paid my BT bill either.
3.After checking my online banking tonight they still haven't fixed up the loan DD properly either.

I think enough is enough: thank god I hadn't got round to closing my previous natwest current account as I have written a stinking letter to Halifax and given them 2 weeks to reply with a satisfactory reply (ie a large amount of cash and a grovelly apology), otherwise it'll be goodbye current account, savings account, credit card and mortgage (I'm just buying another house) and a letter to the financial ombudsman etc.

I am afraid it's like Martin Lewis says: they don't give us any 'loyalty': don't give them any either!

If they screw up more than once it's about time you tell them you're considering going elsewhere and then do it if they don't make amends very swiftly: the more people who leave them after f**k ups the less f**k ups they'll make in the long term.

Lirin

About five years ago in London- trying to open an account.

Had everything they needed, all the correct documentation, driving licence etc.

Was told I couldn't open an account. Asked why?- wanted to know if I'd forgotten something.

At this point, the extremely polite and courteous idiot I'd been dealing with threw my drivers licence and passport at me and snarled- "They're not very good fakes, your ID. Come back when you've proper ID."

Asked immediately for a manager, who was very nice and understanding- very professional. He said the account couldn't be opened as there were questions over my ID. Asked what exactly, and was told bodies in the ID weren't recognised on their system.

Completely perplexed, I had a look at my ID. Yup, all correct. Asked him to point out what the problem was.

He pointed to the ID itself, and told me they couldn't recognise non-UK passports and licences, therefore I couldn't open an account.

Even more perplexed. I'm from Northern Ireland, but unless something had changed in the last few days, we were still part of the UK- and have been for a few hundred years now! Asked him if NI had suddenly broken from UK recently. (I was just in wind-up mode now.) Then pretended tears saying "I've got no counrty now!"

Went next door, bought a cheap colour-coded map (a kids one, wasn't finished winding up yet) and left it in with him.

A sudden quietness and a very red face before he offered me an account with a fantastic deal.

I took great pleasure in saying it was okay, I'd changed my mind.