MSE News: Metro Bank opens its doors today

MoneySavingUser

Dr_Cuckoo3 wrote: »

HSBC offer free tea and coffee

I got some when I opened my account - but I have never been in a branch since then!

From this thread it doesn't seem anyone is really impressed with Metro Bank

glider3560

I suspect the majority of people in the queue were either:
a) journalists, wanting to open an account to report the news, or
b) staff (or mystery shoppers) from other banks' marketing departments wanting to see what all the fuss is about.

bristol_pilot

If I have a requirement to take a dump at the same time my dog fancies a biscuit I'll be sure to pay this bank a visit. Otherwise not.

camaj

puddy wrote: »

do people actually use bank branches anymore, i cant remember the last time i was in one

Same here, because they're ALWAYS closed! Who's going to go to the bank if it's closed all the time? Okay, if you're unemployed you can go, but then you probably don't have much need for it. Most people are at work during the day and don't get home until 5:30 if they're lucky. Saturday banking is good but some of us have to work on Saturdays too.

I'm only going on about it because it drives me nuts when the banks are closed and all the shops are open, why should banks be any different? It doesn't have to be all branches, just a few so that you can pop in if you need to.

Also the coin-machines are free to use, I assume it's a coin-star type machine. They have it in HSBC but it's customers only.

All that, I would consider a vast improvement in customer services, I don't know why people are quick to criticise, it's not all about the interest rate

zephyr_uk

housesitter wrote: »

I's a rather effective place to be when you have a complaint.

Plus it's better to have a face and a name rather than just a phone number so if something does go wrong you get to talk to the same person rather than a droid on the end of a line.

if you're talking about the branch networks there, I think you're way off mark. Having worked in banks for a long time, the people who man the branches are almost almost the most under-trained of all the banks' staff - because they're drilled to sell, and often know very little about other procedures. The FSA picked this up recently in their review of complaint handling in banks. They said there was a significant problem, especially with complaints dealt with in branches.

If you're complaining to banks, it's always worth going direct to their specialised complaints handling units. You can find addresses and numbers for these on their web sites.

opinions4u

camaj wrote: »

I'm only going on about it because it drives me nuts when the banks are closed and all the shops are open, why should banks be any different? It doesn't have to be all branches, just a few so that you can pop in if you need to.

Halifax used to open selected branches on Sunday, and I always used to volunteer for the overtime on a Bank Holiday.

I really enjoyed getting paid premium rate to tidy out the stockroom and neaten up the leaflet stands while chatting to 3 customers about the weather.

I remember a shopping centre branch opening until 8pm weekdays and for 6 hours on a Sunday.

Customers didn't use the service is sufficient numbers, so they canned it.

zephyr_uk

The FSA disagrees with you. Having worked closely with them when I worked at the Financial Ombudsman on their review of complaints handling in banks, it was very obvious that the worst problems were with those complaints dealt with in branches. This is discussed in detail on the FSA's web site. As I mention below, this is because branch staff are generally the worst trained of all bank staff and are just drilled to sell. They often have very poor knowledge of other procedures, so it's almost always worth going direct to the banks' complaint handling units.

[Deleted User]

robpw2 wrote: »

im concerend at their marketing tactic of dog biscuits .. children bored in the bank whilst mummy is waiting may end up eating them

Doesn't dog food have to be fit for human consumption in the EU these days?

chexum

From the credit card terms:

"Interest-free period - Up to 60 days for purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time (although the first interestfree
period for purchases may be shorter if you take out your credit card part-way through a month)"

That seems to be one of the longest interest-free periods, though it suggests everyone would be getting the statement on the same day, and the payment is then due just before the next statement.

If the statement is at the start of the month, well... I hate direct debits/payments at the end of the month

Toe-Jam

Whats the impressions of the debit card ?

I think its nice, but the Metro Bank logo is far too big.