MSE News: Santander says 'sorry' for customer service chaos

AnonymousForObviousReason

Won't they start charging you the £5 underfunding charge?

cactusdust

If anyone is wandering if they're really sorry or not, they aren't.

jim_1971

The big problem we have with Santander is speaking to anyone at the call center that seems to know anything about their own products. The number of times I've called to query things on our mortgage and you'd think that I'd asked the person on the end of the phone to explain 'The theory of relativity'.

Emorp

mickbell wrote: »

Here's a tip to possibly get some money back from Santander.

I phoned to make a complaint about a payment being refused when I used my card.
The answers I received were unsatisfactory, so I rang back a few days later, complained again and told them that I was not happy with their response. I asked to escalate the issue to the next level and have it registered as a formal complaint.
The response was that if I did not insist on making it a formal complaint, Santander would pay me £50 instead.
I accepted this and sure enough £50 was paid into my current account.

RESULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They did this to me over a number of days, piffling transactions rejected, causing quite some embarassment, no proper reason. I tried to register a complaint, asked for escalation and they completely ignored me, no follow up, nothing!
Having had every conceivable problem when i first got the Zero credit card, exhausting to sort out, I had a small cry (really!), decided life is too short and gave up.
I note that their recent debacle with A&L account migration has resulted in me being charged interest on my normally paid off in full credit card statement. As it is 90p, it simply is not worth ringing them for - I'll rack up £££ on hold.
Horrible, rubbish, incompetent company.
Aaaaah that's better!
Glad you got something though!

stellacat

I had no idea there were any problems until a couple of days ago we got some nasty letters from various utility companies informing us that we had deleted our DD details! Then today I tried to get some money from paypal to my current account to be told my bank account had been disabled and on inputting the accurate details told I was now blocked - as if I am somehow trying to scam myself. Not happy! I will be looking for the complain form online that a previous poster has mentioned

stellacat

Found the complaint form and it is not working. Paypal refuse to deal with it and can't get hold of anyone at A+L/Santander. What am I to do with my money that is now trapped in Paypal?! Grrrr

eschaton

Absolute tripe of an apology.

I have just completed a current account switch this week.

Due to terrible internet banking which locked me out. Crap telephone banking that wouldn't allow me to move my initial deposit back out without visiting a branch.

Yesterday I CLOSED the account - £100 bonus isn't enough to make me suffer these morons.

Paulgonnabedebtfree

Just in case anyone fancies a humour break, I've taken some liberties with some song lyrics below

---

Well no one told me about them the way they lied
Well no one told me about them how many people cried
But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to phone them
They're not there

Well let me tell you 'bout the way they looked
The way they'd act and the treatment unfair
Their voice was soft and cool
Their eyes were clear and bright
San-tan-der

Well no one told me about them, what could I do
Well no one told me about them, though they all knew
But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to phone them
San-tan-der

Well let me tell you 'bout the way they looked
The way they'd act and the treatment unfair
Their voice was soft and cool
Their eyes were clear and bright
San-tan-der


But it's too late to say you're sorry
How would I know, why should I care
Please don't bother tryin' to phone them
San-tan-der

Well let me tell you 'bout the way they looked
The way they'd act and the treatment unfair
Their voice was soft and cool
Their eyes were clear and bright
San-tan-der

goldnet

I was given false information in branch about being able to open an ISA and transfer my account from cahoot (a Santander bank) and Santander itself. In the former case, because I didn't have a Santander account, I couldn't benefit from the customer ISA rate; in the latter, I couldn't benefit from the £100 transfer bonus because I already had a Santander account - talk about having your cake and eating it!

After making a formal complaint, I was advised I COULD have the ISA rate and was offered £20 compensation for the inconvenience. Despite two telephone conversations and three emails, each of which had to be accompanied by a scan of the letter because no-one could find the details on their systems, this has still not been paid three months later.

I was tempted by the transfer, even without the £100 sign-up bonus, because of the 5% interest paid in the first year but can't risk the transfer not going through smoothly and operation of my account being as seamless as cahoot has been.

kid992

Until about a month ago I only ever phoned alliance and leicester once in a blue moon. I have had two accounts transfered to Santander and I now have two complaints against them one for each account.

My card on my personal account has been blocked 3 times in a month. I made the complaint after the first block one month ago. When I rang up to get an update they told me they still have 28 days of the 56 days they are "allowed" to take to respond, they seemed quite proud of that fact. When I gave him my reference number he said sorry there are a lot of people with your name when I enquired why only my name matched my reference number he admitted the computers were down

It says on their website they try and deal with complaints by the next working day, this claim was repeated on Watchdog and by this person being interviewed by MSE. There was also an article on the BBC this week saying they responded to fewer complaints within the 8 weeks than any other bank.

I have given them endless oportunities to try and sort out both of my complaints without having to put them in writing and cause more work for them, they are not interested and no one from that bank ever phones you back regarding a complaint.

I will take both complaints to the Finacial Ombudsman on general principal for the inconvenience they have caused me and then I will close both accounts, again as a matter of principal and I shall tell everyone I know that I have done so and why.