Leaving First Direct

Fedz

agsnu wrote: »

I don't really understand your implication here. Customers in debt and racking up interest & charges are the profitable customers for most banks...

... and the 1st to get used, abused & attacked :rotfl:

gnvqsos

KingElvis wrote: »

If you don't like them leave them.

Banks no longer bend to customers, as long as they get their pound of flesh they couldn't care less about you and your circumstances.

Just dump them and go somewhere else.

Good Luck

This may not work as the underlyng problems are never addressed.When the middle class leave a blighted area that area can suffer.You can only vote with your feet if you have a valid destination in mind.Ita the same with football managers who offload players rather than work with them to improve their game.

Rupert_Bear

I cannot think of anything worse if their recently FD ad to go by that when you phone them you are greeting by an unscripted cheerful person and they try to engage you on a more personal level. Give me internet banking anyday. Humbug!

LSEdwards

I know it shouldn't be necessary but often if you receive very poor service the best thing to do is to write to the Managing Director and set out what they did wrong. Quite often you find they will offer ex gratia compensation if they have given poor service. If they were rude to you on the phone ask them to review the recordings. I realise it's too late in this case....

essexness

:mad: Hi markt100 I too have just had a horrendous experience with First Direct. I've had an account with them for more than 15 years . All our income is paid into the account plus we have our savings on deposit with them. I paid off all my credit cards 2 years ago and we have no debts, mortgage, loans etc with ANYONE! Imagine my shock when I was turned down for a First Direct Gold Credit card with a £3k limit to cover us when we go on holiday, The resort we're booked into doesn't take Visa Debit cards so i only need it temporarily! I offered to set up a direct debit which they could use to repay the credit card when I return from holiday but no they wouldn't budge, telling me there was 'something wrong' with my Equifax credit report. I'd contacted Equifax 3 months ago when FD initially said I needed to contact them before they could deal with my request. It seems there was information which shouldn't have been on there as it was over 16 years old!!! It cost me nearly £20 to try to get Equifax to amend their records but they seem to have just made the situation worse!! Trying to get it right is a nightmare - get sent round in a circle online and a cretin (no insult intended to cretins) tells me i can't do anything about it over the phone i need to raise a 'case' online so vicious circle!!FD said I manage my account in 'exemplary fashion' but won't budge on the credit card because of the Equifax report. I tried to send FD a complaint but the system logged me off before i could post it - I'm not a conspiracy theorist but what a co incidence! I too am looking at changing my account to Co-op but am locked into a savings account and bond until later in the year.

Lith

You should just empty the account move to another bank (but keep your FD account open) - (For future uses ?)

unless they really F*** you bad.. then leave them..

blueberrypie

essexness wrote: »

:mad: Hi markt100 I too have just had a horrendous experience with First Direct....

telling me there was 'something wrong' with my Equifax credit report. I'd contacted Equifax 3 months ago when FD initially said I needed to contact them before they could deal with my request. It seems there was information which shouldn't have been on there as it was over 16 years old!!! It cost me nearly £20 to try to get Equifax to amend their records but they seem to have just made the situation worse!!

It sounds like the problem lies with Equifax, not First Direct.

Bloomberg

markt100 wrote: »

Hello everyone, my first post so be gentle! I felt the need to post on the basis of a very painful experience with First Direct (FD), to get it off my chest and to advise of the utter lack of customer service that FD provide to customers - against the grain of their marketing and brand promise.

To provide some quick background - I have had both a personal account and latterly a joint account with FD for over 7 years - I liked their 'customer service' angle, being open all the time on the phone and having a fairly decent web facility - I have also been with HSBC for over 18 years, but FD seemed more friendly and of course are UK based - a big advantage when compared with the far east call centres with HSBC.

Everything seemed to be going well, opened Joint account seamlessly, spoke to the team occasionally, got a loan (repaid this year) and rarely went overdrawn.

Then, last year my income reduced a little (I'm in sales) and by the end of the year both my wife and I moved jobs, which also reduced our income.

We were (are) stretched a little and have dipped into credit cards and overdrafts, but are very aware that we want to put it right. We had earned well and spent well and are simply victims of the credit crunch - I get that, and I am a grown up so I am trying to put it right, with thanks to the advise on this site.

However, First Direct see it very differently, their attitude towards my change in circumstances is soooooo belittling, so obnoxious and utterly unsupportive that I have decided to finally, after a year of abuse, leave them.

The agents in the credit services and underwriting team are simply rude and arrogant. When I need their assistance and request consolidation they block me out and offer no help whatsoever. It seems they were very happy to accept the money they made from credit balances, but now they want to manage me out - clearly earning a fortune in credit card interest etc, but offer no cheaper solutions (a loan). It amazes me that they have refused a loan where the repayment of the credit card is less than the actual minimum payments!

But ultimately, it is the pure lack of common sense, lack of customer service and aggressive attitude that leads me to write this and move my account. My conversations with the teams makes me feel 6 inches high, they are so condescending and clearly taking the power trip of being able to decline an application - seriously, I have never been spoken to like this.

I have chosen the Co-Operative Bank, on the same principles of customer service, being on the end of the phone and having a strong ethical stance and mentality. I know the teams there compete with First Direct as they are in the same niche of banks so I hope they will be happy to win a customer from them, and a customer who is getting back on track financially and will not allow First Direct to take away any of my hard earned cash.

Please, do not believe the customer service hype. I know there are other bad banks (Lloyds complaints sky high, Santander putting out public statements about their attempts to turn around customer service) but please strongly consider your choice - you may, like me, be completely let down by a bank that should provide a service, by being spoken to like a naughty school kid and someone who will trawl through your statements and make you feel like so angry you end up posting too....

Sorry to hear of your woes. Banks are only nice to you when you have money. When I had no money they did not treat me well at all, now that my situation has improved markedly they invite me to their premier lounge and are oh so nice. They are all the same - wolves in sheep's clothing. All the best, I hope that you do manage to turn things around.

Lith

wolves in sheep's clothing? thats an interesting remark... i'll wait and see if HSBC turn on me and get nasty.. because i've just had £80 sitting in the account when i opened it a month ago.

lets see how long they can be 'nice to me'