Metro bank - new customer review

richardmk

Metrobank wins hands down in being able to drum up press interest with its dancing dogs and juggling staff in branch, but when it comes to sound banking expertise the place is a circus and they want to entertain you, not deal with such serious stuff.. But to be fair when I opened my account they did suggest checking the card on the ATM in their lobby. The dodgy technology - misrecording transactions, internet banking faults was too much, and I changed to the Halifax - their internet banking is fantastic, and they even have a credit card for free use overseas as well.. The existing High Street banks are not that terrible, and Metrobank certainly is not a champion amongst them.

blackrat779

Joined Metro Bank in Reading today. I have to say it was a very nice experience. The lady who assisted me was very friendly and offered me coffee and carefully explained all of the processes as we went along. There were no issues and everything went very well.

I also got a credit card and again no problems or issues.

I had a nice tour of the shop and the customer vault which I was interested in.

My daughter also opened a current account and credit card and again all went well. All credit to the staff at Reading.

I stopped short of moving all my banking needs here. I will see how things work out first. The internet banking seems fine and as yet I can't think of anything missing from it that I would want.

Why move my account? Don't have a complete answer yet but will give this lot a go and let you know. One of the tests is whether the card works abroad and is generally accepted. Its a Mastercard so I have no reason to doubt that it will be fine.

I guess you can't really test any bank until things go wrong and see how they deal with it.

First impression....very good, very impressed.

Blackrat

richardmk

blackrat779 wrote: »

First impression....very good, very impressed.

Blackrat

They are very good with the account opening spin. The things not so good are receiving and sending faster payments, slow at accepting deposits in branch.

If ask them to change the statement date of the credit card.. The answer will be no!

Bob_the_Saver

richardmk wrote: »

They are very good with the account opening spin. The things not so good are receiving and sending faster payments, slow at accepting deposits in branch.

Always works for me, couldn't be better.

[Deleted User]

@Bob the Saver

Do you find that Faster Payments in and out of your Metro Bank accounts go in pretty much instantly? Most people seem to report them taking hours...

Doc_N

billbennett wrote: »

@Bob the Saver

Do you find that Faster Payments in and out of your Metro Bank accounts go in pretty much instantly? Most people seem to report them taking hours...

I think Bob's been extremely fortunate. Most of us have found that operationally this bank has been a bit of a nightmare. All seems well inside the stores but it's all so very different once you get home!

labp04

Not sure where DocN gets the stats from and it would be a pity if this thread turned into a "I dont like MetroBank v I do like MetroBank" sort of thing but, as we've said before and as per BobtheSaver's post we've had no issues with this bank and do not understand why some folk seem to want to bang on about difficulties they say they have experienced at some unspecified time in the past.

OK, the thread is for new customer reviews but for goodness sake repeating the same old stuff again and again can pretty quickly start to feel like an agenda! Would it be too much to imagine that any dissatisifed have properly made their thoughts re the cause known to this bank or have moved on.

Cant help but think it would be pretty easy to list complaints about most institutions eg over time, we have ditched a number of banks who either didnt meet our needs or "upset" us in some other irreparable way. Simples, if you aint happy with a provider move on and find one you're happier with but please dont keep regurgitating the same old stuff or assume/suggest that "Most of us have found that operationally this bank has been a bit of a nightmare" when it is likely that this could not be substantiated and may well be simply wrong.

As we've said before MetroBank meets our needs very well and we've experienced none of the issues some others go on about

Hazzanet

labp04 wrote: »

OK, the thread is for new customer reviews but for goodness sake repeating the same old stuff again and again can pretty quickly start to feel like an agenda! Would it be too much to imagine that any dissatisifed have properly made their thoughts re the cause known to this bank or have moved on.

I always think that you can't really get the measure of a bank until you want to do something more complicated than your day-to-day banking or something goes wrong and you interact with them to help put it right.

My issue has been that the day-to-day things seem overly complicated. It took three requests over two weeks to secure a cheque book and while internet banking does appear to have had a speed boost, it does feel rudimentary when compared against its competitors (although they are running a newer system!)

Have I made my thoughts known to them? Yep. Over two phone calls, an e-mail and a tweet. Have any of the concerns met with any reply of substance? No. I don't even believe that they have been logged as a complaint (even though their training should have covered the definition of a complaint: any expression of dissatisfaction.)

I intend on holding on to the account for the commission free overseas spending with a view to moving my real banking to them if I see improvement.

As I've said before: I can see tonnes of potential, but it's just not quite being executed right yet. This could be poor training, expanding too fast or systems that haven't yet been properly tested under strain, but until they get the basics right, they are a second account to me.

I feel that I am being fair to Metro - I can see evidence of good practice here - the instant card printing, friendly in-branch service and a quirky atmosphere (even if it can seem a little bizarre at times), however issuing a cheque book and usable internet banking are a must for me.

If I were working for Metro's marketing department, I'd be falling base over apex to get someone on this forum to answer queries, and to make contact with the customers that are disgruntled and have voiced concerns here. I've drawn the thread to their attention - they've acknowledged it exists but as of yet, no comment from their corner.

richardmk

Hazzanet wrote: »

If I were working for Metro's marketing department, I'd be falling base over apex to get someone on this forum to answer queries, and to make contact with the customers that are disgruntled and have voiced concerns here. I've drawn the thread to their attention - they've acknowledged it exists but as of yet, no comment from their corner.

It would be good to see Metrobanks improvement plan address some of the more significant problems. Although it is good for the free overseas transactions (saving £3 per £100 easily), the change converter machine, and instant debit cards, the follow areas could be improved:
1. The 0345 telephone number is expensive from BT, it is not included as a free evening and weekend call like 0845.
2. When depositing across the counter the register takes along time to process transaction, and you are left waiting for a receipt after the teller has moved on to serving the next customer.
3. Faster payments are slow - both in and out
4. Inflexible with statement dates on the credit card - everyones statement runs to end of month.. (and they say no stupid bank rules!)
5. online banking is intermittent in the morning and evening (8pm)
6. Receipts get stuck inside the magic money machine
7. No incentive for having the account, interest/reward.
8. High turnover of staff in the Central London Branches so not so likely so see familiar faces
9. The terms and conditions are like a small paperback book.

[Deleted User]

richardmk wrote: »

1. The 0345 telephone number is expensive from BT, it is not included as a free evening and weekend call like 0845.

Sure?

http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/landline/packages says "Your calling plan will include Unlimited Weekend (midnight Friday to midnight Sunday), Unlimited Evening & Weekend (7pm to 7am Mon-Fri and all weekend) or Unlimited Anytime calls. This means calls of up to an hour to numbers beginning 01, 02 & 03, after which charges apply. You can hang up and redial before the end to avoid charges. There are exceptions like calls to the Channel Islands."