Metro bank - new customer review

gt94sss2

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Is it anymore basic than First Direct's current offering?

imho..Yes

Regards
Sunil

innovate

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Is it anymore basic than First Direct's current offering?

FD's online banking, even though a bit ancient now, beats the socks off MB's. FD also can process Faster Payments "faster" - something MB still needs to learn.

MB has snazzy shops, and terrible telephone support. FD obviously has no high street presence but at least when you phone their people they generally know what they are talking about.

MB clearly has the edge on their cards for foreign use - FD can't touch them there.

In terms of interest rates, they are both also-runs.

Neither would be my only choice of bank (in fact, no bank or BS would be).

Doc_N

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Is it anymore basic than First Direct's current offering?

Echoing what others have said, really, but the difference between the First Direct and Metro Bank online banking is that one (FD) works well, and the other doesn't.

I've found First Direct to be pretty flawless over 22+ years, first with telephone banking and then with internet banking. If there is any kind of hiccup (rare) they sort it out extremely quickly and efficiently.

I'm afraid my experiences with Metro over just a few months have been rather less positive. Fine in the glossy shops, but awful online and equally awful over the phone. They've clearly economised on the back-office functions, and it shows.

The debit card is fine for overseas use, though, and that's the only reason I keep the account open. You do always need a back-up card, though, because the risk of a systems failure is likely to be a lot higher with Metro, and they don't resolve issues (see posts above on this).

Nessie23

There is one small advantage with MB internet banking over FD, you can delete payees on the internet banking. Why FD cannot implement this functionality I cannot understand!

Doc_N

Nessie23 wrote: »

There is one small advantage with MB internet banking over FD, you can delete payees on the internet banking. Why FD cannot implement this functionality I cannot understand!

That's a good point. I'm glad I'm not the only one to find that great long list annoying!

System

I just found FDs internet banking to be poor in terms of usability/functionality.

With FDs 'halo', I expected a very slick set-up and found that the FD staff bordering on condescending and paternalistic when the cracks appeared in their ageing internet banking .

With Metro and FPs - I would be satisfied for them to go the same day, obviously instantly is best but unnecessary.

Doc_N wrote: »

That's a good point. I'm glad I'm not the only one to find that great long list annoying!

innovate

Heng_Leng wrote: »

With Metro and FPs - I would be satisfied for them to go the same day, obviously instantly is best but unnecessary.

Never mind outgoing delays - - - the thing that shocked me is how long it takes them to process incoming FPs. If I run out of money in MB, I'd like to be able to re-fill my account from an interest-paying, non-MB, one, and I'd expect that if I do so in the afternoon, the money will be available to spend no later than the next morning (business days, obviously). Not so, last 2 times I did this. They can easily take 36 - 40 hours.

MB obviously comply with the legal requirement to get the payment there by the end of the next business day but with every other bank and BS doing literally instant payments, MB stick out like some dinosaur.

richardmk

We really are too forgiving for Metrobanks terrible online and faster payments service. Everyone opening an account gets the royal opening, with maybe a tour of the safety deposit boxes, and a mug of coffee and a cake if the branch is not very busy.
If they could make an effort to improvement these elements they would have countered pretty much all of the criticism levelled at them

innovate

I agree, if they could cut the cake and the tour and the chat completely and let me open a current account online like every other outfit does, that would already be a massive improvement. I don't care for any of these bits, and I am perfectly happy to wait for a week for my debit card and PIN to arrive in the snail mail.

They could save a gigantic amount of money if they shut their branches, or at least scaled them down by a factor of 8-9 (out of 10). The savings could be used to invest in telephone support training and IT systems.

pmduk

Surely the fact that they choose to have so many branches, yet poor internet and phone banking, gives a pretty good idea that they only want branch (sorry store) banking.

For that reason alone, I'd avoid them. Though I have no choice, they don't bother with much north of Watford.