Halifax Bank of Scotland Financial Review

nemesis1985

thanks for all the comments guys. will prob just cancel the HBOS appointment now as I have a meeting with a IFA on saturday now

regularsaver1

jem16 wrote:

So how do I go about doing this?



As my money is all in web savers and an ISA, you would think they wouldn't hassle me. When I said politely, "No thanks, I have an adviser already." the girl at the counter said, "I'm surprised to hear this looking at your account."

I'm afraid I found that rather cheeky considering she didn't know anything about me or my circumstances.

Ask in branch or telephone and you can have removed marketing at the counter, telephone, email and post. When opening an account ti does say they will do marketing unless you ask not to

see it from the other side though - say you had all your money in a the Halifax Isa with a book and the adviser did not tell you about the higher paying ISA direct (telephone and internet) then you may be peeved off, so sometimes it can have benefits

hot_chick_2

I think she was down right rude and lucky not to lose your custom.

The Banks financial advisor will only sell their products, so they are giving poor financial advice as their products are very rarely the best.

Every time you have a large sum going into one of their accounts the staff automatically ask if you would like to see one of their financial advises ( who should be called own product advises ) so they can try to talk you into leaving the large sum in their bank for a longer period.

I once made the mistake of making an appointment but now refuse because I ended up giving their so called financial advisor free advice on who could give me more interest than her bank was offering.

She also made the mistake of offering information on one of their accounts which she new little about and which I had read up on moneysavingexpert.
After a short argument the lady admitted She was wrong and said their was no point in wasting my time.

They still ask on occasions if I would like a financial reveiw but I always decline, I don't want to waste their time and certainly not mine.

dunstonh

Getting you the best bank account they offer isnt something for a financial adviser but a bank clerk and every clerk in the branch should be able to do that without trying to fob you off for a cross sale opportunity.

jem16

regularsaver1 wrote:

Ask in branch or telephone and you can have removed marketing at the counter, telephone, email and post. When opening an account ti does say they will do marketing unless you ask not to

I always do this when opening any new accounts. However I will specifically ask for removal of marketing at the counter. Thanks

see it from the other side though - say you had all your money in a the Halifax Isa with a book and the adviser did not tell you about the higher paying ISA direct (telephone and internet) then you may be peeved off, so sometimes it can have benefits

I agree if that was the case. However it should be fairly obvious to anyone looking at my account that I have web savers and an ISA Direct Saver.

regularsaver1

in a way yes dunstonh but cashiers are not authorised to deal with changing accounts or even discussing them to that extent - but they have to do this for their jobs. So no not everyone in a branch can do that - only those that are authorised

The halifax have a computer system called "customer review". This is not the system that the financial advisers use. This is a banking adviser system - so it may have been about promoting a customer review instead for changing an isa or a bank account / credit card.

I have seen someone on here moaning that they were not informed in branch or post that their accounts interest rate had changed - yet they had selected no marketing at counter or post, and then the bank had leaflets in branches and in newspaper.

So you can't win regardless. Just say no, or select no marketing. You think just Halifax does this? Not at all - every bank. If you think working behind cashier desk is just about exchanging money, then thats wrong, because it is a sales job to get leads. How do you think the PFA's earn their £100k?

regularsaver1

jem16 wrote:

I always do this when opening any new accounts. However I will specifically ask for removal of marketing at the counter. Thanks



I agree if that was the case. However it should be fairly obvious to anyone looking at my account that I have web savers and an ISA Direct Saver.

I gave the 2nd point as an example, but say you had the book one and didn;t know about the direct account? how would you feel to not be told. They are just doing their job, as every bank does.

I worked in Debenhams several years back - and they said sell the bag with the shoes. I also worked on a linens deparment who said sell the co-ordinating valance sheet with the quilt cover ect

Everywhere you go

jem16

regularsaver1 wrote:

I gave the 2nd point as an example, but say you had the book one and didn;t know about the direct account? how would you feel to not be told. They are just doing their job, as every bank does.

If they were doing their job properly, they would know when to approach a customer and when not to bother them. They would also not push it when politely declined, nor as I pointed out earlier be downright rude.

regularsaver1

Oh I definately agree about not being rude and bothering. The bank will always look to where it has contact with customers and at the counter it does if people use the branch

dunstonh

All the banks are much the same now in that every customer facing position is under a sales target of some sort. Whether it be sales or leads.

Its an awful environment to work in. Although banks still are the best way to get trained up. I wont knock what working for a bank did for me from the point of view of a career. However, it isnt something I would go back and do. Been there, done that, survived and moved on