Barclays, Who to complain to re:relationship Manager?

stringer_bell

Hi All,

I got offered a premier account when I opened a business bank account with them, they told me it's a paying account but I can have it for free, so I agreed to it. I transferred money from old bank to Barclays and the premier manager moved £1000 into premier account so payment could be taken!

After it was opened, I found out I was being charged £10 for it, I asked the relationship manager and he said they will charge me for it until they have seen that I'm earning over the criteria then he can claim it back! (Funny as I didn't even ask for this account )

I didn't receive my debit card for 5 MONTHS! despite around 4 calls to relationship manager about it so I could not login to online banking. I finally received it, and found out I had been charged for the 5 months, even though I had 70k in cash and 35k invested. As soon as I got my online banking details, I removed all money from premier account, which is now £20 overdrawn as they are still charging me for it!

I phoned the relationship manager who said he will stop the payments, but in meantime wants to have a " sit down " which is totally inconvenient for me, he is very pushy and I know he just wants to flog me stuff

Any idea who I can complain to so I can stop this premier account?

Sorry for long story. Barclays premier eh? They have them glass windows to see people coming

jambosans

I would suggest you make a formal complaint, in writing, sent recorded delivery (process linked below):-
http://www.barclays.co.uk/ContactUs/Howtocomplain/P1242558122337

That said, I would also suggest (in the mean time) you arrange for the account to be downgraded/ closed to avoid this small overdraft going out of control. Making a formal complaint does not mean you should sit on everything until they resolve the situation, as a worse case scenario is they reject your complaint and you are left with a large bill in unpaid overdraft charges, etc.

Broadwood

Slightly off topic, but......

We've had our current account with Barclays since 1979 and being sensible and abiding by the T & C's have stuck with them using the rule "Better the devil you know".

Over the 32 years Barclays have (like most similar institutions) changed their relationship with customers from personal between branch staff and customer, to the present set up where account holders are just a number dealing with Barclays via various IT interfaces.

This set up works fine when things are running smoothly, but when problems arise you might as well spit into the wind as it always seems to be near impossible to get things sorted.

My real gripes nowadays are that everything is termed a "Product", where it used to be an account or pension etc., and also any time I have to actually go into a branch (rarely), they always try to sell another "Product" usually unrelated to the reason for my visit.

Financial institutions are ONLY interested in PROFIT. Just bear that in mind when making ANY financial decision. They don't exist for customers' benefit !!

stringer_bell

still no luck in shaking him, he wants to have a sit down this week as he's encouraged to see his clients every quarter, what for?

pmduk

I phoned the relationship manager who said he will stop the payments, but in meantime wants to have a " sit down " which is totally inconvenient for me, he is very pushy and I know he just wants to flog me stuff

He might be pushy, but just keep politely saying, "I'm not interested."

ironlady2022

He will just be meeting his target, don't go if you have no need to.

stringer_bell

getting annoyed now, twice I've rang him in past 2 months to downgrade my account, each time he says he will stop it and refund me, then asks for a meeting! He never cancels the premier account fee, this is insane. Should I call up Barclays and tell them the situation? I rang up once and they told me to speak to the premier manager

pwuk

stringer_bell wrote: »

getting annoyed now, twice I've rang him in past 2 months to downgrade my account, each time he says he will stop it and refund me, then asks for a meeting! He never cancels the premier account fee, this is insane. Should I call up Barclays and tell them the situation? I rang up once and they told me to speak to the premier manager

Stringer Bell, I was in a similar position insofar as when I had a Premier Life account with Barclays (until recently), I found that my Relationship Manager was a complete buffoon. He would not return calls, emails or act promptly :mad: - I brought the matter to the attention of the Premier call centre in order to try and encourage him to get his act together however this had little effect. I then brought the matter to the attention of the Branch Manager responsible for the branch which he operated from; whilst this helped in the short term, the Relationship Manager quickly returned to being utterly useless (this is the only thing that he ever did manage to do quickly!

You should formally complain by post to:
Freepost RLTA-CSUE-TCHC Head Office Customer Relations
Barclays Bank PLC
1 Churchill Place
LONDON
E14 5HP

email: customer.relations@barclays.com

You should also find out to whom your Relationship Manager reports to, this is initially a local Branch Manager, but obtain the details of an Area Director. Any Branch will provide this information to you if you ask directly.

Also, you can downgrade your Premier Account over the counter and do not need to wait for your seemingly incompetent Relationship Manager to do this for you - it's a tick box on a form sent to Southampton.

I suggest that you change banks, I moved to Lloyds Private banking and have been reasonably happy so far.

Good luck.