Natwest Bank...anybody there?

Fungas

Have not been on the Forum for a long time, so sorry that my newest post is a rant! But I have to vent this somewhere, and the cat is too old to kick and the wife gets enough stick.

I'm the treasurer of a charitable playgroup. Our bank is Natwest. We've gone long enough without a debit card on our community account, but now need one through expansion and simplification of payments for us. Can Natwest help me though? Can they !!!!!!y.

I rang their call line at 1400 yesterday...immediate problems with security as my customer number and password did not show up 'on the system'; so i had the usual 20 questions to identify me as a non-scammer. That done, the operative helpfully advised that as they couldn't sort the debit card issue there, and it had to be dealt with by the branch, they'd email the branch and ask them to ring me.

1800, no call yet. Rang back to the call centre; 'sorry: we'll email the branch again'.

1330 today, no call yet. Rang back to the call centre; 'sorry, we'll ring on the direct line....oops, we can't get them either'. By now I;m getting very quietly irate. They transfer me to the Leicester complaints centre. 'Sorry, we can't deal with the debit card issue direct' (despite telling me at the start that they could). 'We'll email the *branch manager* (whoo) who'll not want to avoid you any longer'.

1700 today: still no call back.

Is it me, or are Natwest a bunch of !!!!!? Why do they treat customers with such contempt, then claim to be the most helpful bank in the land?

So, I'm off to Co-Op. And will feel much better when I'm done!!

PinkLipgloss

Fungas wrote: »

But I have to vent this somewhere, and the cat is too old to kick and the wife gets enough stick.

:rotfl:

Bizzare situation given their customer orientated adverting campaigns.

Hope you got it sorted at the co-op.

Twister84

Treasurer's accounts are usually 2 to sign as a minimum and therefore debit cards cannot be issued on them.


What are your signing rules?

scheming_gypsy

if they were emailing the branch manager to phone you, the branch manager has to be in the office to get the email to call you. If the manager is on holiday the mail might not get picked up.

Although how come you didn't just phone the branch and ask for the manager instead of calling back to the call centre?

texranger

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

Although how come you didn't just phone the branch and ask for the manager instead of calling back to the call centre?

better still call into a branch and ask to speak to the manager

Mupette

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

Although how come you didn't just phone the branch and ask for the manager instead of calling back to the call centre?

very difficult to get put through to a branch.. thats why the call centres are there... they can't do every thing, so half the time you need to go into branch.

texranger

Mupette wrote: »

very difficult to get put through to a branch.. thats why the call centres are there... they can't do every thing, so half the time you need to go into branch.

strange i am with natwest and call the call centre and aske to be placed through to a branch and get but through no problem. also

http://nwlocator.natwest.com/index.php/index

this will locate a branch and guess what it also includes in the branch details a branch phone number

Fungas

Thanks to everyone for their solutions! Like, I didn't think of any of those!

As it happens, on the website the branch phone number is the only contact number for a branch, and goes through to a centralised call centre (based in Liverpool I found out). The process is that the call centre email the branch to state that there's a query; please call a customer. The response time, I've also since found out, is 4 hours (which I'd have been happy with if I'd have been told that). Emails going to people on holiday doesn't interest me; if somebody in a centralised location is sending something to the wrong person and not redirecting, causing a complaint becuase a customer is left waiting, then i have no sympathy. Thankfully, my company doesn't operate so badly; we'd probably be out of business.

To the poster that suggested I go into the branch: thanks for the helpful suggestion! As it happens, I work in Manchester but the branch (that I didn't choose before you suggest) is in Crewe. There's a facility to contact a branch using this system; if the solution is to give up and go in in person, that's hardly going to make me happy!

To conclude, I had the call from the branch at 1145 this morning, slightly busting their response time of 4 hours (it was about 16 working hours since I first called). And, yes, our signing rules of two signatures does preclude getting a DD card, but we're looking at getting a credit card that will be set as a direct debit to pay the balance in full each period.

texranger

Fungas wrote: »

As it happens, I work in Manchester but the branch (that I didn't choose before you suggest) is in Crewe.

So Natwest does not have any branches in Manchester. you can visit any branch and speak to the manager

scheming_gypsy

Fungas wrote: »

Emails going to people on holiday doesn't interest me; if somebody in a centralised location is sending something to the wrong person and not redirecting, causing a complaint becuase a customer is left waiting, then i have no sympathy. Thankfully, my company doesn't operate so badly; we'd probably be out of business.

.

1 - if they're sending it to the manager then they're not sending it to the wrong person.

2 - it's up to the person to put an out of office message on, ask for a forward to be put on or have somebody manage their email. It's not up to a call centre to have everybody's holidays.

3 - seeing as you're the customer; you seem to be having no sympathy with yourself.

4 - I can't see Natwest going out of business because a manager didn't phone you

5 - With the attitude that you replied to everybody who's tried to help.... I don't blame them for not phoning you back.

texranger

for some reason the OP seems to be frightened to call into any branch and ask to speak to a manager. Any branch will help you with an answer, it dont not have to be your own branch, as if it did then i would nopt be able to get help as i have a business account which is through business direct in Hornchurch,Essex, so in effect that is my branch and i am in Northumberland, but i just call into a local branch if i need any advice as for 1 thing a lot of the call centre staff are just students who can only give you info thats on their screens