Shawbrook Bank Customer Service

rsteed

I think people should be aware of the following if they are thinking of investing with Shawbrook Bank.

I sent in a cheque a week ago, but received no acknowledgement, not even an email. This morning, I telephoned their customer service department and was told that they had received my cheque on 5th Jan, but had been unable to process it yet due to the volume of applications.

When I asked if the interest would be backdated to the date they received the cheque, I was told that it is company policy that interest will only start from the date the account is opened. I've been told to expect a delay of 12 working days before my account is opened, which means that I am paying the price in lost interest for their inability to do their job efficiently. In the past, when I have encountered a similar situation with other financial companies, interest has always been backdated.

I am not at all happy about this, but no doubt they've got it all wrapped up in the small print and it's no use complaining.

Be aware.

redmalc

R steed thanks for that ,i was in a dilemma last week when i closed my Tesco account whether to go with Shawbrook or the AA,i chose the AA and it has gone very smooth

Thrugelmir

rsteed wrote: »

I am not at all happy about this, but no doubt they've got it all wrapped up in the small print and it's no use complaining. [/SIZE]

Be aware.

Maybe like a lot of businesses they ran with a skeleton staff over Xmas/New Year break. So had a backlog of post to deal with.

RetiredInThailand

It seems to me that they should pay interest from the day that the cheque is presented, as up to then you have the benefit of the money and they dont.

All the banks that offer top rates seem to be getting caught off-guard by the volume of applications at the moment. Some have been more generous than others about footing the bill though.

Shawbrook_Bank

Dear Rsteed,
On behalf of Shawbrook Bank we’re sorry your experience with us hasn’t started well.
Our new savings products have been very popular with customers, which has meant we are taking longer than usual to process new postal applications. In response to this we have decided to change the conditions of our savings products so all of our postal customers will earn interest on their funds from the day we receive their cheque.
We will process your application as soon as we can, and apologise for any frustration the delay may have caused.
Thank you for choosing to save with Shawbrook. If any readers would like more information about Shawbrook and our savings products, please visit our website.

rsteed

To Shawbrook Bank:

Thank you for responding so quickly. I think that's a fair solution. :T

If I could be cheeky and add another suggestion, it would be a nice touch, when there are long delays, to send a quick email saying "We've received your application". When someone mails a cheque with their life savings, they want to know it's arrived safely.

ashteadgirl

Shawbrook impressed with speed of response to problems and posting on site.I was wondering whether to invest or not and this has made my mind up. some of your larger competitors should take a leaf out of your book about scanning what joe bloggs thinks about things more often, Good work

Gromitt

Saffron had very similar problems, but I think they handled it well:

email 1: "I am pleased to confirm receipt of your application"
email 2: "... Due to the account being incredibly popular, we are experiencing a delay ..."
email 3: "... We aim to complete these today, after which your account information will be dispatched as a priority. I can only apologise for this regrettable delay and any inconvenience that it has caused you ..."

2 days later, a nice letter from Saffron hits the door mat

Opinion

I have a friend that works for Shawbrook; he was in the office 'til midnight tonight.

Rupert_Bear

I applied online and received an email from them advising the 12 working days. At the time of applying I was going for the 5 year but thought about it afterwards and decided on the 3 year deal. I rang them and they advised I would need to apply again and it will take another 12 working days. Why on earth when you apply online can they not check your identity electronically like others companys I have applied to. If there like this before you pay anything in then it makes me shudder what they will be like once they have got your money.

I applied online with an account with Halifax fixed savings and within 3 days the account was up and running.

Shawbrook you are definately the weakest link in the financial chain.

RetiredInThailand

Shawbrook_Bank wrote: »

If any readers would like more information about Shawbrook and our savings products, please visit our website.

I did. And I discovered that you are just one more UK deposit-taker who only wants deposits from UK residents.

Luckily not all UK deposit-takers are as short-sighted as you are. Maybe you should wake yourselves up a bit.