Can I keep my RBS account and NOT transfer to Santander?

itsj2

itsj2 wrote: »

Has anyone who has requested a transfer of their RBS account to a Scottish branch actually had the request actioned yet? Like others my request has only been acknowledged as yet. When the account is actually transferred will it have to receive a new account number as well as a new sort code. Will DDs and incoming credit details have to be changed by the customer or can RBS do this automatically? Would be grateful for any info.

Raised query with RBS call centre. They told me that those accounts that hadn't been transferred at end February would be transferred to Scottish branches by 11 June.

rn018b5249

To everyone who has had a good experience with RBS retail banking or who was previous to that, with Williams & Glyns, you may like to stay with RBS. This IS possible if you contact Head Office in Edinburgh. Incidentally this is where Stephen Hester's office is. They will send you an account transfer form and you can select a Scottish branch to move your account to. Choose the Head Office branch.

There are reasons quite possibly that this will be a useful move, especially if RBS brings back Williams & Glyn's to the high street, or you like the service. For me RBS is still the only bank I can walk into where staff greet me by name. Those of you that were with the former Williams & Glyn's Bank will know that there has quite simply been no match for the quality and person service from that Bank, apart from the former Williams & Glyn's branches that were converted to RBS. Not much has been said about Williams & Glyn's making a comeback, save to say Robert Peston, probaly the BBC's mostl knowledgable of economic experts did report on the possibility.

I myself have asked (even suggested) to RBS whether that idea might not be a very good move. I did not receive a reply any of the several times I wrote. It may be a case of 'couldn't confirm or deny'

I posted elsewhere on MSE whether MSE might like to offer visitors to its banking forums a place to register 'say no to Santander'. Of course Martin Lewis may be the World's fastest at spotting a consumer power opportunity. Perhaps he might offer a vote, and give you a link to register your sentiment.

You may also like to know that RBS themselves have a link to send the Bank your ideas. If you mention Santander in your bright idea, you may well find, as I did, that you are redirected immediately on posting it, to direct contact with RBS who invite you to send them your text and tell them what they can do to handle your 'complaint' (yes they have decided to call my bright idea a complaint) and put things right. Very interesting how they reclassified my idea to a complaint. Do they know something we don't? It may indeed interest readers to know that during a conversation with my customer manager at branch, he told me that the Bank has had a great many people say the same, that they are deeply unhappy with the branch sell-off to Santander.

If you have an RBS issue or would like to say No to Santander, write it in MSE forums. I will be interested to read what other visitors think about the transfer and also if any of you have any inside info on whether Williams & Glyn's may be set for a comeback or you would like it back. Tell us AND TELL RBS. (Martin, have you got anything on this? Might you offer a vote?)

SantEmp

Any reason why you don't want to join Santander? We're not quite as bad as people would make out on here, and it's always getting better too.

rn018b5249

My reason for not wishing to continue my RBS banking with Santander is partly personal and due also to terrible mistakes by Santander; their general carelessness over security of customer data and their inability to deal properly with customer complaints. There has been much in the news and by various consumer organisations that put Santander at the bottom of the junk bank pile.

In my case i had a complaint that wasnt rectified. It became apparent that Santander were systemically using their computer system to avoid actually dealing with my complaint. I had had to write over 100 emails over a two year period, each one receiving the tiresome response 'I have passed your communication to my colleague who works in the relevant business area' which turns out later to be a circular exercise as nothing more happens. When it became apparent to me that Santander had not actually reviewed my complaint by reading my communications, i asked them to tell me the dates of the correspondence they had reviewed. This appears to jam their machine.

I'm currently in communication with the OFT who have given me specific instructions and to feed back the outcome at the next stage. I have had to report to OFT that Santander systemically avoid dealing with my complaint. They said they had considered my complaint but were unable to uphold it. This is strange and i knew it had to be a put-off because the complaint was such that it would be impossible (yes, really) to be unable to uphold it. How does complaining about the Bank bouncing a cheque on you sound? That's what I have been complaining about. Understandably Santander don't want to admit their mistake because it has cost me a great deal. I no longer have a business as a result. I had saved hard to get into business and Santander destroyed it in days.

Back I went to OFT, received instructions to ask specifically what correspondence Santander reviewed when deciding my complaint. It appears my request jammed Santander's complaint answering computer. I have 'passed your letter to my colleague who works in the relevant business area' goes the tiresome computer-generated reply; this is presumably the same computer that destroyed my small budiness by buncing a cheque on me and withholding my money for sux weeks. Even then, after bouncing the cheque on me, I had to fight and fight to get my money. Since then i continue to fight and wont give up. Santander's computer appears to have 'instructed' the colleague that I am a customer who must be exterminated. Exterminate him. Exterminate. Computer jams again. OFT want to hear from me in six weeks. Again, I am only able to tell them the Bank is still systemically abusing the customer complaints handling procedures. I'm not sure what OFT want to do about it, but one of their people told me something very interesting, which I pass on for the benefit of all readers. Apparently the law is when you have to spend a longer time than reasonable in getting a complaint remedied you are entitled to your 'costs'. So what are 'costs'? Costs are the time it takes to get ours our complaint solved (and crucially this) 'at the rate of an equivalent fee-earner doing the same or similar work'. What does that mean? Well if you gave the same complaint to a solicitor who charges £85 per hour (and not many that cheap), and the matter takes 100 hours, your 'costs' to be repaid in any settlement are 100x85 or in this example £8500. I was fortunate to get some very good guidance from a case handler at the OFT.

So, Santander brought my business to an end when they sent me a cheque for a large sum, from my savings, needed to finance myself and promptly bounced it. They had stopped the cheque but not a word to me. No apology. Nothing. And yes, it took me six weeks to get my money which involved refusing to leave a Santander branch until the Police were called. Unfortunately by this time my business was finished it had been starved of cash so long. Couldn't carry on. Couldnt believe a bank would stop a cheque for my savings without saying anything, and even to this day, as i write, i have not received so much as a written apology. I do however get frequently informed that 'Santander take all complaints seriously' and that they 'see complaints as an opportunity to improve'. Anyone seen these expressions in Santander correspondence?

Since the cheque was bounced on me, (a couple of years ago now) I have been writing regularly, but each time my letter is 'passed to a colleague who works in the relevant business area' my further complaint at Sanander's failure to deal with my complaint or even just provide the information asked for, is exterminated by the Santander complaints handling machine. OFT told me to keep copies of everything and asked me to carry out their instructions. So far Santander won't progress the matter further.

A person on this forum who suggests Santander is not bad, and improving all the time asks why anyone might think they are bad. Is this not a good reason why it's bad that Santander are taking over RBS? After all, why would anyone think a Bank that dumps one's complaint into the complaint exterminator 'colleague who works works in the relevant business area' bad? It's good to exterminate customer complaints, right?. When you are destroyed by the Bank which held your savings by bouncing a cheque on you and taking six weeks to pay back your money, would you fight on or accept the complaint exterminator?

RBS retail banking has always been good from a customer service point of view.Certainly in the case of accounts at branches designated 16-xx-xx and I have accounts at several in the towns where I would frequently do business the people in those branches have always done a good job for me and looked after me as best they could. I don't know what it's been like at branches with the 83-xx-xx sort codes. Unfortunately when I needed my savings was at a time when it was impossible to get any finance elsewhere. Even RBS couldn't help, but I don't blame them for that; they were in a difficult situation.

So if anyone wanted to know, and it seems a 'Santander' person wanted to know, there you have my story. Santander - the Bank that loves to bounce cheques. Yeah, just what I needed was the destruction of my livelihood. Is that a good enough reason. I have now just bought myself an instructional guide about using Twitter. I will tweet to find out more and see how many other people have had a bad experience with the Bank that loves to bounce cheques. Why do we need a bank like Williams & Glyn's? I expect many here can give us their own answers to that, from their own experiences. It's about service. So if RBS is about to be injected with the service ethos of Santander, struth, goodness help us all.

scott_lithgows

SantEmp wrote: »

Any reason why you don't want to join Santander? We're not quite as bad as people would make out on here, and it's always getting better too.

Not quite as bad ! You should put that on your adverts.

pmduk

SantEmp wrote: »

...it's always getting better too.

Only because it couldn't get any worse

Gorie

I used to live in Spain and had a Santander Account there. I experienced first hand their customer service in Spain, which I found adequate but very slow, cumbersome and involving multiple departments and chasing.

As a result I have today called and requested a transfer to a branch in Scotland. RBS seemed fine about the transfer, more business for them.

I get the impression that many others are opting to transfer branch to Scotland and avoid Santander as I was read a 'legal statement' that reiterates the regulatory approvals and same standard of local service and that it is your decision...

If the same staff are employed I have no doubt the local service will be similar, furthermore I'm sure local Santander staff are equally friendly and professional. In my experience it is the back-room and central leadership that is the problem and this concerns me most. Especially if they bring the same style of organisation employed in Spain. I feel the apprehension of RBS staff in England.

Rn018b...'s case seems a typical example where something goes wrong centrally or on a computer and local staff are powerless to help - despite realising the error.

pmduk

rn018b5249 wrote: »

I posted elsewhere on MSE whether MSE might like to offer visitors to its banking forums a place to register 'say no to Santander'. Of course Martin Lewis may be the World's fastest at spotting a consumer power opportunity. Perhaps he might offer a vote, and give you a link to register your sentiment.

Surely the best way of registering no to Santander is to move your account out of their clutches? A vote has little to none effect at all.

amiehall

I can't get over the cheek of trying to sell customers. So much for consumer choice!

The fact of the matter remains that if people wanted to bank with Santander, they would go and bank there. The service I've received from RBS has been second to none. Sadly the same can't be said of Santander!

DCFC79

amiehall wrote: »

The fact of the matter remains that if people wanted to bank with Santander, they would go and bank there. The service I've received from RBS has been second to none. Sadly the same can't be said of Santander!

Exactly the reason why im staying with rbs, ive had no problems at all with the account and dont want to ruin it if i were to move to santander although my mum hasn't had any issues with santander.