Natwest Private Select account - wrong debit card?

mpeel68

Hi I have a natwest private select account and I have been sent a card that looks like this

i47.tinypic.com/2h7miyw.jpg
(I think you'll need to copy and paste the link into your address bar)

However on the welcome email I got it linked me to here:
natwest.com/welcomeprivateselect

And on page 4 "what happens next" of there it shows a different card.

I called and asked about this and the person on the phone said that everyone gets the same card unless they pay to upgrade to an "advantage" account , is this true???

Thanks

coldhandoff

I hadn't even heard of a private select account before. Is it free? If so I would guess the private debit card would be available only with the black account.

madgagoo

I would suggest speaking to your private banking manager or Private Banking 24/7
(0845 305 0600). It sounds like your account is the standard select, in order to get the private branded debit card your account type needs to be the 'affluent' select.

It is quite straight forward to sort out, just a change of the account type code.

If your account is already the affluent version, then you need to order a new debit card with a new pin rather than asking for a replacement card.

The person who told you that you have to upgrade to an advantage account is incorrect. Coldhandoff - it is the new version of the old private bank account.

Feel free to pm me and I'll let you know which branch I work in, you can then ring the normal telephone banking number (so you know you are talking to a Natwest employee) and ask to be put through to the branch. I'll sort it out for you if you can't get it sorted elsewhere.

mpeel68

Thanks for the really helpful reply :-) I'm not sure how I'd know if I have the right account - when I log on to NWOLB it displays a "Private" banner in the left margin of the page. I don't pay anything for the account.
It was converted supposedly from a standard "Select" account so I wonder if that has anything to do with it? I've had my card replaced (with a contactless one) since the conversion and it still seems like the "wrong" type. Though the PIN on it remained the same, which makes me wonder...
Thanks again! :-)

madgagoo

If you click on account details, just under the mini statement on online banking then it will tell you the type of account you have. Although I'm not sure if it will tell you the affluent bit.

TzarJay

Any NatWest Private Debit Card I've seen looks like this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3482/3968622976_17719b2ed0.jpg apart from the black account of course. The select account is still Private, so you should still get a card like the one I linked to you. Just phone your relationship manager that should come with PB and ask them why you have the standard card.

If you have Private Banking, they should give you a Private Banking card.

nogoodwithmoney11111

I have PB but specifically requested to NOT have the branded debit card. Why on earth would I want anyone to know that I have this and am likely to be richer pickings for fraud?? The credit card that goes with it is heavily branded but there is nothing I can do about that but it still irks why I can't have a plain one.

What my banking arrangements are and what my credit limit is, is no ones business but mine and the banks.

mpeel68

My NWOLB says:

• Account name Current Account
  Account type SELECT ACCOUNT
  Account number ********
  Sort code **-**-**

So I wonder if I do indeed not have a "Private Select Account" (or as madgagoo says "the Affluent bit"). I am not 100% clear (nor are most people I have spoken to at NW - the knowledgable poster above is clearly an exception!!) where the "Private" label comes from, if it doesn't come from the account.

nogoodwithmoney11111: I take your point. Still want it sorted though:o I'm a bit OCD about this kind of thing and like everything to be right - it strikes me as a symptom that my account is wrongly set up in some way.

mpeel68

OK so I called again and asked:

Do I have a "Select Account" or a "Private Select Account"?

The reply I got (quoted almost verbatim) was:

"In terms of the actual proposition to you as a customer you have a Private status with us but your account appears to be a standard Select Account".

I then asked asked how I get my account changed to be a "Private Select Account", and he explained that there was previously a "Private Bank Account" but then all existing customers were all either upgraded to Advantage Gold or Black accounts or they were downgraded to standard Select accounts.

I wasn't at all sure about this explanation so I then pointed him to natwest.com/welcomeprivateselect and asked if that was out of date which point he said:

"Ah OK well if you want to open that account I can have your private relationship manager get in touch with you to apply for it".

So it turns out Madgagoo was spot on - and apparently I'm getting a call at 12:00 tomorrow from my relationship manager to resolve it (as I am definitely within the eligibility criteria). Although I still have zero confidence in this getting sorted out or indeed getting a phone call. A little annoying that I didn't manage to get the definitive answer without the right questions from Madgagoo to prompt them with

In the meantime (madgagoo?) can anyone confirm if there definitely is a "Private Select Account" or if it indeed doesn't exist any more / that page I quoted is out of date in some way?

jen245

The debit card you have (purple contactless card) is exactly the same as my card and i just have a normal current account (Select account, used to be called Current Plus)

madgagoo

I'll look up the code for it in work later & double check it still exists. You won't need to apply for a new account, just ask your RM to change the account type on back office.