Useless barclays/woolwich

LowerO

How useless can this organisation be?... At the start of the month one of my endowments matured and put me in a position to pay off a second mortgage that I'd taken out for home improvements. Mortgage is with Woolwich (AKA Barclays).

Following numerous phone calls to their overseas call centre I was provided with a redemption figure.

I visited a Barclays branch as instructed to pay off and was informed they couldn't do it as I wasn't paying the amount from a Barclays account (I bank with NatWest) but they would accept a cheque (which I didn't have with me).

So a couple of days later, after another round of calls to get the now revised (and increased) redemption figure I called into another Barclays branch with a cheque. The bank staff had no idea what to do, so the manager intervened and suggested we paid it to the account I had been advised and gave me a receipt.

Roll forward 10 days and I receive a letter from Woolwich saying they have received my cheque but there is £7.51 outstanding!!!!! So the mortgage isn't paid off. I call the overseas call centre (and you have to go through a whole automated routine of telling the computerised system all your details, only TO HAVE TO REPEAT THEM ALL to the person who finally answers your call!!!) and question why the mortgage hasn't been closed.

Not only that, but today they've taken a FULL MONTH'S payment for the mortgage, so I'm now £260+ overpaid!!!!

Bottom line is right and left hands haven't got a bl**dy clue. "It'll take another 5 working days to resolve, and you'll get credited any outstanding monies". WOW, thanks Barclays.

Now I want to complain, and the 'email us' option on the Barclays website doesn't actually take you to an email address. I think I'll write a letter. Bloody clowns.

RANT OVER

kingstreet

Frankly, you did this too close to the monthly payment date for their (and any other lender's) system to stop the payment run. It would have been better to wait until the monthly payment went through, then requested a redemption figure.

I accept your points about the poor admin and customer service though. Woolwich has gone down the tubes since being taken over by Barclays IMHO.

It may be a good idea to put your points in writing and address them to the CEO - whoever that may be!

LowerO

Fair point, but would have been good if they had advised this when I first contacted them at the start of the month!!

I just tried to complain online via the only Barclays form available. It doesn't offer a 'mortgage complaint option' so I picked 'lending'. Filled the form out, in detail and then clicked next...

ERROR... 5 - Sorry - Barclays Online Banking is currently unavailable

Pile of ****!

I will write a paper letter!