Norwich & Peterborough Gold Classic application experience

System

Applied for the 'light' version and got rejected

I got a refer to your credit files etc message but they are fine and appear not to have been searched :A

I gather that they just didn't want me and I'll need to go to Metro Bank .

212

I pressed 'No' on whether I was interested in a light account - was very surprised I got the full one, maybe they thought it was a worth a 50/50 customer than no customer at all?

As for their so called Faster Payments, I know they only go between 5am and 5pm - does that mean they're done by a human? As even within those hours they can take a while to appear!

At many (all?) other banks it's automatic unless their is a need for a fraud check!

fiesta04

They only do payments at set times. Only 4/5 times daily, but not at weekends.

F4

212

Thank you, that makes sense then.

Not using it as my 'main' account, just meeting the funding requirements for the key cover & free overseas usage - if every payment out (to myself) was being manually done I can't see the account lasting long!

Milarky

When I originally applied for a Gold Current Account (in 2007) there was a problem 'identifying' me from the address I gave. So they seemed to have less than state-of-the-art systems in place. I recall being able to open one about 6 months later at the next attempt, however. Nothing had changed at my end, so I don't know what changed their mind.

fiesta04

I have only been with N&P 6 months and they have phoned me 4 times to see how I rate them. So I am impressed with their Customer Service.

F4

Hazzanet

I held a N&P account as my main current account for four years, and throughout that period I had nothing but praise for them. The only thing that let them down at the time was their online banking interface which was a bit clunky, although in its defence it had some great other features, such as the ability to skip the next standing order, or number of payments. They were slow to bring in faster payments too.

All things remaining equal, I would still have been with them now as I rated them so highly, however the way overdrafts were for changed which made the account uneconomical for me hence I moved.

If you're unlikely to go overdrawn (even with an arranged overdraft) then I firmly recommend them.

Hazza

plunt

i opened my n&p gold account when i was finishing university and i flagged myself as a student but put in my salary as the salary i would be earning a month later (job was guaranteed).

This aised questions on their system and they rejected me. I sent them an letter/call (cant remember) and they were super proactive. (i did the rest all on the phone) They assigned me a branch manager (as i was no where near a branch!) And the branch manager personally called me and helped me with all the applications and followed up with me during the entire process. I was stunned with their great service!

every time i go abroad i give them a call, despite having a short initial auto messageabout them bellowing to yorkshire bank, you get right through to a actual person! very nice to have!

great exchange rates abroad, card protection for EVERYONE in your household, including lock/key cover (not that i would use it but its free!), they have a good gold regular saver (only one allowed during the life of your account thought)


So the bad things though are their interest rates (typically) and faster payments as mentioned before. So long as you do the transfer before 5pm ish then it will show in your other bank approx 30mins to 2 hours later. after 5 pm, expect to see it the next day.

In conclusion they are great in terms of customer service, and if you have an issue r get rejected then give them a call! I would use them as my main bank if they had competitive rates!

iAMaLONDONER

dakkan wrote: »

Sorry, if its been posted here before. I would like to find out about the application process for opening N&P gold classic account. I had been trying to open one for past 18 months, but always get declined.

I decided to apply again couple of days back (after waiting for more than 6 months), surprisingly this time I received email next day that my application has been accepted. They also mentioned that they will send me paperwork to sign and then they will be able to tell me my account number!!

My question is , haven't they performed credit search before they accepted me? or are they going to conduct full search now (after sending signed application form) and decide to open an account?


I would be grateful if you could share your account opening experience with them.

Many thanks in advance.

You should have opened a gold light and upgraded in 6 months!

Herbalus

iAMaLONDONER wrote: »

You should have opened a gold light and upgraded in 6 months!

Not guaranteed, and depends entirely on what you want it for.

For example, if you want the fee-free debit card abroad then you wouldn't use it as your main account, and 5 transactions per month (Light account requirement) is more hassle than a £500 transaction (Gold account requirement). More importantly, if you apply for an upgrade after 6 months of minimal usage, N&P will see your minimal usage and there's no guarantee of an upgrade.

Also, they do credit checks for both Gold Light accounts and again when upgrading to Gold Classic accounts, so the reason for declining a Gold Classic application is still going to apply when upgrading. This is if the reason for the original decline applies to the Gold Classic and Gold Light, which is likely.