Great 'Work in a bank? What should we know' Hunt

ShelfStacker_3

Kavanne wrote: »

tbh if you leave with a £100 overdraft most people will see this as their available balance and will use it as if it is their own cash.

in my limited experience.

It takes a lot of doing and a lot of willpower to avoid it. Unlike with a credit card, you use the same card to pay as you usually do, you can do everything you'd do with cash, and there's little danger of spiralling debt problems... except when you start to spend up to your overdraft, and get an increase so you can spend up to that...

Overdrafts are given out far too much IMHO, they can be quite dangerous. At least if a bank takes your credit card away you'll still have your wages.

(Yes, I have one, no, I don't use it and nor do I have any intention to)

PJHilder

regularsaver1 wrote: »

But do you have a relationship with another bank that you do use - as if this shows on your credit file there could be hope. any credit cards or loans too?

Yes I've been with Citibank the past 2 years but they don't report anything to Experian/Equifax etc so as far as Barclays is concerned it doesn't exist. I do have a credit card i pay off in full each month so I'm sure they would see that.

Turns out they do internet banking for the cash card account now so I've set that up and will start using it fully. Shame it has no debit card.

iblametheparents

PJHilder wrote: »

Yes I've been with Citibank the past 2 years but they don't report anything to Experian/Equifax etc so as far as Barclays is concerned it doesn't exist. I do have a credit card i pay off in full each month so I'm sure they would see that.

Turns out they do internet banking for the cash card account now so I've set that up and will start using it fully. Shame it has no debit card.

You can get an Electron card now on the Cash Card account. Ring up telephone banking to get switched over.

SnowMonkey_3

What a great thread!

Gotta be careful tho what we say here as some things we really aren't meant to say if we want to keep our jobs.

And what a job it is... :mad:

Used to work at Lloyds TSB for about 3 and a half years. Worked in call centre mainly making sales calls. Started off contacting customer who 'may benefit from having a review' on their accounts. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to anyone I called cos I know myself this is usually a waste of time!

At Lloyds, every customer has a score which 'suggests' which products they are able to hold. One of the keys things to remember here is most banks give each customer a profile, based on how they have run their accounts at that organisation so without doing a credit check, there are no guarantees. It's merely an indication of which things they might be approved for - if at all. To help this score, obviously stay within any agreed overdraft limit and here's a tip which is vital in trying to gain favour with your bank. I work for another bank now and I've heard this is an easy way to increase your 'score':

If you use a debit card with your current account, aim to ask for cashback a few times a week and simply pay this back into your account. I think it's meant to look like you're spending yet you still credit your account instead of everything being a debit.

On your statement, this doesn't show up as taking cash out as it's added onto the price of shopping and appears as a total: ie spend £17.32 in tesco and ask for £50 cashback

07/01/09 DEB TESCO -67.32

So if you do £50 every week and then credit this back into your account at the end of the month, it looks like your income is £200 more.

I also heard something but don't know if this is totally true for every bank. When it comes to paying your credt card, there are three options. Pay minimum, pay in full or pay part. If you're struggling and usually only pay minimum, I heard that by paying something like £1 more can make a difference as this is classed as paying 'part' ie somewhere inbetween.

But, yeah, the job I had at LTSB was very sales orientated and to be fair, when I was selling regulated products - anything with insurance included for example - by law, we had to find a need so if the customer clearly didn't benefit or if they had cheaper cover elsewhere, we were not to recommend it. It's worth noting that this was the way it was in the contact centre, we were well aware that in the branch, where there was no recorded phone call to check if a customer complains, that many people had accounts opened that they had no idea they were paying for. I must stress that it was only the odd occasion but it shows what some people will do if they think they can get away with it. It doesn't help being pushed to sell all the time so I would sympathise with both parties on that one. At the time, I thought that LTSB was the worst job ever as I got more and more sick of it but the bank I work for now, let's just call it the Worlds Local Bank, is one hundred times worse. All they seem to care about is sales and not about relationships or helping customers. I plan to leave by the end of this month as I am so bleedin sick of it. In these kinds of jobs, you just find youself taking cr*p and cleaning up other peoples mess. the customer is rarely on yourside and most of the management are against you as well, unless you're selling of course!

Perks of the job? Well, you do get discounts on stuff and I *used* to be on decent money (18k at LTSB, now 13.5k... doh!) but I guess I have to say that you leanr a lesson on life working at these places, it opens your eyes to what its really all about. Some heartbreaking stories sometimes, people in a real mess desperate for help and I think the lack of empowerment is what makes it a pain to do, been told a number of times I should be a counsellor by some customers! Five minutes later, had my boss ask me why I spent half an hour and not sell anything. I guess some people like it and others don't.

And now I'm stuck with this cr*p account I had to open as part of my recruitment...

Sorry this was so long, needed to rant a bit lol

Mikeyorks

SnowMonkey wrote: »

On your statement, this doesn't show up as taking cash out as it's added onto the price of shopping and appears as a total: ie spend £17.32 in tesco and ask for £50 cashback

07/01/09 DEB TESCO -67.32

So if you do £50 every week and then credit this back into your account at the end of the month, it looks like your income is £200 more.

Must confess to only using cashback infrequently ..... but doesn't work for me that way! The cashback sum is an instant debit (and shows as 'cashback' on the statement line) .... just as though it had been drawn via ATM. And the residue is deducted from 'available' .... and then statemented within 24/48 hrs in the normal way.

The OH does cashback more regularly - just looked at her online account - and 'cashback' is clearly shown as a separate entity?

SnowMonkey_3

My apologies, perhaps I didn't make this clear enough.

Not sure how it works with different banks. What I'm trying to say here is ultimately, whether it's cash withdrawl or a debit card payment with cashback, yes it will still be a debit which makes your balance go down.

Either way, you're spending. It's the money you pay back in which goes in your favour.

Your credit turnover - how much in total is paid in - will be higher as you pay it back in. So if you earn £1500 and thats usually the only credit that goes in, by doing this, it can look like you have more income.

Credit turnover is something that is looked at when the bank has to make a decision about some things: refund charges, whether or not they will look at increasing your overdraft, even things like increasing your daily withdrawal limit.

It's one of the few things you can do with your money that can make a difference.

chambta

Not seen this thread before and just read the whole lot with one eye on the football!

cloudstrife_2

Not had chance to read the whole thing, but will do when I have more time!

I work for Halifax on the frontline and get involved with quite a bit being a small branch.

Here are a few common things that come up most days-

Free Money - Different branches can offer a financial incentive for transferring your bank account and varies between branches - basically the region/area have a pot of money which gets doled out to the branches - a big branch may use up their pot quicker than the small branch in the next town (or a big branch may offer £10 to make it go further and the small branch £40). These deals are not advertised on TV, Press or in branches (as we are not allowed to have any homemade posters!!).
Data Protection - if you walk in to the branch to pay caash into your wifes/sisters/brothers etc account and you do not have the account details we cannot find them for you - if we did we could get sacked, fined massivly or sent to jail as we are breaking the law - we are not being funny with you in particular its the law and our job on the line! You will suprised at the number of people who don't grasp this or make a complaint about it or tell us we are not being very helpful!
Easycash & Cardcash - many of these customers will be all to aware that these accounts cannot be serviced in branches either at the counter or helpdesk (only in certain cases). Now Halifax have what is called 'Agency' banches which are run and owned by a seperate company such as a solicitor or estate agents, these branches do not follow these rules and these accounts can be serviced as any other account at the counter. So if you use one as your regualr branch and happen to pop into a Halifax owned branch and get turned away from the counter the staff are only doing their jobs just as the conditions of the account state.
Cash Withdrawals - are limited to £1200 per account per day (or normally £600 in Agency branches but could be less depending on the owner) - any more and you must ring the branch at least 24 hours in advance or even 48hrs with some branches to advise them of the withdrawal - quite simply the branch does not hold vast amounts of cash like many other high street banks.
Coin - we can only take in 5 bags of coin per account per day (or unlimited for Childrens or Charity accounts). This is because branches behind counter generally do not have the storage space and most prob as Halifax do not handle/store coin like other banks. Also it helps keep the Q down!!!
Bank Giro Credits (Bills) - Halifax branches (not including Bank of Scotland branches) do not have a way to pay these for you - the only way is to setup the bill details for you to pay the bill yourself at a Halifax ATM (which is free unlike many Bank Giro Credit slips).
Halifax/BoS Personal Cheques - if you pay in a cheque given to you and its a Halifax or Bank of Scotland personal cheque (it will have a Roll Number on it starting with 'D/') it will be paid in as a standard cheque. You must ask the cashier to cash it for you to get the funds staright away - but not always as it depends the checks carried out.
Charge Refunds - Both branches and telephone banking work on a system which roughly means that if you have had 1 charge refunded due to goodwill (which it shows on the system) either in branch or by telephone you can have no more refunded unless it is deemed as an error by the bank. Any refunded charges have full notes made with reasoning behind the refund so all members of staff can see it.
Sales - All colleagues have sales targets and if we dont meet our targets these can really affect what pay rise and bonus we get each year. Bear in mind that banks class themselves as 'Retail' so the branch staff wages are similar to those in any high street shop or supermarket - so the bonus and pay rises are very welcome (espec with what we are required to do in our jobs)! Now if you don't like sales conversation at the counter you can ask us to 'Withdraw' you from marketing at the counter which will be clearly displayed to the cashier. Now one word of warning which came up once, a customer had done this and one day asked what interest rate they got on their savings, the cashier told him and found it to be very low and immediatly complained that we never told him and demanded an explination - why did it happen? Because we can not enter in any marketing related converation as he requested!!
Credit Cards - if I have a customer with a large balance and only making minimum payments I always check how much interest is being charged and at what rate (this is shown on your statements). For example a customer once paid £100 min payment but the interest was about £60/70 (not the actual figures, I just can't remember!) - I have found a loan could work out cheaper with lower rates etc and being paid back much quicker - quite a common thing so you may well have been nabbed about it before but it might well mean more cash in your pocket and not the banks!! Many customers I have spoken to only looked at the Min Payment box and didnt even look at the amount of interest being charged!

Finally and kinda linked into Selling, all staff in branches have undergone recent training to change our perspective on customers. It means that we are no longer thinking of sales and what certain sales we need for bonus etc but to find ways to help customers become better off. Yes it means we might seem like we are trying to give you sales patter but most staff should really be in the mindset of helping you rather than the sale itself. Of course with soo many staff this is just not going to happen all the time and relies on the whole branch, so if we do seem like we are pushing you just hear us out and remember your are under no obligation to do anything!

Anything else!?

Cloud

chambta

cloudstrife wrote: »

Not had chance to read the whole thing, but will do when I have more time!

I work for Halifax on the frontline and get involved with quite a bit being a small branch.

Free Money - Different branches can offer a financial incentive for transferring your bank account and varies between branches - basically the region/area have a pot of money which gets doled out to the branches - a big branch may use up their pot quicker than the small branch in the next town (or a big branch may offer £10 to make it go further and the small branch £40). These deals are not advertised on TV, Press or in branches (as we are not allowed to have any homemade posters!!).
Data Protection - if you walk in to the branch to pay caash into your wifes/sisters/brothers etc account and you do not have the account details we cannot find them for you - if we did we could get sacked, fined massivly or sent to jail as we are breaking the law - we are not being funny with you in particular its the law and our job on the line! You will suprised at the number of people who don't grasp this or make a complaint about it or tell us we are not being very helpful!
Easycash & Cardcash - many of these customers will be all to aware that these accounts cannot be serviced in branches either at the counter or helpdesk (only in certain cases). Now Halifax have what is called 'Agency' banches which are run and owned by a seperate company such as a solicitor or estate agents, these branches do not follow these rules and these accounts can be serviced as any other account at the counter. So if you use one as your regualr branch and happen to pop into a Halifax owned branch and get turned away from the counter the staff are only doing their jobs just as the conditions of the account state.
Cash Withdrawals - are limited to £1200 per account per day (or normally £600 in Agency branches but could be less depending on the owner) - any more and you must ring the branch at least 24 hours in advance or even 48hrs with some branches to advise them of the withdrawal - quite simply the branch does not hold vast amounts of cash like many other high street banks.
Coin - we can only take in 5 bags of coin per account per day (or unlimited for Childrens or Charity accounts). This is because branches behind counter generally do not have the storage space and most prob as Halifax do not handle/store coin like other banks. Also it helps keep the Q down!!!
Bank Giro Credits (Bills) - Halifax branches (not including Bank of Scotland branches) do not have a way to pay these for you - the only way is to setup the bill details for you to pay the bill yourself at a Halifax ATM (which is free unlike many Bank Giro Credit slips).
Halifax/BoS Personal Cheques - if you pay in a cheque given to you and its a Halifax or Bank of Scotland personal cheque (it will have a Roll Number on it starting with 'D/') it will be paid in as a standard cheque. You must ask the cashier to cash it for you to get the funds staright away - but not always as it depends the checks carried out.
Charge Refunds - Both branches and telephone banking work on a system which roughly means that if you have had 1 charge refunded due to goodwill (which it shows on the system) either in branch or by telephone you can have no more refunded unless it is deemed as an error by the bank. Any refunded charges have full notes made with reasoning behind the refund so all members of staff can see it.
Sales - All colleagues have sales targets and if we dont meet our targets these can really affect what pay rise and bonus we get each year. Bear in mind that banks class themselves as 'Retail' so the branch staff wages are similar to those in any high street shop or supermarket - so the bonus and pay rises are very welcome (espec with what we are required to do in our jobs)! Now if you don't like sales conversation at the counter you can ask us to 'Withdraw' you from marketing at the counter which will be clearly displayed to the cashier. Now one word of warning which came up once, a customer had done this and one day asked what interest rate they got on their savings, the cashier told him and found it to be very low and immediatly complained that we never told him and demanded an explination - why did it happen? Because we can not enter in any marketing related converation as he requested!!

Anything else!?

Cloud

So Halifax want to be a bank but not do actual bank things?

What you say about finding an account and paying into it not being allowed due to data protection is not true at all. Read the data protection act and you'll see nothing that could even be interpreted as covering what you say. As long as no information is revealed there is no problem whatsoever with doing this.

Kavanne

chambta wrote: »

So Halifax want to be a bank but not do actual bank things?

I am a halifax customer and have tried at several branches to get change, even showing my card to prove I am a customer but they refuse to give me change. Luckily I have an RBS account and any Natwest or RBS branch WILL give me change!!