Think we were misled about card.

Anthorn

innovate wrote: »

It is great that we have the option to close/stop using accounts and just go elsewhere whenever we like. For a while, anyway. Because if,every time a bank annoys you, you dump them and go elsewhere, you'd very soon run out of banks. They are all much of a muchness, anyway.

If you think they will even blink an eyelid if they lose your business, you are mistaken. For every customer that leaves, there will soon be a new one. You won't even register on their radar for having left. You are only a number to them, anyway, not a person. This is NOT anything personal about you, it's the same for all of us.

I didn't say anything about being annoyed. I said if we don't get what we want. Let's consider the analogy of the solid fuel merchant I use: If the time comes that he can't supply the fuel I use then I'll cancel his service and get a new one who will. Similarly with banks: If the bank we use doesn't give us the services we want we should change banks but presumably we check over different banks who will provide what we want and then make our choice. That is exactly what our government is trying to make easier!

chambta

pmduk wrote: »

When bank staff advise you to do something remember they are selling to you. Their "advice" is no more than a sales spiel.

Given the way branches of most of the major banks work now I don't think that's necessarily the case.

innovate

chambta wrote: »

Given the way branches of most of the major banks work now I don't think that's necessarily the case.

So what, apart from selling something the bank is interested in, do they do when they invite you for a "review"?

chambta

innovate wrote: »

So what, apart from selling something the bank is interested in, do they do when they invite you for a "review"?

Retaining your business. I can say that with certainty.

Anthorn

chambta wrote: »

Given the way branches of most of the major banks work now I don't think that's necessarily the case.

So how do the branches of major banks work?

Whenever I went into my local Santander it was always empty of customers and staff looking at me longingly obviously expecting me to go to the counter. But no, I only ever went to the ATM.

Money-Saving-King

Anthorn wrote: »

Whenever I went into my local Santander it was always empty of customers and staff looking at me longingly obviously expecting me to go to the counter. But no, I only ever went to the ATM.

My Santanders always busy. I use a combination of them & Halifax to get around £9 a month.

I'm not really sure why you say you'd go to a bank to get what you want. The way I do it is look at what they have to offer and if it doesn't suit me I'll go else where. As another poster said if you expect to have a bank give you what you want and if not you'll "dump them" then yes you will run out of banks.

Anthorn

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

My Santanders always busy. I use a combination of them & Halifax to get around £9 a month.

I'm not really sure why you say you'd go to a bank to get what you want. The way I do it is look at what they have to offer and if it doesn't suit me I'll go else where. As another poster said if you expect to have a bank give you what you want and if not you'll "dump them" then yes you will run out of banks.

The difference is where I live is Co-operative country: Search on their branch locator and it's a sea of blue and that sea gets a lot bigger if we add Britannia. Handelsbanken is here and there is talk that Metro will be here too after they open in Milton Keynes. In short the big 4; 5 if we include Santander; are losing out to challengers!

But what do you do if you choose a bank and then get the account and they won't give you what they promise which is true in many cases. Most services which are worthwhile are subject to status and status varies from bank to bank.

innovate

Anthorn wrote: »

The difference is where I live is Co-operative country........

I can't actually think of anything you'd need a Branch for. Except, of course, if they decide to have Branch-only accounts, which seems a strange thing to have in this day and age. Anything can be done online, supported by a half decent call centre for any unusual questions.

I live nowhere near Norther Ireland but happily have an account with Ulster Bank, which only has branches in NI, I believe.

Anthorn wrote: »

But what do you do if you choose a bank and then get the account and they won't give you what they promise which is true in many cases.

Many cases? do you have examples?
But in general, if they are not delivering to their (written) promises, you simply raise a complaint.

Anthorn

I agree that we can do most things online which is how I like it. But whether we need a branch depends on the parameters of the account we hold: For example with the Smile (Co-op) account I recently opened I can only get £250 a day from an ATM. If I want more than that I have to get it from a Co-op branch. But there are those banks such as Handelsbanken and Metro which are doing very well with their retro branch-centric business models. There is a lot to be said for walking into a branch, opening an account and getting your debit card there and then!

It's pretty much obvious that some people won't get the services they expect from a bank account because those services are subject to status. With the Smile current account I got everything that came with the account and got that in writing with the option of easily closing the account with a simple phone call. But sad to say that some banks don't do that.

dr_adidas01

innovate wrote: »

I can't actually think of anything you'd need a Branch for.

I can think of at least one reason, to pay in cheques, yes they are being phased out eventually.. However some people still pay by them and if I've had a tax refund from HMRC its always been via cheque, which I've them had to go into a branch to deposit.