We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Are Lloyds actively discouraging new accounts?
usignuolo
Posts: 1,923 Forumite
My husband runs a small (solvent) business - no debts or loans. He has done so for ten years. He is a UK citizen, born and bred with a spotless credit record. He is currently setting up a side business linked to it and wants to open a second subsidiary business account for this. He has an existing business account, in good order, at his local branch of Lloyds.
So he went into his local branch, where they all know him, and explained to a so-called "Business Advisor" that he wanted to open a second linked account. He was told that that their branch Business Advisors did not have the authority to do this and instead he would have to phone their Business Centre (40 miles away) and they gave him a number to call. (We live in London by the way...)
He called the number. The first time it was engaged, the second time he was told it was the wrong number and transferred to a "run around" number (if you are...press 1, if...press 2 etc). The third time he was transferred to another number with a 5 minute queue and then spoke to someone who tried to help but kept putting him on hold while they tried to get authorisation. Then they decided it had to be handled by his "Relationship Manager". However all the RMs were busy and he would have to wait until they were free and could call him back.
Several hours later he is still waiting. It makes you wonder. Or then again maybe it doesn't.
So he went into his local branch, where they all know him, and explained to a so-called "Business Advisor" that he wanted to open a second linked account. He was told that that their branch Business Advisors did not have the authority to do this and instead he would have to phone their Business Centre (40 miles away) and they gave him a number to call. (We live in London by the way...)
He called the number. The first time it was engaged, the second time he was told it was the wrong number and transferred to a "run around" number (if you are...press 1, if...press 2 etc). The third time he was transferred to another number with a 5 minute queue and then spoke to someone who tried to help but kept putting him on hold while they tried to get authorisation. Then they decided it had to be handled by his "Relationship Manager". However all the RMs were busy and he would have to wait until they were free and could call him back.
Several hours later he is still waiting. It makes you wonder. Or then again maybe it doesn't.
0
Comments
-
It sounds like poor service. Not really active discouragement. Although, it does very much depend on how big the proposed new business is. If it's projected to have a lot of turnover it may not be eligible for the standard business banking products (which tend to be targeted more at small businesses than anything else, given that they make up a great deal of the market).urs sinserly,
~~joosy jeezus~~0 -
No it is a small one man business and the new venture is merely a sideline off it but he wants a separate signing account for it.0
-
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.4K Spending & Discounts
- 247.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.4K Life & Family
- 261.5K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards