Halifax Appointment System

Murison

At the weekend I looked around at utilising my child’s savings and putting it into an account for paying his school fees. The Halifax Young Saver account came up trumps in my survey and was quite prepared to transfer money into a new account for him. I was even more please that Halifax appeared to match my needs as I have had a Reward Current Account with them for 7 years without any problems. I looked through their website to find out how to open an account and it advised to visit a branch taking ID for both my child and myself. The only thing I did not take was a R85 form which I would have assumed the branch would have one.
So off I trotted, taking my son along with me, just in case they required further evidence of who we were. I walked in to the branch, which is in an open plan, to be met by, not one, but three charming assistants all willing to help us as they did not have any other customers to serve. That help quickly changed when I asked to open an account as, due to the advisor being busy I would have to make a return journey to the branch and make a 40 minute appointment. Never mind I thought, we have our passports, I have an account with them, they can copy the passports and I can sign any documentation required or perhaps return to sign anything they need. Silly me, I forgot they won’t be able to sell me anything or pry into my financial arrangements without an appointment so I was informed there was nothing they could do for me.
I left the branch, with the three assistant still waiting for the next customer to appear and went back to my car. I have recently been issued with one of those smart phones by my company so I looked up the Halifax complaints department and contacted them. The lady informed that it was policy for a new customer to have an interview to which I replied I am not a new customer and as the over 18 who was opening the account should not be treated as one. I also informed her that there was nothing on their website about a 40 minute appointment and asked what would take so long to open an account. This she could not answer and just replied it was policy and she would note my comments. This appeared to be a fob off so I asked for my complaint to be registered and acknowledged as I felt the persons making the policy should know how stupid the policy was. She then asked for my Halifax account number and sort code and said she would have to go through some security details before she could lodge a complaint. Security details, what security details to you need to lodge a complaint especially as I had just gave her my account details and she was calling me by my name. I suppose this is another policy someone has concocted. I was eventually passed on to another gentleman who without actually saying he agreed with me suggested he would have the website changed to say that branch visit would be require and it would be by appointment only. Despite his best efforts he still did not get the point that I don’t want an appointment. I simply want to walk into a branch at a time convenient to me and open an account.
So I have just been looking around to move my current account and will be moving all my money from Halifax over to the Santander 123 and recon I’ll be about £200 a year better off. I will also take out a Skipton Leap account at 0.25% less than Halifax for my son but overall we will be better off.
If I was borrowing money from a bank, I can easily see why they would want to speak to me and know everything about me but I wasn’t asking them for money, I was giving money to them.
So if Halifax is reading this, which is unlikely as they will either be attending an appointment trying to sell someone something they do not require, or be one of three waiting for the next customer who hasn’t got an appointment so they can turn them away, please be more accommodating to people giving you money, so you can lend it on to business to get us out of this recession that you and your colleagues started and stop trying to sell additional things to people who have already been sold on your products.
PS. I can open the Santander account from the comfort of my home with no appointment necessary!

surreysaver

Halifax are the new Abbey National. You can tell they're owned by the Government, can't you?

opinions4u

Did it ever cross your mind to ring the branch directly to make an appointment? If it was a Saturday did you consider that the may be busier than, say, a Thursday afternoon?

http://www.halifax.co.uk/branchfinder/details.asp?lt=1&client=hx&tn=Swindon&bid=077200&braddr=44%2F45+BRIDGE+STREET%2C+%2C+HALIFAX%2C+SWINDON%2C+SN1+1BL

If you walked in to A&E how quickly would you expect to be seen once you got past the triage nurse?

If you wanted some legal advice how soon after walking through the door of a solicitors' office would you expect to be seen by a solicitor?

If you wandered into a school wanting to see a teacher would you expect them to see you immediately?

Does your dentist drop everything when you turn up without an appointment and see you at the expense of others who did book in advance?

In fact, when you walk into a dentist do you expect the receptionist to drill your teeth for you if the dentist himself is with another patient?

I understand the desire to be seen immediately, or even within a few minutes of stepping into the branch. Those running the branch will get better customer satisfaction scores if they see customers like you on demand.

But if those staff qualified to see you are with customers already and have appointments pre-booked who should they prioritise? You or somebody they've already committed to see?

And while you may think that one of the staff you saw in the banking hall should attend to you, if one is the mortgage adviser they won't be much use. If another is waiting for a pre-booked appointment they really shouldn't stitch up that customer. And keeping somebody covering the reception area to ensure other customers can get general information seems reasonable.

So while I agree that 40 minutes is too long to open an account, it is what it is. I can't agree that your response is rational or reasonable.

At the weekend I looked around at utilising my child’s savings and putting it into an account for paying his school fees

Private education has many benefits and, in my view, offers a better standard of teaching than the state. But when a child has to combine private education with parents who believe everybody should drop everything to service their needs it can end up sending some obnoxious brats in to the world.

surreysaver wrote: »

Halifax are the new Abbey National. You can tell they're owned by the Government, can't you?

Interestingly, Halifax have the lowest complaints per 1000 accounts record on the high street, overtaking Nationwide.

While some of their processes appear to have gone backwards since being taken over by Lloyds they must be doing some things right.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/saving/article-2408742/Lloyds-boasts-substantial-fall-number-complaints-report-regulator-flow-PPI-claims-eases.html

innovate

opinions4u wrote: »

Did it ever cross your mind to ring the branch directly to make an appointment? If it was a Saturday did you consider that the may be busier than, say, a Thursday afternoon?

http://www.halifax.co.uk/branchfinder/details.asp?lt=1&client=hx&tn=Swindon&bid=077200&braddr=44%2F45+BRIDGE+STREET%2C+%2C+HALIFAX%2C+SWINDON%2C+SN1+1BL

If you walked in to A&E how quickly would you expect to be seen once you got past the triage nurse?

If you wanted some legal advice how soon after walking through the door of a solicitors' office would you expect to be seen by a solicitor?

If you wandered into a school wanting to see a teacher would you expect them to see you immediately?

Does your dentist drop everything when you turn up without an appointment and see you at the expense of others who did book in advance?

In fact, when you walk into a dentist do you expect the receptionist to drill your teeth for you if the dentist himself is with another patient?

I understand the desire to be seen immediately, or even within a few minutes of stepping into the branch. Those running the branch will get better customer satisfaction scores if they see customers like you on demand.

But if those staff qualified to see you are with customers already and have appointments pre-booked who should they prioritise? You or somebody they've already committed to see?

And while you may think that one of the staff you saw in the banking hall should attend to you, if one is the mortgage adviser they won't be much use. If another is waiting for a pre-booked appointment they really shouldn't stitch up that customer. And keeping somebody covering the reception area to ensure other customers can get general information seems reasonable.

So while I agree that 40 minutes is too long to open an account, it is what it is. I can't agree that your response is rational

All she wanted to do is open a savings account for her boy! It's bad enough that this has to be done in Branch(*) but why does it need an appointment? Why does it need a specialist to issue a kids passbook? Surely the most simple of checklists would allow one of the 'greeters' to meet the challenge of opening a kids saver?

For each of the examples you list, I could list others that show that no appointment is needed. For example, I can wander into any mobile phone shop and walk out with a new phone and contract in less than 20 minutes.

(*) presumably one of the reasons for having to do this in Branch is that Banks want to see proof that the child exists - fair enough.

apt

The OP is in a strop, but Santander is just the same as Halifax. If you want to open an account in branch you need an appointment with a specific member of staff trained to do the job. You'll probably have to listen to a long script telling you what you already know to cover the bank's back against any potential mis-selling. By all means move to the Santander 123, but it would make sense to keep the Halifax reward account as well with a couple of small direct debits to keep harvesting the free fivers. The Halifax reward clarity credit card is also the best on the market if you have foreign currency use. If your main priority in a bank is being able to open accounts without appointments try MetroBank.

Murison

Did it ever cross your mind to ring the branch directly to make an appointment? If it was a Saturday did you consider that the may be busier than, say, a Thursday afternoon?
It did not cross my mind because the website informed me to visit a branch and did not advise me of the appointment system. Just for information it was a Wednesday afternoon I visited the branch and I could not see any other customer in the general area. I could see 3 assistants and 2 other personnel at the other side of the area at desks

If you walked in to A&E how quickly would you expect to be seen once you got past the triage nurse?
Again the website said to visit the branch which I did only to be turned away. There may be a waiting time at the A&E but they never turn their customers away.

If you wanted some legal advice how soon after walking through the door of a solicitors' office would you expect to be seen by a solicitor?
I would be willing to wait as long as it took but I wasn’t offered that option during my visit to the branch.

If you wandered into a school wanting to see a teacher would you expect them to see you immediately?
I would not expect to see the teacher but I would expect my details to be taken and for someone to deal with my issue. No one was willing to any details about me or my issue. I was simply told to go away and make an appointment

Does your dentist drop everything when you turn up without an appointment and see you at the expense of others who did book in advance?
I know many dentists throughout the UK and they would not turn their customers away without at the very least assessing the level of pain their customer was in. If they could not see me that day then there are emergency dentists and walk-in centres to go to. I had no option but to leave without any service from the branch – they did not even take my name.

In fact, when you walk into a dentist do you expect the receptionist to drill your teeth for you if the dentist himself is with another patient?
I would not expect the receptionist to drill my teeth but I would expect a bank who informs you to visit the branch to open an account not to turn you away. I was only following the banks rules and had all the documents required to open an account. Even when I suggested for the “receptionist” to copy my documents she refused.

I understand the desire to be seen immediately, or even within a few minutes of stepping into the branch. Those running the branch will get better customer satisfaction scores if they see customers like you on demand.
It was not the fact I was not seen immediately, I was quite willing to wait but this was not an option given to me

But if those staff qualified to see you are with customers already and have appointments pre-booked who should they prioritise? You or somebody they've already committed to see?
I understand staffing levels, qualifications, experience etc would result in not been seen at a drop off a hat but I was simply following their instructions and they turned me away.

And while you may think that one of the staff you saw in the banking hall should attend to you, if one is the mortgage adviser they won't be much use. If another is waiting for a pre-booked appointment they really shouldn't stitch up that customer. And keeping somebody covering the reception area to ensure other customers can get general information seems reasonable.
You have made many assumptions here but even if all were correct, how long would it take to copy to two passports and my existing account details. They could then complete the paperwork at their convenience and if a signature was required I could pop back at my convenience to sign my name.

So while I agree that 40 minutes is too long to open an account, it is what it is. I can't agree that your response is rational or reasonable.
There we will have to agree to disagree as I was only following the banks own instructions.
Quote:
At the weekend I looked around at utilising my child’s savings and putting it into an account for paying his school fees
Private education has many benefits and, in my view, offers a better standard of teaching than the state. But when a child has to combine private education with parents who believe everybody should drop everything to service their needs it can end up sending some obnoxious brats in to the world.
I do not believe everyone should drop everything to service my needs but I do think that turning customers away who have followed the instructions is very impolite and extremely poor service

Quote:
Originally Posted by surreysaver
Halifax are the new Abbey National. You can tell they're owned by the Government, can't you?
Interestingly, Halifax have the lowest complaints per 1000 accounts record on the high street, overtaking Nationwide.
Just because they have the lowest doesn’t make them good, just shows how poor they rest are.

While some of their processes appear to have gone backwards since being taken over by Lloyds they must be doing some things right.
All process should go forward and if they have implemented something that takes them back they should listen to their customers and stop it immediately

opinions4u

innovate wrote: »

All she wanted to do is open a savings account for her boy! It's bad enough that this has to be done in Branch(*)

Quite agree. They can open a Junior ISA online but not a "normal" account.

but why does it need an appointment?

Look, my expectation is that if I wander in to somewhere without an appointment and get seen it's great. If, for reasons I hadn't considered, I can't be seen there and then I don't think it's reasonable to throw a strop about it.

Now there could be reasons why the branch had nobody available. The most likely reason is that they were genuinely stacked. Saturday demand for service is always higher the weekdays and even the best planned working patterns can mean demand exceeds availability. Unpredictable peaks in demand at other times can and do happen.

Equally Mrs Miggins the savings consultant may be undergoing chemotherapy and won't be in work for another month. Or the newly qualified consultant has had to go and cover an illness in Smallsville branch.

It's possible that the attitude of the branch to opening a child account was all wrong. Not worth it for the bonus scheme perhaps. But this is unlikely as I'm told branch incentivisation is almost completely based on customer responses to telephone surveys these days.

Why does it need a specialist to issue a kids passbook? Surely the most simple of checklists would allow one of the 'greeters' to meet the challenge of opening a kids saver?

Two lots of money laundering checks, a regulatory requirement to make the customer aware of alternative accounts in the range that may be suitable for a child (I believe the Halifax has 9 variants of child account, 6 fixed, 1 regular saver, 1 easy access and 1 ISA). There is more complexity to it than a "simple checklist". Not to mention a post-PPI need to cover their backside 38 times just in case ...

For each of the examples you list, I could list others that show that no appointment is needed. For example, I can wander into any mobile phone shop and walk out with a new phone and contract in less than 20 minutes.

And on another day you can walk in to a bank branch and walk out with a new account half an hour later. But sometimes the mobile phone shop is busy too.

Murison wrote: »

It did not cross my mind because the website informed me to visit a branch and did not advise me of the appointment system

Then I understand your frustration a little bit more.

nilrem_2

I have to agree with the OP on this, it is quite ridiculous that you cannot go into a bank or Building society and open an account without a prior appointment. Of course I can understand that if they have a long queue of customers waiting it be fair to advise you that there may be a wait and it might be better to make an appointment.

I have faced this situation myself having decided what account I wanted and filling in all the forms etc and taking it into a branch with a cheque already made out and accompanied by the required ID, I was told I needed an appointment! I offered to leave it with them and they could do the required paperwork in their own time and post the documents to me, they refused!

I went straight down the road to Nationwide (who I had never used before) and selected a similar savings product, I explained to the cashier that I wanted to open an account and they were happy to do so, it took them about 5mins and they posted the documents on to me later that day.

Whenever I have been asked to make an appointment I just refuse and go elsewhere.
Quite often one can open an account online fully electronically which cuts out the silly (IMHO) appointment issue. I can fully understand why some people might like an appointment before opening an account but why don't they just offer rather than insisting you have one!

Considering the mess some of the major banks got into I feel that I would rather make my own mind up rather than take advice from their financial advisor's!

Comparing opening a simple bank account to visiting A&E with a medical condition or expecting to be able to walk into a dentist for a filling without an appointment is not the same thing at all and in actual fact last time I visited A&E they did not insist I make an appointment first!

cloud_dog

For heavens sake will people stop knocking the OP.

The OPs thought process and therefore expectations are perfectly aligned and were reasonable.

I've been through the exact same scenario as I wanted to open a Young Saver for my DD.

Turned up at the branch (which had no customers waiting / visible), was advised I'd need an appointment and that I'd need to make an appointment, said I was happy to wait, again advised I would need to make an appointment and that the appointment would take approx 40 mins (to which I though !!!!!!).

Needless to say I told them they were 'Aving a giraffe' and left.

Lets be sensible.... the only reason Halifax have implemented this process is to obtain adult contact details and to facilitate up-selling. They can quote money laundering rules blah, blah, blah as much as they like but it is a sales technique.

Archi_Bald

There's a bit of a theme developing here....Halifax aren't offering what parents expect. Parents exercise their option to go elsewhere. Long term, Halifax are the losers, not the parents or their kids. It never pays to p*ss off your customers.

jimjames

Murison wrote: »

It did not cross my mind because the website informed me to visit a branch and did not advise me of the appointment system.

I think this is the biggest frustration and not just with Halifax. Websites have so much potential to help customers and avoid unnecessary contact but so many fail to do so or compound problems by making things even less clear. Something so simple as adding a line of text that appointments are required would have saved you time and hassle but set the correct expectation and avoided a complaint. All for a few seconds adding some info.

A transaction may not be possible via the website but a good website should ensure that you have all the details to be able to facilitate that transaction easily at a later date.