Santander Select

robatwork

I notice there was a thread or two on this last year, with the general consensus that it was a pretty spurious marketing ploy.

Has anyone actually gained any tangible benefit from being in the Santander Select club?

ta

iAMaLONDONER

robatwork wrote: »

I notice there was a thread or two on this last year, with the general consensus that it was a pretty spurious marketing ploy.

Has anyone actually gained any tangible benefit from being in the Santander Select club?

ta

The gold debit card I guess

Paul_B.

Interesting that there doesn't seem to be eligibility criteria. It also seems like Select customers are getting issued with Contactless cards. As well as getting an 03 24/7 customer service number.

I wonder when they'll start offering this to other customers. I have always wondered why Santander are the only bank that I can think on that don't offer 24/7 customer service.

rb10

Paul_B. wrote: »

Interesting that there doesn't seem to be eligibility criteria.

There are - see here.

Archi_Bald

Paul_B. wrote: »

As well as getting an 03 24/7 customer service number.

You have been able to call them from a mobile on a landline forever. Which for many people means the call is funded from their all-inclusive minutes that they are paying for anyway. The number is on the back of your debit card.

Before you say you don't have a mobile: you cannot operate a 123 account successfully without a mobile since you need it to receive the OTP codes.

Paul_B. wrote: »

I have always wondered why Santander are the only bank that I can think on that don't offer 24/7 customer service.

This thread is about Santander Select - which you just said yourself has a 24x7 number.

But out of interest, what telephone services from Santander do you need on a 24x7 basis on the phone, and that are not available? Are you actually certain that you can get all services at all other banks 24x7?

rb10

Paul_B. wrote: »

I wonder when they'll start offering this to other customers. I have always wondered why Santander are the only bank that I can think on that don't offer 24/7 customer service.

It depends what you mean by '24/7 customer service'.

If you mean the ability to phone up, get details of recent transactions, make payments, and other basic services, then Santander already provide this through their automated system.

If you mean being able to speak to an advisor, then you'll find that HSBC are only open 8am-10pm, and Barclays 7am-11pm, so Santander's times are consistent with theirs.

Paul_B.

Archi_Bald wrote: »

You have been able to call them from a mobile on a landline forever. Which for many people means the call is funded from their all-inclusive minutes that they are paying for anyway. The number is on the back of your debit card.

Before you say you don't have a mobile: you cannot operate a 123 account successfully without a mobile since you need it to receive the OTP codes.

But out of interest, what telephone services from Santander do you need on a 24x7 basis on the phone, and that are not available? Are you actually certain that you can get all services at all other banks 24x7?

The number on the back of my debit card is a 0845 with an international 01 number. I had always thought the international number was different than the 0845.

Mobile is no problem, I use OTP all the time with Santander without issue.

Not all banks services are available, but there's someone there to ask questions if needed. By others I was meaning RBS, Coop & Nationwide.

rb10 wrote: »

If you mean the ability to phone up, get details of recent transactions, make payments, and other basic services, then Santander already provide this through their automated system.

If you mean being able to speak to an advisor, then you'll find that HSBC are only open 8am-10pm, and Barclays 7am-11pm, so Santander's times are consistent with theirs.

I'm aware of the automated system, I can do most of it on my iPhone with their app. One thing is I've no idea about a Customer ID, I don't recall getting one.

I never realised HSBC and Barclays were time limited as well. I had always presumed like the other banks and building society mentioned above they would be 24/7. I've not had much to complain about with Santander customer service lately, it used to be terrible but seems to have improved.

Archi_Bald

Paul_B. wrote: »

The number on the back of my debit card is a 0845 with an international 01 number. I had always thought the international number was different than the 0845.

You get exactly the same service on the "international" number as you get on the 0845 one, just it probably costs you a great deal less than the 0845 number. There's a good chance the calls would be covered by the mobile minutes you probably pay for already. If you try calling the number from a landline, though, you often get a message saying the service is for customers calling from abroad.

you can replace the "+44" or "0044" with a simple 0, e.g. instead of 0044 1908 237963, you dial 01908 237963. Though dialling the 0044 etc costs no more.

This is not specific to Santander - just about any bank have a geo number for calls from abroad. And they all don't make it terribly obvious what these numbers are.

Also worth checking http://www.saynoto0870.com before dialling any 084x number.

Gromitt

For what its worth, mobiles use the international dialling prefix internally anyway, so if the card says +44121etc then you can dial exactly that from a mobile. You need to remove the + and add a zero to dial from a land line (as stated above), but that will often get refused by the bank, although sometimes it works if you block your caller id.

For some banks, ringing the international number appears to be answered slightly quicker than the "normal" number. Likewise if you ring the 0800/0500 version. Note however that some assistants will tell you to ring back on the normal number.

robatwork

This is what their website says about contacting them which may prove useful to a future googler:
Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

0330 123 0061 or 0845 600 9640
From abroad: +44 1908 216674

Or email us at: [EMAIL="santanderselect@santander.co.uk"]santanderselect@santander.co.uk[/EMAIL]

And this is what it says about the Service:


Dedicated to making your life easier
When you're invited to be part of Santander Select, you can relax in the knowledge that our Santander Select Managers are looking after your finances.

Dedicated Select Managers will work to deliver greater value for you and look for ways to make the most from your money. For example, they will contact you to let you know of new products and special rates that may be relevant to you, and they will also be in touch before your mortgage deal ends or your savings mature in order to help you plan the best option available to you. They work closely with a team of specialists such as financial planning managers who can advise you on investments and help you plan for the future.

Plus, as a Santander Select customer you will also have access to exclusive products, offers and services.

You can speak to us anytime, whether you have a specific account query or a more involved matter to discuss.



Sounds like drivel to me.