Halifax did not want my money

stewart54

Hi - my cousin, who has just become a Granny, and I watched last week's programme about savings for children and decided to visit the Halifax Branch in Plymouth on 7.1.15 to open an account for her grandchild. We knew we had to go to the branch but.... little did we know that we could not open it on the spot despite having all the ID etc needed and having the grandchild and mum present. We were told we had to make an appointment and the soonest was at 3.00pm - we called in at 11.30am. We had travelled some 8 miles and would had to return. We were told that as part of the appointment we had to watch a video (apparently an FCA requirement!) We considered that if we could not open an account on the spot then Halifax did not want our money. So we trotted off to Nationwide - totally different treatment - completed and opened an account in a matter of minutes - now that is customer service. Well done Nationwide!

mrssjs

The video lasts a couple of minutes that's all, I am a parent and opened both my children's accounts in branch, it says online you have to make an appointment. Once we went through the meeting, all was set-up there and then.

gadgetmind

stewart54 wrote: »

We were told that as part of the appointment we had to watch a video (apparently an FCA requirement!)

That seems to have replaced "Sorry, can't, data protection" as the excuse for messing customers around.

Archi_Bald

I reckon it is protection against mis-selling claims.

jennifernil

I also find this "appointment needed to open an account" business really frustrating, especially if when you go in, there are no other customers.

Fortunately most accounts other than children's can be opened on line, which is good here as we have very few bank branches nearby.

haras_nosirrah

Why did you not make an appointment

Would you turn up at your doctor and demand to be seen on the spot?
How about for a mortgage - would you phone first to book an appointment or have a huff because they couldn't see you straight away?

What is the difference in interest rate between Halifax and nationwide?

Vortigern

jennifernil wrote: »

I also find this "appointment needed to open an account" business really frustrating...

...and totally unnecessary when most banks allow accounts to opened online (even if they sometimes require documents to be mailed in)

I'm perfectly capable of reading T&Cs and signing a document or ticking a box to confirm that I've understood them. It's quite insulting to have the terms read out to me by a video or audio recording. It takes longer, doesn't allow me to re-read anything that's unclear and doesn't provide me with a permanent record of whatever the video was about.

ViolaLass

Did Nationwide require you to watch a video?

jimjames

They might have done you a favour by not opening it there and then as there are probably better ways to do it.

You can open an investment trust children's investment plans online or by post and that's likely to be a far better option to build a lump sum for your children over long periods of time such as 18 years or so.

SevenOfNine

How do the Halifax / Nationwide interest rates compare for the account? Hope Granny didn't cut off her nose to spite her face! (Though I can see it was frustrating not to just be able to walk in & get it done.)

stewart54

ViolaLass wrote: »

Did Nationwide require you to watch a video?

No - we did not have to watch a video