Natwest/RBS Black Account

uncreative

Does anyone know if this is really worth it? I have had it for about 8 years and £24 a month is the cost. We are going through a mortgage application and the service has been truly shocking, there is no dedicated area in the branch for help, only seems like the benefits of travel insurance, breakdown cover etc.. are what I am paying for.

Anyone got any good stories about it? Has it made a mortgage app easier? special rates?

I am about to cancel it as we have breakdown cover now included in car insurance.

planteria

i have never had a Black account, but i moved away from NatWest on account of poor service and racism in-branch. if they offered a great incentive or rates then i might move back to them, but i can't ever imagine them being a 'main' account for me.

it is all about crunching the numbers really. £24/m is a lot, and if it doesn't make sense i think i would move. perhaps raise that idea with them and see what they come up with?

agrinnall

planteria wrote: »

.. racism in-branch...

Seriously? What was the result of the investigation that was undertaken in response to the complaint that you must have made?

Paul_1977

planteria wrote: »

i have never had a Black account, but i moved away from NatWest on account of poor service and racism in-branch. if they offered a great incentive or rates then i might move back to them, but i can't ever imagine them being a 'main' account for me.

it is all about crunching the numbers really. £24/m is a lot, and if it doesn't make sense i think i would move. perhaps raise that idea with them and see what they come up with?

Racism? I am curious now.;)

If I had enough money for a black account and paid £24 a month I would expect something in return, I think Barclays give you a que jump, and other stuff, sounds like its a bit crap, go else where as you don't seem to be appreciated at Natwest.

Archi_Bald

Paul_1977 wrote: »

If I had enough money for a black account and paid £24 a month I would expect something in return

The benefits are detailed on http://personal.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/compare-current-accounts/black-account.html. Whether they mean anything to the account holder, only the account holder can tell. It might be great value for some, and none to others.

chambta

uncreative wrote: »

Does anyone know if this is really worth it? I have had it for about 8 years and £24 a month is the cost. We are going through a mortgage application and the service has been truly shocking, there is no dedicated area in the branch for help, only seems like the benefits of travel insurance, breakdown cover etc.. are what I am paying for.

Anyone got any good stories about it? Has it made a mortgage app easier? special rates?

I am about to cancel it as we have breakdown cover now included in car insurance.

It will make no difference whatsoever to the mortgage process though there are some advisers, presumably the more experienced ones in general, who generally only see Private Banking customers. That isn't dependent on having a paid-for account though.

planteria

certainly queue jump in Barclays branches that have space for it Paul..

and the investigation lead to enough staff being prepared to make statements to the effect that there was no racism shown. including staff who were not even in the building.. they closed ranks & circled the wagons very effectively.

with the benefits available on the market without having to pay for them, at this stage i can't envisage paying £24/month for a current account.

Paul_1977

In what way were they racist plan?

Never seen anything like that happen myself. Arrogant and horrible staff yes, but no racism.

planteria

apologies for taking the thread right off track.. but NatWest staff at the branch close to where i used to live had a clear system of helping customers of a certain 'community' in preference to others. along with the concept of trying to encourage customers who were queuing for the counter to use self-service machines, they took the opportunity to approach certain customers and ensure that they were looked after, including taking them out of the queue in order to go straight to the next available counter. it was clear, and when challenged it was admitted, with a laugh.. i understand that there has been a significant change at the branch since then. no more from me re. this, as it's old news now.:silenced:.

chambta

planteria wrote: »

apologies for taking the thread right off track.. but NatWest staff at the branch close to where i used to live had a clear system of helping customers of a certain 'community' in preference to others. along with the concept of trying to encourage customers who were queuing for the counter to use self-service machines, they took the opportunity to approach certain customers and ensure that they were looked after, including taking them out of the queue in order to go straight to the next available counter. it was clear, and when challenged it was admitted, with a laugh.. i understand that there has been a significant change at the branch since then. no more from me re. this, as it's old news now.:silenced:.

Which 'community'?

Ben8282

uncreative wrote: »

Does anyone know if this is really worth it? I have had it for about 8 years and £24 a month is the cost. We are going through a mortgage application and the service has been truly shocking, there is no dedicated area in the branch for help, only seems like the benefits of travel insurance, breakdown cover etc.. are what I am paying for.

Anyone got any good stories about it? Has it made a mortgage app easier? special rates?

I am about to cancel it as we have breakdown cover now included in car insurance.

Like any other packaged bank account this account offers a range of benefits. You are the only person who can determine if this particular package of benefits at this price is 'worth it' to you.


A 'dedicated area' of the branch is not an advertised benefit of this account and therefore cannot realistically be expected.


The best person to ask about 'special rates' for your mortgage is the staff member at the branch who has been assisting you with regard to your ongoing mortgage application. Were you not told what the likely rate would be?


I would suggest that cancelling or downgrading your account half way through a mortgage application may not be the wisest possible move.