How is West Bromwich (Westbrom)'s online banking?

hoc

Before I open an account (WeBSave Easy Saver), how reliable is their online platform and smooth is the application process?

"Good" examples of what I am trying to avoid would be the Post Office online experience ("instant access" but always technical issues when trying to get your money out) or the Clydesdale account opening process involving multiple calls and letters over 2 month period.

I am aware there are higher interest current accounts, thank you.

jetsetwilly_2

I always found it good. Had a year with them on fixed rate then moved my ISA to Yorkshire Bank. No complaints at all, good customer service too. Found them less helpful when applying for a mortgage, 2 week wait to speak to an adviser, so went elsewhere

hoc

Account now opened. Site is a bit old fashioned looking, but seems to work fine. Once my DD payment arrives, I will try a test payment out to see everything works.

I knew this is one those that works with a a nominated account but it seems DD is the only way to pay in. Unlike BM for example the account number is not a real one with sort code and account, it is just a bunch of letters and numbers, and although the reference guide that came with my letter doesn't clarify I found this: http://www.westbrom.co.uk/faqs/savings/operating-your-savings-account/how-do-i-pay-money-into-my-account

On the bright side, the DD setup appears to allow weekly/monthly feeding.

psychic_teabag

Quite often, building societies have a fixed sort-code / acct number for all pay-ins, and your own account number goes in as the roll number / reference number field of the payment. It then varies how quickly they move the money from their bank account to your society account.

hoc

This is what I was hoping for and BM offers this on top of the DD, it seems WB not.

psychic_teabag

Sorry, I had assumed that the link to the FAQ meant that you could push money in. But I now see that at the bottom of that page, it says it's not applicable to WebSave accounts.

Looking back at an old west-brom account, I see that it was funded by pulling via DD, rather than pushing it in from outside. So I guess that must have been the only funding option available.

John259

For me the application process was very straightforward but the DD took a week and a half to set up which seems incredible these days. I initiated another deposit today (Friday) and it won't take place until Tuesday. Prehistoric technology, but their decent interest rate makes it worth it provided you maintain a high enough balance.

grey_gym_sock

as it happens, you can "push" money into a websave easy saver, but you need to use a different sort code and account number from the ones for regular westbrom accounts (and as usual, you put your westbrom account number as the reference).

however, they seem to be hiding this info. i only got it from the confirmation screen when opening the account. it wasn't in the confirmation email, or in the info they sent through the post, and i can't find it on their website.

unfortunately, i'm not going to post the sort code and account number here, because it would look like a scam ("transfer your money to this account - i won't nick it, honest"). you could try asking westbrom for the details. or try opening another account, and see if it's still on the confirmation screen.

(i have made deposits via fasterpayment using these details, and they arrive on the same day. better than the 2 working days for DD.)

hoc

grey_gym_sock wrote: »

as it happens, you can "push" money into a websave easy saver, but you need to use a different sort code and account number from the ones for regular westbrom accounts (and as usual, you put your westbrom account number as the reference).

however, they seem to be hiding this info. i only got it from the confirmation screen when opening the account. it wasn't in the confirmation email, or in the info they sent through the post, and i can't find it on their website.

unfortunately, i'm not going to post the sort code and account number here, because it would look like a scam ("transfer your money to this account - i won't nick it, honest"). you could try asking westbrom for the details. or try opening another account, and see if it's still on the confirmation screen.

(i have made deposits via fasterpayment using these details, and they arrive on the same day. better than the 2 working days for DD.)

Interesting. There must be a reason the details for this option aren't publicised, WB are not the only ones. I remember I really had to search with BM, eventually I found the details on this site and doing a search for the account on google led to a page on the BM site.

I wonder if it involves fees or additional work for them, or maybe they have some benefit in the slower DD process where they can "process" the money for a day or two without paying interest?

These details were not mentioned during my application process. I chose to pay the initial required amount using DD, I presume you chose another option?

Can you please post just the account number (or PM me) so I can do a search on google to see if anything comes up?

grey_gym_sock

i made the initial deposit by fasterpayment, too. that was in september, so something may have changed since then. i already had another websave account; that might affect the account opening process.

i've tried googling the account number, and can't find anything relevant. googling the sort code suggests that it belongs to barclays on behalf of westbrom (whereas their regular sort code is HSBC on behalf of westbrom).