KENT RELIANCE - not reliable enough

Bellatori

DEEPLY UNIMRESSED


KENT RELIANCE may have reasonable ISA rates but their customer service is frankly PANTS. Having spent a lot of time filling in the forms as you do and bothering a neighbour to verify a document as you do I sent the stuff off. It was exactly correct according to their email which said, and I quote
+ Bank account statement from within the last three months confirming that the nominated account that you provided as part of this application is held in your name.... Please note that this can be an original or an uncertified electronic copy that you have printed.
+ Proof of name and address. Please note that we can only accept originals or certified copies as proof of your identification.
So after a few days I receive a phone call saying that this is not enough. Sorry but I really cannot be bothered with a company that doesn't know what it wants. I'm not dealing with something twice. Life's too short. My father would have used the expression 'BUCKET SHOP' but then he was quite fussy about finance companies.


So remember KENT RELIANCE as one to avoid.

colsten

I have been a very happy Kent Reliance / KRBS customer for many years, not for an ISA but for their Regular Savings account. My only niggle about them is that the Regular Saver is a Branch only account and I rarely visit a town with a KRBS Branch.

bowlhead99

Bellatori wrote: »

.
My father would have used the expression 'BUCKET SHOP' but then he was quite fussy about finance companies.

If so, perhaps he would have been using it in error; Kent Reliance is part of a listed banking group with a £3billion balance sheet. That sounds quite far from the traditional meaning of a 'BUCKET SHOP'.

I'm not dealing with something twice. Life's too short.

My father would have used the expression 'CUTTING OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE'.

If you are not going to deal with Kent Reliance one more time to make twice in total, how do you propose to instead open up an account with anyone else, without dealing with account opening procedures at least one more time?

And presumably with Kent, following their phonecall to you, you now know exactly what was inadequate about the documentation you supplied. Most rational people would just go ahead and finish opening the account which they had researched and initially preferred to all the other accounts which are out there in the market.

So after a few days I receive a phone call saying that this is not enough. Sorry but I really cannot be bothered with a company that doesn't know what it wants.

So remember KENT RELIANCE as one to avoid.

If you really wanted to help other people - rather than to just have a moan and promote a boycott of the company which has allegedly wronged you - maybe you could warn us by letting us know what they found deficient about the documents you'd gone to the trouble to send in?

You mention that they ask for one thing on the email and really want something else, so they phoned you up about it. So what is it they really want? Was it perhaps rejected because you got one of the documents verified "by a neighbour, as you do" instead of by whoever they said was qualified to certify it? I know if I was getting my identity documents verified for an account application it would be pretty unlikely that the bank would accept my neighbour's signature as they're not a qualified solicitor, accountant, officer of a regulated financial services business etc etc.

jimjames

bowlhead99 wrote: »

You mention that they ask for one thing on the email and really want something else, so they phoned you up about it. So what is it they really want? Was it perhaps rejected because you got one of the documents verified "by a neighbour, as you do" instead of by whoever they said was qualified to certify it? I know if I was getting my identity documents verified for an account application it would be pretty unlikely that the bank would accept my neighbour's signature as they're not a qualified solicitor, accountant, officer of a regulated financial services business etc etc.

Do you really mean I can't just ask anyone to certify my documents? That's outrageous!

AbbieCadabra

jimjames wrote: »

Do you really mean I can't just ask anyone to certify my documents? That's outrageous!

Not usually, no. Those as stated above & sometimes a company director or doctor can too, all depends on what's stated as accepted.

We've had our isa's with krbs for a few years now & i'm very happy with their service. Rate changes etc are notified in good time, helpful on the phone & an improved online system now too.

Archi_Bald

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

Not usually, no.

Blimey. We should be allowed to pick who we want to certify our documents.

xylophone

I have found KR very efficient - I have had only one niggle in several years of being a customer and it was promptly dealt with.

xylophone

http://www.kentreliance.co.uk/docs/default-source/default-document-library/091_proof_of_name_and_address_0214.pdf?sfvrsn=0

"Certified copies should be signed, dated, marked ‘original seen’ and bear the name, address, occupation and contact details
of the certifier.
Copies can be certified by a practising solicitor, banker, accountant, teacher, doctor, minister of religion,postmaster/sub-postmaster, authorised financial intermediary or similar professional."

adindas

Bellatori wrote: »

DEEPLY UNIMRESSED


KENT RELIANCE may have reasonable ISA rates but their customer service is frankly PANTS. Having spent a lot of time filling in the forms as you do and bothering a neighbour to verify a document as you do I sent the stuff off. It was exactly correct according to their email which said, and I quote
+ Bank account statement from within the last three months confirming that the nominated account that you provided as part of this application is held in your name.... Please note that this can be an original or an uncertified electronic copy that you have printed.
+ Proof of name and address. Please note that we can only accept originals or certified copies as proof of your identification.
So after a few days I receive a phone call saying that this is not enough. Sorry but I really cannot be bothered with a company that doesn't know what it wants. I'm not dealing with something twice. Life's too short. My father would have used the expression 'BUCKET SHOP' but then he was quite fussy about finance companies.

So remember KENT RELIANCE as one to avoid.

Do you have the links to the product that you are concerning. Is it explicitly mentioned that they allow you to open by post ??

AFAIK many KRBS products are branch operating only and can not be done by post. So you will need to go to one of their branches to open the account.

I have been banking with them quite a few years now due to their RSA and I find them very helpful, including TB CS.

But I am quite worrying and frustrating if more banks are starting to follow the way such as AA credit cards, Post offices, Principality BS, BOI when asking for documents certification that only allow a handful of professionals such as doctors, Bank officials, lawyers to do the certification.

jimjames

xylophone wrote: »

I have found KR very efficient - I have had only one niggle in several years of being a customer and it was promptly dealt with.

I've been a customer for well over 40 years since it was a small building society. No issues at all and although I don't have much with them now it's not down to any customer service issues rather being able to get 5% elsewhere.

adindas

xylophone wrote: »

http://www.kentreliance.co.uk/docs/default-source/default-document-library/091_proof_of_name_and_address_0214.pdf?sfvrsn=0


"Certified copies should be signed, dated, marked ‘original seen’ and bear the name, address, occupation and contact details
of the certifier.
Copies can be certified by a practising solicitor, banker, accountant, teacher, doctor, minister of religion,postmaster/sub-postmaster, authorised financial intermediary or similar professional."

Good to hear this. So it is a standard verification procedures applied by many banks, UK Passport, Government, etc.

It is not like the excessive procedures imposed by AA credit cards, Post offices, Principality BS, where certification can only be done by a handful of professionals such as doctors, Bank officials, lawyers