NAT WEST - Steer Clear

laroc

Undoubtedly the worst bank I have ever come across

(a) 7 day switching service - "we keep you informed all of the way" is their slogan
Well it actually took 30 days to transfer my Halifax account to them
15 of those days was for the transfer alone
Correspondence was minimal, didnt even advise me when funds were in the account
When I asked why there were no Halifax funds in my account (day 7) I was told " you will have to take that up with them" - but hang on a minute, Nat West state "We will take care of everything"

(b) I requested a Text Alert when my funds reached £150. I was informed that they cannot guarantee an alert as it doesnt always work.

(c) During the changeover I lodged a formal complaint of the time it was taking. I received an auto acknowledgement stating it could take 10 days to resolve - 10 days have elapsed and not a word

(d) they talk about the protection of an "authorised overdraft" in case you go in the red
For a start this is not free, you have to pay a fee
Secondly if you go overdrawn by just £6 another set of fees kick in possibly £6 at day

Basically Nat West is not interested in your feedback
My advice if you dont want a nervous breakdown, is still well clear of this appalling Bank
Look at Trust Pilot to confirm my remarks

bigadaj

Why were you transferring from Halifax to natwest, you would have got £100 for doing the opposite?

Flobberchops

a) Yes, that's pretty shoddy.

b) To be fair this is what all banks will tell you. It's to protect their backsides by avoiding liability for financial loss in the event that, say, o2's network goes down, you miss a low balance alert, and subsequently go overdrawn when a direct debit is taken. Text alerts are a tool, not a replacement for personal responsibility and due diligence in managing your own finances.

c) Yep, that's crummy.

d) ...just don't spend money that isn't yours? With a bit of planning it isn't hard!

eskbanker

laroc wrote: »

they talk about the protection of an "authorised overdraft" in case you go in the red
For a start this is not free, you have to pay a fee

If they talk about a fee-free authorised overdraft then you have a point that they shouldn't charge for it, but if they don't say it's free then I don't see that they're doing anything wrong?

laroc wrote: »

Secondly if you go overdrawn by just £6 another set of fees kick in possibly £6 at day

Are you suggesting that the charges aren't consistent with the published Ts & Cs that you'd have signed up to?

agrinnall

laroc wrote: »

Look at Trust Pilot to confirm my remarks

So why didn't you do just that before deciding to switch?

Dird

laroc wrote: »

Secondly if you go overdrawn by just £6 another set of fees kick in

You get a £10 fee-free overdraft: http://personal.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/overdrafts/Compare-Overdraft-Costs.html

Super_Whiskey

laroc wrote: »

Undoubtedly the worst bank I have ever come across

(a) 7 day switching service - "we keep you informed all of the way" is their slogan
Well it actually took 30 days to transfer my Halifax account to them
15 of those days was for the transfer alone
Correspondence was minimal, didnt even advise me when funds were in the account
When I asked why there were no Halifax funds in my account (day 7) I was told " you will have to take that up with them" - but hang on a minute, Nat West state "We will take care of everything"

That is pretty poor. Assuming your account was in credit, one to sign etc then it should've been straight forward.

(b) I requested a Text Alert when my funds reached £150. I was informed that they cannot guarantee an alert as it doesnt always work.

The bank can send the text but they can't guarantee it will be received because they don't control the mobile phone towers!

(c) During the changeover I lodged a formal complaint of the time it was taking. I received an auto acknowledgement stating it could take 10 days to resolve - 10 days have elapsed and not a word

Please someone say if I'm wrong but if a bank can't resolve your complaint within 24/48 hours they have up to 8 weeks to come up with an answer? Although to be fair if they have said 10 (working?) days then they should've stuck to that time frame.

(d) they talk about the protection of an "authorised overdraft" in case you go in the red
For a start this is not free, you have to pay a fee
Secondly if you go overdrawn by just £6 another set of fees kick in possibly £6 at day

As stated above, most banks are up front about what they provide in terms of fee-free overdrafts. It's free to have the facility but using it will usually cost you beyond a certain threshold. Depending on how you switched the account, this could've been made clearer in branch or if you switched online then the onus is on you to find more information.

Basically Nat West is not interested in your feedback
My advice if you dont want a nervous breakdown, is still well clear of this appalling Bank
Look at Trust Pilot to confirm my remarks

A couple of responses yo your comments.

Paul_1977

Switched to RBS/Natwest, had no issues, never had any issues really.

Halifax on the other hand.

EssexExile

My experience of Natwest is that they are pretty awful too, but others must have different experiences or there wouldn't be a Natwest.

Bogof_Babe

Been with NatWest for 37 years and never had a problem.

chris_m

EssexExile wrote: »

but others must have different experiences or there wouldn't be a Natwest.

Very true. I've had an account with them for the best part of 30 years and only ever had one problem, which wasn't Natwest's fault in any case but they resolved it perfectly.
A DD was taken in error, I reported it to my branch, they advised me that the money would be back in my account by close of business that day and it was.

Unlike Midland, who treated me so shabbily that I ran the account down to 50p and told them I wanted monthly statements. Can't remember how many years that carried on but eventually they got fed up, closed the account and sent me a cheque for 50p