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First Direct - not so wonderful

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Just for fun....
I applied for First Direct current account advertised as so very fantastic with all this great customer service.
1: internet application, containing details of employer
2: received text message to call back. Apparently employer reception was contacted and stated I don't work there anymore
3: I followed up and what was actually said was I am currently not in the office
4: called back to FD to clarify, FD called employer again and asked reception for my personal contact details. Employer refused as against company policy to release employee detail.
5: received text message from FD to call back, which I did. Was asked for a registered home landline phone number, provided this and FD called me there. Was told that now security is checked and ok.
6: received text message from FD next day to call back, which I did. FD audit team now requested a PAPER original bank statement where my salary is being paid into. I clarified, I have no paper as in today's time, I work electronically, and offered to send off statement by email.
7: told this is against the rules, it must be paper.
8: requested to speak to complaints team. On hold for approximately 20 minutes. Supervisor (not complaints team) then took the call. Was told that I should request my HR department to provide a statement of my employment, or that FD speaks to my manager.
9: I clarified my manager is based in the US and would certainly find it highly amusing to talk to a bank about me. Supervisor did not like this message and declared that under these circumstances my application is being refused.

Amazing rubbish in today's world, and First Direct is certainly not recommended by any means. I stick to my old fashioned functioning Nationwide account.
I would be very interested if anyone else had such First Direct issues too.
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Comments

  • teddysmum
    teddysmum Posts: 9,521 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We've opened a number of accounts with two banks, recently and neither contacted my husband's employer.
  • wjr4
    wjr4 Posts: 1,306 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I've had no problems with FD so far, if anything they have been a lot more helpful than any other company I've dealt with. I was told you have to inform your employers yourself rather than they do it & also have to manually change your details with companies like iTunes.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and should not be seen as financial advice.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I had the exact same kind of experience with FD as you, OP, they could not wait to decline my application because I did not have every single thing to hand before I called them, and spoke to me as though I were dirt. No wonder they have to pay people to be customers.

    Atrocious customer service. NPower are way, way better and no, that is not a typo.
  • katejo
    katejo Posts: 4,266 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Smodlet wrote: »
    I had the exact same kind of experience with FD as you, OP, they could not wait to decline my application because I did not have every single thing to hand before I called them, and spoke to me as though I were dirt. No wonder they have to pay people to be customers.

    Atrocious customer service. NPower are way, way better and no, that is not a typo.
    I am happy with FD but wouldn't touch NPower with a bargepole.
  • kingrulzuk
    kingrulzuk Posts: 1,330 Forumite
    OP you are not the only one, I made 1 mistake and I was rejected, I called the CS and told them it was a silly mistake and I got told that I have to wait for a latter from FD, but its been 2 weeks now NO latter or call from FD so I have given up
    What happens if you push this button?
  • schiff
    schiff Posts: 20,259 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I've started the routine with FD a couple of hours ago, to open a First Direct account and a Savings account to eventually get my hands on their Regular Saver. I'm not switching and I won't be maintaining anything more than a token balance.

    Next contact with them - so far - will be by post, though I'm not at the moment at home.

    Anything untoward that happens I will of course report. If it gets too heavy I'll be telling them to forget it.
  • JohnRo
    JohnRo Posts: 2,887 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Smodlet wrote: »
    No wonder they have to pay people to be customers.

    With great reluctance at that, it took me over 3 months and ,without exaggerating, something like 6 or 7 long telephone conversations at different times with FD staff to finally get my switching bonus.
    That after being assured on 3 separate occasions by staff that the switching bonus would be credited to my account by the end of that business day or the following morning.
    'We don't need to be smarter than the rest; we need to be more disciplined than the rest.' - WB
  • badger09
    badger09 Posts: 11,577 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    rjw4 wrote: »
    I've had no problems with FD so far, if anything they have been a lot more helpful than any other company I've dealt with. I was told you have to inform your employers yourself rather than they do it & also have to manually change your details with companies like iTunes.

    ????

    Are you talking about switching an account to FD? Op is trying to open an account;)
  • Jox
    Jox Posts: 1,652 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    I'm with FD and am very happy with them, I got £125 when I joined and have opened a FD regular saver which is 6% interest. No problems with them at all. But all companies will have happy and unhappy customers.
  • bigfreddiel
    bigfreddiel Posts: 4,263 Forumite
    Strange how some people think it's a great bank, and others think it's absolute rubbish. Who to believe? fj
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