Halifax Bank do not look after their customers!

Fortyfoot

I have just been into town to pay quite a lot of cash into the Halifax Branch in our town and was informed that they were closed until next Wednesday.

So I called into Lloyds Bank and asked if I could pay in there, the answer was NO! The Lloyds cashier said that the Halifax had been closed for a week, lots of disgruntled Halifax customers who had then to travel 5 miles to the next town to a Halifax bank.

It would have been so easy to send an email or letter advising customers about this closure.

I am now looking to move banks.

Fortyfoot

takman

This is another good example of why you should have multiple current accounts with different banks. You could have then simply gone to another branch in the town to pay it in (if there is one).

Plus there is a lot of money to be made in switching bonuses and interest by having accounts with multiple banks!.

JuicyJesus

How often do you use this branch? Often when temporary branch closures are planned, only people who regularly use it (or have very recently used it) are notified by the bank concerned. I imagine this is what has happened here.

Bear in mind that for a lot of people the branch their account is held at is irrelevant as they are many miles away, so sending letters to them saying "your account holding branch, which is at the other end of the country, is closing for a refurb" is pointless and a waste of money. So is sending them to people who never set foot in a branch except for the once a year they get a birthday cheque from Auntie Nora.

Also also, there may be very exigent reasons why the branch is shut which Halifax couldn't have warned anyone about - a raid or other security/property related incident springs to mind.

MarkFromCornwall

Fortyfoot wrote: »

It would have been so easy to send an email or letter advising customers about this closure.

I agree. So many organisations require us to give them our email addresses and use it to send us offers that often don't interest us but don't use it to tell us things we need to know like the local branch being closed.

JuicyJesus

MarkFromCornwall wrote: »

I agree. So many organisations require us to give them our email addresses and use it to send us offers that often don't interest us but don't use it to tell us things we need to know like the local branch being closed.

See my post above. Obviously this hinges on how often OP uses their Halifax branch but it's still a waste of effort. A lot of people genuinely don't need or want to know and would be non-plussed or even annoyed by such an email.

Also, we don't actually know the circumstances.

MarkFromCornwall

JuicyJesus wrote: »

See my post above. Obviously this hinges on how often OP uses their Halifax branch but it's still a waste of effort. A lot of people genuinely don't need or want to know and would be non-plussed or even annoyed by such an email.

Also, we don't actually know the circumstances.

Yes, but the point is, if the bank was using its computer systems to the benefit of the customer it would only take a few clicks for them to send an email to those who had used the branch in, say, the last year.

JuicyJesus

MarkFromCornwall wrote: »

Yes, but the point is, if the bank was using its computer systems to the benefit of the customer it would only take a few clicks for them to send an email to those who had used the branch in, say, the last year.

You don't know that they didn't. As noted the OP hasn't said how often they use this branch. It is also often not "a few clicks", especially if it's something that's happened at short notice.

"Within the last year" is also an overly long timescale, and would include all sorts of people who would probably find such an email irrelevant or actively annoying/concerning (e.g. someone who just happened to pass through and use the branch).

Fortyfoot

I use it once or twice a month, I do have another account with the Nationwide, nearest branch is again 5 miles away.

We use Morrison's supermarkets in Elland, Bradford and Boroughbridge, the other day we got an invite to the wine tasting event at Boroughbridge!
So it is possible to send out selective emails.

HSBC, who are in my town, have an offer of upto £200 to move to them, so back down town again tomorrow.

Thanks for your comments.

Fortyfoot

Mee

May I suggest logging your complaint online to save on further costs:
https://www.halifax.co.uk/contactus/how-to-complain/default.asp

Fortyfoot

Mee wrote: »

May I suggest logging your complaint online to save on further costs:
https://www.halifax.co.uk/contactus/how-to-complain/default.asp

I have had no costs nor will I, all being well it should be £200 profit stimulated by Halifax Bank. I always find it best to complain to my MP, they usually put the boot in. These contact us forms will probably not be read.

I called into the local tonight for a pint and was advised that the two week closure is due to planned improvements which coincide with closing the branch in the next town.

I am advised that there is a notice on the bank's door giving details of the closure.

An old lady was spoken to by a friend on the bus on Saturday morning, she said that she had received what she thought was a "scam" phone call from the bank. She just wanted to call in and talk to her bank about the problem. She was on the 11.40 bus to Halifax, would they be open when she arrived?

I have noticed that older people rely on visiting their local bank, so I wonder how many had been let down by the Halifax.

So, there were no "very exigent reasons why the branch is shut which Halifax couldn't have warned anyone about - a raid or other security/property related incident"

They knew months in advance!

Prospective HSBC customer.

Thanks for taking part.

Fortyfoot

MarkFromCornwall

Fortyfoot wrote: »

Prospective HSBC customer.

Check this list of HSBC branch closures before you commit yourself!
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/758208/HSBC-branch-closure-list