Yorkshire Bank 1 Year Bond Useless "Service!"

mikefarnham

Q: When is an online account not an online account?
A: Apply for the above and you will find out.


Yesterday I applied online for the one year bond as recommended by Money saving Expert under the heading of Well known Provider as opposed to those who are less well known but offer slightly higher interest.


The online application took only a few minutes until, near the end, I was confronted by a popup message requiring me to phone them for verification of my credentials in line with the money laundering requirements I assume. There was another popup informing me of the required documents requiring original documents not copies.


After 30 minutes' wait (yes I was cross by then) I finally got through and was informed someone would call back. I insisted that they dealt with my call immediately and was thereupon transferred. The second operative was unable to provide the details their online site required me to call them for but said she could provide me with a link. When I enquired what for I was informed it was so I could send my documentation electronically. When I pointed out that the need for original documentations was a legal requirement I was strongly contradicted whereupon I argued that this was what their own website indicated.


The operative confirmed that staff were properly trained but was unresponsive to my query as toy why they were unaware of or did not implement written policy.


The operative then said she was transferring me; I instructed her not to do so and she put me on hold........


I had, by then spent close to an hour of my time on what would be, in the end, £30 interest and considered that excessive. I cannot see why, at the verification stage a prepaid envelope is not dispatched or clear instructions displayed on screen.


I have had disputes with financial organisations before but, in this instance, Yorkshire (Clydesdale) Bank was the rudest, most incompetent and time wasting of any,


This compares with Virgin Money two days earlier where setting up a new account with an ISA transfer was a breeze including a short online form to facilitate an automatic transfer from the previous provider.


As far as Yorkshire Bank is concerned, If you value your time and good service, avoid them at all costs.


Mike.

badger09

I think you've probably been caught up in the customer service's team's inability to cope with the stampede to open Yorkshire/Clydesdale's current accounts which are offering £250 if you switch to them.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5722173

eskbanker

mikefarnham wrote: »

...I was cross by then...

...I insisted that they dealt with my call immediately...

...I argued that this was what their own website indicated...

The operative confirmed that staff were properly trained but was unresponsive to my query as toy why they were unaware of or did not implement written policy.

The operative then said she was transferring me; I instructed her not to do so and she put me on hold........

I have had disputes with financial organisations before but, in this instance, Yorkshire (Clydesdale) Bank was the rudest, most incompetent and time wasting of any

Not trying to defend them in any way (and suspect that badger09 has hit the nail on the head) but it does sound like you took a pretty argumentative attitude into your dealings with them, even in your words, so I can imagine that the recipient(s) may have found you assertive almost to the point of aggressive, which could ultimately have been counterproductive.

For instance, grilling them about staff training, as well as wasting your time and theirs, is only going to raise the temperature of the dialogue unnecessarily - you may feel entitled to try to score points like that in the broader context but might not be aware (or even care) about how you come across....

bowlhead99

eskbanker wrote: »

...the operative then said she was transferring me; I instructed her not to and she put me on hold

...you took a pretty argumentative attitude into your dealings with them, even in your words, so I can imagine that the recipient(s) may have found you assertive almost to the point of aggressive, which could ultimately have been counterproductive.

I think you probably have a point, Eskbanker; I'll rephrase that piece for him:

"After the operative was unable to answer my question to my satisfaction she was going to transfer me to someone who might have the knowledge, experience or authority to resolve my issue in a more efficient manner. I instructed her not to do that. By now I had spent significant amounts of my time attempting to get myself an account paying the highest amount in the land, and by God I was going to get this poor girl to do everything herself even though she had explained that she could not help further and I would be better speaking to another person about it.

I would accept nothing less for my trouble than the head of operations and chief compliance officer coming down to the call centre and feeding this operative the answer a word at a time so she could relay it to me, rather than transferring me direct to someone with the requisite knowledge, experience and/or authority to fix it.

It took a long time to get resolved, but at least I have a story to post on the internet about how they are the most "incompetent and time-wasting" financial organisation out of all the financial organisations with which I have had disputes. And that's no mean feat, I have had disputes with many financial organisations before. Of course, as with this one, I assume no part of those previous disputes were of my own making either

One interesting point here is that the OP mentions that he had previously just opened an account with Virgin Money and it was a breeze. But we have had people on here in the last year setting up threads to let us all know that they have had terrible trouble with account opening documentation and unreasonable ID or AML-related demands at Virgin Money.

When others went onto those threads and sympathised but observed that the experience is below the usual standards of the typical customer onboarding that the company usually delivers, and was probably atypical, the OPs of those threads would generally not accept a word of it and continued to berate that service provider saying they were the worst and everyone should flat out avoid them.

So, forgive me if I take a "avoid at all costs" recommendation with a pinch of salt. I do take on board badger09's comment that there may be some particular busy periods or knock on effects from a current marketing /customer acquisition strategy. In my experience it is more useful to be aware of such short term factors than simply write off any organisation that is perceived to have wronged someone.

Otherwise you may be cutting off your nose to spite your face, missing some of the better market rates or services as you gradually eliminate from consideration every financial firm with which anyone has ever had cause to be displeased.

eskbanker

Perhaps unsurprisingly, OP's two previous posts included

mikefarnham wrote: »

VERY POOR QUALITY, EVEN WORSE CUSTOMER "SERVICE", ZERO CHANCE OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND.

[...]

A referral to customer service was met with rudeness and repeated reference to their unreasonable and unfair terms and conditions not supplied to recipients. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

and

mikefarnham wrote: »

Avoid at all costs.
The start of the process was so bad I cancelled.
Easy to contact BUT they lie (I have evidence) and do not do what they say they will. almost impossible to get any action on anything. THEY HAVE GIVEN ME THE WORST SERVICE (A CLEAR MISNOMER) I CAN EVER RECALL. THEY DESERVE A BEST IN CLASS AWARD.

Can anyone spot a trend here?

mikefarnham

Well, I am the winner now since, due to the rate rise today I can earn more with a different provider than a week ago!! It's an ill wind.....


Mike.