My Barclays branch no longer has an address

littlerock

About a year ago Barclays revised all the personal account branch codes including mine. The sort-code of my branch, which is in Newcastle, changed. The changeover went quite smoothly, until now. Now I need to supply my branch details : my account number, branch sort code and branch address, to enable an insurance policy to be paid into it. There is no address on my bank statements.

So I looked it up on line. This is where the fun starts, my new branch sort code is not in the Barclays UK directory of sort codes. Nor is my old physical branch location. I cannot find my new branch sort code listed in Newcastle, let alone an address.

So I phoned Barclays customer service and after the usual security interrogation (to ask a branch address...), I was told that my branch was now in Leicester. No I don't think so. If they moved my account they have not told me. Then I was offered the branch code of a Barclays near where I live, quite some distance from Newcastle. Again that is not my branch number. So no I don't think so.

Eventually the CSA settled on what seems to be the branch code of the first Newcastle branch in the list.

Can anyone help throw any light on what is happening here?

Uxb

If its anything like Lloyds the branches no longer have an individual postal addresses.
My own lloyds branch's 'address' has been an anonymous postcode somewhere for maybe the last 10 years and nothing else - as in Lloyds Bank plc postcode XXX and that's it. When I'm asked for the address as part of say filling in a DD form I just put this one one in.

Xbigman

But they no longer actually write to the branch. Everything is centralised. I would think almost any valid bank address would work. Possibly even invalid ones.


Darren

Shakin_Steve

Yep. The last three numbers of our sort code changed to 95 and, l believe, the branch address is now, more or less, just Barclays, Leicester and a post code. However, on our statements, it still shows our old branch address in Leeds.

sal_III

This only goes to show how stupidly outdated this notion of "your" branch is. Call me progressive, but I would probably refuse the deal with an insurance company that demands a branch address for payout.

What if your account was with Starling?

Futuristic

Most banks just use one generic address now (wherever their main contact centre is), you can use your local bank address anyways it wouldn't cause any issues or just use the one they told you. It doesn't matter.

Shakin_Steve

sal_III wrote: »

This only goes to show how stupidly outdated this notion of "your" branch is. Call me progressive, but I would probably refuse the deal with an insurance company that demands a branch address for payout.

What if your account was with Starling?

You'd have to deal with them if you wanted your payout.

agrinnall

littlerock wrote: »

So I looked it up on line. This is where the fun starts, my new branch sort code is not in the Barclays UK directory of sort codes. Nor is my old physical branch location. I cannot find my new branch sort code listed in Newcastle, let alone an address.

What is the sortcode? I don't know what Barclays own directory contains but I would be very surprised if it's not listed in the ISCD (Industry Sorting Code Directory) which can be accessed via various websites - in fact, I'd go so far as to say it would be impossible for it not to be listed, because if it wasn't transactions could not be correctly routed to it.

EarthBoy

Sort codes aren't linked to branches nowadays in the way they used to be years ago. Even where a sort code appears to belong to a particular branch, this is often just a quirk of their ancient computer systems and all the payments and cheques will be processed centrally, not at the branch in question. Nationwide and Santander sort codes have always been issued centrally and have never been branch dependent. Nationwide only uses about 4 different sort codes for current accounts, and they bear no relation to which branch is near your address, or where you opened your account.

If your insurance company, or anybody else, is asking for your branch address, it simply means their own processes are out of date. They're probably asking because they always have done and nobody has every bothered to change the paperwork, and not for any other reason. They will almost certainly be paying you by electronic transfer, for which no bank address is required, only your sort code and account no.

Flobberchops

The short answer is that it really doesn't matter. I've seen some payment apps that autocomplete the Branch Address to the Head Office address in Canary Wharf, and they go through just fine. Your Sort Code used to refer to a physical branch address, so even then the system had unnecessary repetition built in.

PRAISETHESUN

I just use the address of my bank's head office whenever I set up DD mandates, so I expect this would probably work for you in this situation as well.