(Most silliest/trivial/petty) Reasons you’ve left a bank?

Legacy_user

Hello! What’s the most silliest reasons you’ve left a bank? I ask this because I’m thinking of leaving a bank because I’ve had both small and large transactions declined for no reasons, and they’ve been no help, and the card reader to make new payments, or multiple payments, or large payments, and they also have limits to the number of payments one can make through the app. All good security measures , but can be a pain . I thought it’d be a laugh to find out others’ petty, or non-major Reasons for leaving.

Facknats

I left Natwest because the queues are too long for counter service yet you will be asked 20 times by three different staff members about why you're there and have to explain *every time* that no, they can't help you.

I miss the 'emergency cash' feature for when you've left your wallet home but seriously the queues can do one.

londoninvestor

Many years ago I switched from Barclays to Smile, precipitated by the fact I wanted to pay in a cheque on a Saturday, but none of the local-ish Barclays branches were open.

Smile was pretty good back then and paid decent interest, but I'm not sure I'd have overcome my inertia without that frustrating Saturday morning.

rainbowskies

I used to work for Barclays and hated it. Over time, I thought to myself, why should I spend my time on their website, their app or in one of their branches during MY time/day off? So I left for that reason. Because I resented working there.

Left the job a few months later and now I’m very happy in my new job.

Katgrit

I'm another one who Barclays offended years ago!

23 years ago I was starting Uni and chose Barclays as my bank of choice. Went into town with my Mum the week before I left home to open my account all ready. This was back in the days of grants, when student loans were just starting off and tuition fees unheard of. Conversation went as follows...

Me: Hi. I'm starting Uni next week. I'd like to open a student account.
Barclays woman: Ooh congratulations, that must be very exciting. Come this way and I'll see what we can do. Now, can I have your grant letter?
Me: I won't be getting a grant.
Barclays: You might not have the letter yet. We need the letter.
Me: But I won't be getting the letter as I don't get a grant. My parents earn too much.
Barclays: But we need the letter showing your student grant.
Me: I have a letter confirming my place on the course and my start date. Will that do?
Barclays: No. Its not a grant letter.
Mum: She doesn't get a grant. We earn too much. We'll be funding her.
Barclays: We still need the grant letter.
Mum: But she won't be getting a grant letter as she won't get getting a grant.
Barclays: But everyone gets a grant letter!
Mum: Yes, but hers will just say "You're not getting a grant".
Barclays: Yes. That's the letter we need.
Mum: So you want to see a letter confirming her grant amount, which is nothing?
Barclays. Yes. So we know she's being funded.
Mum: But she isn't getting any funding! We're funding her! Can I write you a letter? Get me some paper and I'll write you a letter now saying we have to fund her. We'll be paying £400 a month into her account. Plus we'll be paying for her accommodation up front. I'll set up the standing order from my account to hers now if you like.
Barclays: No. We need the grant letter.
Mum: The grant letter that we dont have yet that's going to say "There is no grant"?
Barclays: Yep.

At this point we left and walked up the road to NatWest, who I'm still with. Mortgage, loans, ISAs, credit cards all with NatWest. Have other banks too, but never Barclays. Irony was my Mums job at the time was at the local college arranging grants and funding for Students going to Uni. At the next Student fair she spotted the Barclays rep at their stall with stacks of glossy leaflets trying to entice students into opening accounts and took great pleasure in going over to introduce herself and explain exactly why she wouldn't be recommending them.

warrend

Recently left First direct (for starling) after getting frustrated with
1) not updating the balance in a timely manner/ showing pending transactions
2) Their website and mobile app were just painful.

EachPenny

Katgrit wrote: »

I'm another one who Barclays offended years ago!

23 years ago I was starting Uni and chose Barclays as my bank of choice. Went into town with my Mum the week before I left home to open my account all ready. This was back in the days of grants, when student loans were just starting off and tuition fees unheard of. Conversation went as follows...

That brings back fond memories of my student experience with Barclays. I'd already been a customer for several years using a small local branch. I got my place at uni and went to the branch to convert the account to a student one. Dead easy, no problems, and walked out of the branch 10 mins later with a free overdraft and clutching a handful of free vouchers for something or other.

At the end of my first year I got a letter from Barclays telling me my account had been reviewed and the overdraft now had to be repaid. During the year the small local branch had shut down, so I had to go to the large impersonal branch in the nearest town. I complained that I had been given a free overdraft for the duration of my studies, so why were they demanding it was being repaid? "But you aren't a student" was the reply.

Pointing out the account I held was a student one, and they had given me a free overdraft for a year already didn't help. They made me reapply for a student account and a few days later I got a letter advising me I now had a free overdraft and as a new customer was being rewarded with the enclosed handful of free vouchers for something or other.

To answer the OP's question, I've never fully left a bank or building society. The closest I've come is when Barclays really p'd me off with their branch modernisation and having long queues to use the one counter position still open whilst two or three staff uselessly wander around asking customers if they really need to use the counter service. "Yes, that's why I'm standing in this stupidly long queue thanks".

But rather than leaving them I simply reduced my balance down to £1 and switched all my SO/DDs away to other banks. For four years or so the account had nothing more than £10 transferred in from time to time, and the money taken out of a cash machine a few days later. As far as I'm concerned that is a better 'punishment' for poor service than having a strop and closing the account down completely.

badger09

Here we go again:(

System

I've changed banks many, many times - often just for something new, unusual and interesting - like the Bank of Ireland in the 70s when I started working. In more recent years I am greatly motivated by ethical issues and moved to the Co-operative Bank when I witnessed its support of the LGBT community and diversity in general - in particular its support of Manchester Pride when I was there in 2017. I have effectively narrowed down the banks I could switch to since all the big high-street banks are at the bottom of the ethical list.

No bank is perfect ethically I know - the Co-operative has not been the best in the way it has treated some customers, and the recent hedge-fund ownership isn't ideal, but it does have an ethically-driven policy which I find agreeable. Triodos is better in some respects but I don't see it supporting homeless charities or LGBT issues.

EarthBoy

I've never left a bank for silly or trivial reasons, but I have joined a bank for them. Back in the early 80s, I changed my account to Williams and Glyn's because they printed Esq after your name on your cheque books. I was young and easily impressed and I wanted to be an Esquire, instead of a plain old Mr.

These days, being middle aged and cynical, such things would not impress me at all.

NewToTheUkAgain

Back when I was 16 I left Halifax as they refused to bank a large cheque because I was unemployed....