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What should I do when I'm already unhappy about the bank before switch to it?
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Mr.Saver
Posts: 521 Forumite
I won't name the bank, that's not the purpose of this thread.
Week 0
The bank had a switch offer, and I wanted to take the free cash.
Week 1
I requested to open a current account online with the bank.
Week 2
The bank asked for the standard things, such as proof of ID and proof of address.
I sent those to them on the next day.
They confirmed that they have received them.
Latter in the same week, the bank told me one of my ID document is a bit blurry, and asked me to send another copy. So I did on the second day, with a crystal clear copy. They confirmed that they have received the new copy.
Week 3
The bank sent me a message, and asked for 3 months proof of income.
I had a pay raise a month before, so most recent 3 months of payslip would be showing two different numbers.
I called the bank and explained that, and the lady on the phone can't tell me what should I do. After spending 10 minutes explaining my situation, I offered to send the pay raise letter together with the payslips, and she agreed.
So at the end of the day, I sent my last 3 months of payslip and a letter confirming my pay raise. The bank again confirmed that they have received them.
For the obvious reason, only the one of the payslip matches the number on the pay raise letter and the income number I told the bank.
Week 4
Didn't hear anything from the bank.
Week 5
Still nothing.
I had enough, and decided to call the bank and find out what's the progress on this.
The first shock comes here - I was told that the application has expired. I told them I replied within a day every time they ask me to send anything to them, how can it expire? They said that my payslips don't match their record. Of course they don't, that's why I also sent them the pay raise letter. But it seems that they ignored the letter.
Anyway, the application has expired, and they can't bring it back. The switch offer is also gone.
I asked the lady on the phone is there any way I can still get the offer, and she said I can open another account online, and once the switch is complete, I can call them again and ask them to manually add the switch bonus to my account. She gave me her name so I can tell the person who answers my next phone call to confirm with her.
So I did, filled in tons of forms online and requested to open another account.
Week 6
I got a letter through post, dated in last week. It reads "non-EU nationals applications can only be opened in one of our branches".
I simply cannot believe this. They have asked my nationality TWICE on the online forms, have seen my passport, and did not tell me a word about this. They decided to tell me 6 weeks later after I've jumped though all the hoops?
Fine. I took my passport and drivings licence, exactly as it said on the letter. And visited one of their branches on the next day. The gentleman looks like in his 50s who works in the branch was very nice, and explained that he doesn't know how can he help, and politely asked me to call the number on the letter.
I called the number on the letter, and putted my phone on speaker. After explaining everything, the lady on the phone said I need to tell the branch to open an account for me as a new customer.
After I hung up the phone, the gentleman in the branch told me that he doesn't think this would work, but wouldn't mind to give it a try. And more comforting thing is he has a backup plan if this doesn't work.
So he tried to open an account for me as a new customer, as the lady on the phone told us. Guess what? He was right, it didn't work. After he entered my details into their system as a new customer, the system said that I was an existing customer, and won't allow him to continue.
No worries, he has backup plan - open an account for me as an existing customer. He had to enter all my details again, and it worked. He took photocopies of my passport and drivings licence, asked me to sign some paperworks, and at the end gave me a confirmation letter together with T&Cs, FSCS information sheets, and all other things you'd expect.
You'd think this is the end, right? Wrong!
Week 7
I got a phone call from the bank, asking me to bring my BRP card to the same branch where I visited last week.
Second day, I went to the branch with my BRP card, the same gentleman welcomed me. I questioned why did the "non-EU" letter tell me to bring my BRP card, and why didn't he ask for the card? He said that all the procedures we've gone through together didn't ask him to take photocopies of the BRP card either, so none of us could have known this in advance.
Anyway, it was quick, the branch took a photocopy of my BRP card and returned it to me straight away, less than 5 minutes. Of course, not including my time to get to the branch.
Is this the end of the drama? No way...
Latter on the same day, I got a phone call from them again. This time the guy on the phone asked me to come back to the branch to sign the paperwork again, because my signature "doesn't match the signature on my passport".
I was never told that my signature must match the one on my passport, and the passport is ages old. I believe it's common for someone's writing changes a bit over many many years. I explained this on the phone, and told them that my writings have changed slightly but they are the same if they look closely. I also asked them to compare it with the one on my drivings licence and BRP card, which are more recent. But that guy insisted the signature is not the same as the passport, and it has to be the same. He asked me to come back to the branch today, but I was too far away from the branch to go back, so I told him that I will go back tomorrow.
So, tomorrow, I will go back to the branch and try to forge my own signature:eek:
Does it really worth my time to get the switch bonus? I've started to question myself. But if I stop here, I'd get nothing for the time I've already wasted.:(
Update on 28 March: I went back for the 3rd time and signed the forms again. I had to do it by looking at my signature on my passport, practised once on blank paper, and then sign it slowly. I definitely looked like someone who was trying to fake my signature. Awkward feelings.
Update on 4 April: Week 8
Finally the bank sent me an email, telling me the switch will complete in the next week. But... I have not received anything that would allow me to use this new opened bank account.:( So, no account number, no debit card, no mobile/online banking access. If those are not sorted out before the switch day, this is going to be fun:eek:
Update on 4 June: Week N
I will skip the details in the last two months. I didn't get the switch incentive till today. At the end, I raised a formal complain with the bank, and they have now agreed to give me the switch incentive plus a small sum for my time. The ending isn't bad, but I've lost confidence with the bank in this process.
Week 0
The bank had a switch offer, and I wanted to take the free cash.
Week 1
I requested to open a current account online with the bank.
Week 2
The bank asked for the standard things, such as proof of ID and proof of address.
I sent those to them on the next day.
They confirmed that they have received them.
Latter in the same week, the bank told me one of my ID document is a bit blurry, and asked me to send another copy. So I did on the second day, with a crystal clear copy. They confirmed that they have received the new copy.
Week 3
The bank sent me a message, and asked for 3 months proof of income.
I had a pay raise a month before, so most recent 3 months of payslip would be showing two different numbers.
I called the bank and explained that, and the lady on the phone can't tell me what should I do. After spending 10 minutes explaining my situation, I offered to send the pay raise letter together with the payslips, and she agreed.
So at the end of the day, I sent my last 3 months of payslip and a letter confirming my pay raise. The bank again confirmed that they have received them.
For the obvious reason, only the one of the payslip matches the number on the pay raise letter and the income number I told the bank.
Week 4
Didn't hear anything from the bank.
Week 5
Still nothing.
I had enough, and decided to call the bank and find out what's the progress on this.
The first shock comes here - I was told that the application has expired. I told them I replied within a day every time they ask me to send anything to them, how can it expire? They said that my payslips don't match their record. Of course they don't, that's why I also sent them the pay raise letter. But it seems that they ignored the letter.
Anyway, the application has expired, and they can't bring it back. The switch offer is also gone.
I asked the lady on the phone is there any way I can still get the offer, and she said I can open another account online, and once the switch is complete, I can call them again and ask them to manually add the switch bonus to my account. She gave me her name so I can tell the person who answers my next phone call to confirm with her.
So I did, filled in tons of forms online and requested to open another account.
Week 6
I got a letter through post, dated in last week. It reads "non-EU nationals applications can only be opened in one of our branches".
I simply cannot believe this. They have asked my nationality TWICE on the online forms, have seen my passport, and did not tell me a word about this. They decided to tell me 6 weeks later after I've jumped though all the hoops?
Fine. I took my passport and drivings licence, exactly as it said on the letter. And visited one of their branches on the next day. The gentleman looks like in his 50s who works in the branch was very nice, and explained that he doesn't know how can he help, and politely asked me to call the number on the letter.
I called the number on the letter, and putted my phone on speaker. After explaining everything, the lady on the phone said I need to tell the branch to open an account for me as a new customer.
After I hung up the phone, the gentleman in the branch told me that he doesn't think this would work, but wouldn't mind to give it a try. And more comforting thing is he has a backup plan if this doesn't work.
So he tried to open an account for me as a new customer, as the lady on the phone told us. Guess what? He was right, it didn't work. After he entered my details into their system as a new customer, the system said that I was an existing customer, and won't allow him to continue.
No worries, he has backup plan - open an account for me as an existing customer. He had to enter all my details again, and it worked. He took photocopies of my passport and drivings licence, asked me to sign some paperworks, and at the end gave me a confirmation letter together with T&Cs, FSCS information sheets, and all other things you'd expect.
You'd think this is the end, right? Wrong!
Week 7
I got a phone call from the bank, asking me to bring my BRP card to the same branch where I visited last week.
Second day, I went to the branch with my BRP card, the same gentleman welcomed me. I questioned why did the "non-EU" letter tell me to bring my BRP card, and why didn't he ask for the card? He said that all the procedures we've gone through together didn't ask him to take photocopies of the BRP card either, so none of us could have known this in advance.
Anyway, it was quick, the branch took a photocopy of my BRP card and returned it to me straight away, less than 5 minutes. Of course, not including my time to get to the branch.
Is this the end of the drama? No way...
Latter on the same day, I got a phone call from them again. This time the guy on the phone asked me to come back to the branch to sign the paperwork again, because my signature "doesn't match the signature on my passport".
I was never told that my signature must match the one on my passport, and the passport is ages old. I believe it's common for someone's writing changes a bit over many many years. I explained this on the phone, and told them that my writings have changed slightly but they are the same if they look closely. I also asked them to compare it with the one on my drivings licence and BRP card, which are more recent. But that guy insisted the signature is not the same as the passport, and it has to be the same. He asked me to come back to the branch today, but I was too far away from the branch to go back, so I told him that I will go back tomorrow.
So, tomorrow, I will go back to the branch and try to forge my own signature:eek:
Does it really worth my time to get the switch bonus? I've started to question myself. But if I stop here, I'd get nothing for the time I've already wasted.:(
Update on 28 March: I went back for the 3rd time and signed the forms again. I had to do it by looking at my signature on my passport, practised once on blank paper, and then sign it slowly. I definitely looked like someone who was trying to fake my signature. Awkward feelings.
Update on 4 April: Week 8
Finally the bank sent me an email, telling me the switch will complete in the next week. But... I have not received anything that would allow me to use this new opened bank account.:( So, no account number, no debit card, no mobile/online banking access. If those are not sorted out before the switch day, this is going to be fun:eek:
Update on 4 June: Week N
I will skip the details in the last two months. I didn't get the switch incentive till today. At the end, I raised a formal complain with the bank, and they have now agreed to give me the switch incentive plus a small sum for my time. The ending isn't bad, but I've lost confidence with the bank in this process.
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Comments
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Whether you should continue depends entirely on how desperate you are for the switch bonus. Good luck if you decide to persevere.0
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See it through and then switch again straightaway to a better bank with another incentive, kerching!
Learn the lessons though, issues like income being difficult to validate and signature evolution could equally arise next time round too, even if you feel this bank has been overzealous about these....0 -
I agree you've received terrible service, but they're right about the signature. I don't think it's a great idea to just change it but leave the old version on some documents.
If you can't match them, it seems to defeat the purpose of a signature in the first place doesn't it?0 -
I won't name the bank......I'd bet any money it's HSBC.0
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Funny that, I had loads of trouble opening an HSBC account - nothing like OP though. They gave me £50 ex gratia to say sorry before the account was even open. I closed it soon after.0
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What should I do when I'm already unhappy about the bank before switch to it?
Don't switch to it!0 -
But can you close the account which is not fully open yet? If you abandon it, won't they say it's fraud and assign fraud marker against his name? It's impossible position. I certainly would close it, soon after opening.0
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In what sense could abandoning an account application possibly be fraud, or construed as such? Who would be defrauding who and how?Penelopa.Pitstop wrote: »But can you close the account which is not fully open yet? If you abandon it, won't they say it's fraud and assign fraud marker against his name? It's impossible position. I certainly would close it, soon after opening.0 -
The purpose of a signature is to verify that it's the same person's writing, but one's writing could change over time for various reasons. Keep the info up to date is important. I bet most people now would sign differently than 20 years ago.callum9999 wrote: »I agree you've received terrible service, but they're right about the signature. I don't think it's a great idea to just change it but leave the old version on some documents.
If you can't match them, it seems to defeat the purpose of a signature in the first place doesn't it?
My signature is clearly different on my passport and my BRP card, if the bank compare it against the BRP card, I would have no problem opening the account.
Since it's their rule to compare with passport, they should've checked the signature before accepting the signed form, at which time they had a photocopy of my passport on the same desk.
Take a step back, at least they could've wrote the rule on the form or told me that before I sign it. Or sort it out on my second visit together and save my 3rd visit.
fyi, my other bank had my "old" signature when I was opening the account, but happily accepted my "new" signature on cheques, because they can see my signature changes over time.
How much?;)I won't name the bank......I'd bet any money it's HSBC.
Why would it be fraud? I had abandoned current account applications twice, and I don't have any marks on my credit report other than the credit search.Penelopa.Pitstop wrote: »But can you close the account which is not fully open yet? If you abandon it, won't they say it's fraud and assign fraud marker against his name? It's impossible position. I certainly would close it, soon after opening.0
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