£100 Ulster Bank NI switch offer - ends 19 November 2020

gsmh

Tragen said:

not so "simple" then 

I find it very simple. I keep my ear to the ground and subscribe to Ethical Consumer. I know pretty much how ethical each bank is. The one that slipped through the net was Triodos and @colsten clearly knew her stuff and alerted me to an issue with one of Triodos's investments in Cambodia.  It was enough to have me switch my account elsewhere. This is the Ethical Consumer league table of banks based on criteria the magazine considers important. In the magazine there is a lot of supporting evidence.

colsten

@gsmh and @Tragen , would you mind taking your ethical banks discussions to a separate thread as it's entirely off topic. Thank you.

gsmh

colsten said:

@gsmh and @Tragen , would you mind taking your ethical banks discussions to a separate thread as it's entirely off topic. Thank you.

No.

RG2015

gsmh said:

hcolsten said:

@gsmh and @Tragen , would you mind taking your ethical banks discussions to a separate thread as it's entirely off topic. Thank you.

No.

 I have set you up a thread for this topic. Why in God’s name don’t you use it?

gsmh

RG2015 said:

 I have set you up a thread for this topic. Why in God’s name don’t you use it?

Because your thread is about bank rewards, not about how ethical banks are. You cannot side-line me into one specific thread. What if I make a thread called 'free money' and insist all your comments about switching rewards and bonuses go there? Would you oblige?

kinger101

colsten said:

kinger101 said:

colsten said:

ischris85 said:

Just to point to others, I setup up a £1 payment from my main account to Ulster (in test of the £1,500) and back again. When setting up the payee on Ulster, it took me all the way up to the last step before saying I need to order a card reader despite the fact I have a compatible one already

You should have been able to avoid this by registering a card reader (any card reader) beforehand. That worked for me - I am happily using my Nationwide one, also for RBS and Natwest. Although others have said they were not able to register a card reader unless it was from the respective bank.



kinger101 said:

colsten said:

kinger101 said:

colsten said:

kinger101 said:

I'd not touch Ulster Bank.  I had what was supposed to be an instant access savings account with them, in which I had money for a house deposit.  Unfortunately, when I came to withdraw the money (for a house purchase), they told me I needed an electronic secure key generation card to do this, which they'd not bothered to send me when I opened the account.  This took over a week for them to send.  Luckily, I had access to other capital, otherwise I would have needed to visit a branch to get access to my cash.  Which would have meant a trip to Northern Ireland.

They were completely unapologetic  about the fact they'd potentially put me in situation where I would have failed to complete.

They were completely right to be unapologetic. It is down to the account holder to ensure that they are satisfied that they can withdraw their money. The ‘hurdles’ at Ulster are completely reasonable, and in our interests, as they ensure that fraudsters can’t withdraw our funds.

As far as the Ulster current account is concerned, as soon as you have your debit card, PIN and online/app access, you can withdraw your funds by Faster Payment, at ATMs, or debit card purchases. Just like any other current account.

As an aside, I also had (and still have) an Ulster Bank savings account. I made several withdrawals from it by Faster Payment. Never once had a problem with it.

you'll not find one this side of the Irish Sea.

This is, of course, true. Luckily though, they are part of the Natwest Group, and matters like proof of ID can be handled via a Natwest or RBS Branch. I know this for a fact because for some unknown reason, my Ulster account had me down as a Dutch national, which I never was and never will be, and to have it corrected, they wanted to see me with my original passport in Branch. I sorted it all with a visit to an RBS branch.

I did enquire about this at the time, and they told me I could not withdraw cash from an RBS or Natwest branch.  

If you need to withdraw cash over the counter, you wouldn't choose a bank with the nearest branch a few hundred miles from where you live. Although, if for some reason you can't use an ATM, you could use the Post Office Banking Services for modest amounts of over-the-counter cash withdrawals from your Ulster Bank current account.

I only wanted to withdraw cash from a branch because they neglected to send me the secure card I needed when I opened the account.  I know you think that's my fault, but every other bank in the I've ever dealt think providing the customer with everthing they need to access to their account is their problem.  As for Post Office, one cannot withdraw five-figure sums needed for house deposits there.  Which was my original complaint.

Yep, it all goes back to you not making sure that you could withdraw your funds. Even if Ulster had sent you everything you needed (who knows, may be they did? They sent mine to me w/o me chasing it) well in time, they cannot be held responsible for you actually receiving everything, or for you being able to use the tools/procedures. 

Gosh, it's while since I've come across someone so unpleasant on this site.  Invent whatever narrative you see fit to describe my experience with Ulster Bank to suit your own bigoted ends.

Goodbye.

RG2015

gsmh said:

RG2015 said:

 I have set you up a thread for this topic. Why in God’s name don’t you use it?

Because your thread is about bank rewards, not about how ethical banks are. You cannot side-line me into one specific thread. What if I make a thread called 'free money' and insist all your comments about switching rewards and bonuses go there? Would you oblige?

And this thread is about  Ulster Bank NI switch offer.

gsmh

Useful therefore to see how Ulster Bank figures on the ethical league table so people can make a decision based on more than just the free money. Entirely on topic.

RG2015

gsmh said:

Useful therefore to see how Ulster Bank figures on the ethical league table so people can make a decision based on more than just the free money. Entirely on topic.

Good to know that every time any bank is discussed here, someone will roll up with a league table of ethical credentials.

Guess the banks will be quaking in their boots.

PS: Sincere apologies for rising to the bait. This will be the last time!

gsmh

RG2015 said:

Good to know that every time any bank is discussed here, someone will roll up with a league table of ethical credentials

It's the first time I've ever posted this. Do you really find it unhelpful?