NatWest Online Banking WARNING

pafpcg

Rosa_Damascena said:

Well I shall be sticking to FD from now on. 25 years of banking with little to complain about, perhaps they provide a higher benchmark. NatWest's failings are basic.

I used both NatWest and RBS systems yesterday without any problem, just like all my previous use over the last decade and more.

But a note of caution about FD:  First Direct is a subsidiary of HSBC which is in the process of closing the current account & savings operations of their other UK banking subsidiary, M&S Bank.  Whilst I'm of the view that HSBC is closing the M&S Bank because the branches they had in Marks & Spencer shops were too expensive to run, it has to be a possibility that HSBC might decide to run down First Direct too.  Always have more than one banking supplier!

LateStarter

Yes, I must ring and tell NatWest I shall be closing all my accounts, as a anonymous person on a forum had a rant about some unspecified issue with their banking app.

ratechaser

Used it today, no problems as usual. 

Sounds like either user error or an episodic (as opposed to systemic) failure. 

Not sure we'll ever know, but with all due respect to the OPs advice, I think I'll just carry on collecting my £20 rewards per month and putting more into my 3.04% regular saver... 

Thrugelmir

Rosa_Damascena said:

Well I shall be sticking to FD from now on. 25 years of banking with little to complain about, perhaps they provide a higher benchmark. NatWest's failings are basic.

Telephone banking serves a niche market. Never felt the need to switch to FD. 

jon81uk

pafpcg said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Well I shall be sticking to FD from now on. 25 years of banking with little to complain about, perhaps they provide a higher benchmark. NatWest's failings are basic.

I used both NatWest and RBS systems yesterday without any problem, just like all my previous use over the last decade and more.

But a note of caution about FD:  First Direct is a subsidiary of HSBC which is in the process of closing the current account & savings operations of their other UK banking subsidiary, M&S Bank.  Whilst I'm of the view that HSBC is closing the M&S Bank because the branches they had in Marks & Spencer shops were too expensive to run, it has to be a possibility that HSBC might decide to run down First Direct too.  Always have more than one banking supplier!

first direct has been around since 1989 back before HSBC bought up Midland Bank. If they wanted to get rid of it I'm sure they would have done so by now.
HSBC took over M&S bank in 2004 and only started offering current accounts in 2012, given the current account market is getting more crowded its not a surprise they want to consolidate and get rid of their smaller bank. M%S Bank has bout 4 million, First Direct about 14 million, seems obvious which one to get rid of.
I can't see first direct going anywhere.

Rosa_Damascena

Ok, thanks for the sarcastic comments.

The problem I have is not being able to log on to access my funds, being sent in a circular direction by the online services, digital assistant being useless, offshored online chat worse (if that's possible), telephone line rubbish - not taking in my 10 digits, phone disconnecting without apparent reason and the humans that do pick up the phone transfer me to business banking as a default. I can't move the money out to a new recipient and nor can I move it back into the feeder account it came from. Meanwhile I have people that need to be paid from this money, and this situation is not fair on them yet nothing seems to be connecting me and my funds. Its frustrating, annoying and a complete waste of time. 

All I want to do now is take my money and get the hell away from NatWest. I have nothing but praise for FD and that's the bank I can rely upon.

pafpcg

jon81uk said:

pafpcg said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

Well I shall be sticking to FD from now on. 25 years of banking with little to complain about, perhaps they provide a higher benchmark. NatWest's failings are basic.

I used both NatWest and RBS systems yesterday without any problem, just like all my previous use over the last decade and more.

But a note of caution about FD:  First Direct is a subsidiary of HSBC which is in the process of closing the current account & savings operations of their other UK banking subsidiary, M&S Bank.  Whilst I'm of the view that HSBC is closing the M&S Bank because the branches they had in Marks & Spencer shops were too expensive to run, it has to be a possibility that HSBC might decide to run down First Direct too.  Always have more than one banking supplier!

first direct has been around since 1989 back before HSBC bought up Midland Bank. If they wanted to get rid of it I'm sure they would have done so by now.
HSBC took over M&S bank in 2004 and only started offering current accounts in 2012, given the current account market is getting more crowded its not a surprise they want to consolidate and get rid of their smaller bank. M%S Bank has bout 4 million, First Direct about 14 million, seems obvious which one to get rid of.
I can't see first direct going anywhere.

I knew I should have put that last sentence of my post in BOLD!  There's nothing about the prospects of First Direct I disagree about.  The point I was trying to make is that there's no guarantee that any of the current banking offerings will be available in the long term and we've all seen what happens when systems get "upgraded"...

The OP was able to cease using NatWest and return to First Direct because the OP had an alternative.  So, having abandoned NatWest, a viable alternative to First Direct (ready for whatever problems might occur in the future) is now required.  IMHO.

MovingForwards

Can't say I've experienced any problems, set up new payees, transfer money to various accounts and people. They (UK handler) even call every few months to see if there's anything else they can do for me.

Rosa_Damascena

MovingForwards said:

Can't say I've experienced any problems, set up new payees, transfer money to various accounts and people. They (UK handler) even call every few months to see if there's anything else they can do for me.

I had a call from NatWest the other day, asking what my financial goals are. My main ambition was to access the money I'd so stupidly entrusted to them, it really is that basic.

colsten

Rosa_Damascena said:

Ok, thanks for the sarcastic comments.

The problem I have is not being able to log on to access my funds, being sent in a circular direction by the online services, digital assistant being useless, offshored online chat worse (if that's possible), telephone line rubbish - not taking in my 10 digits, phone disconnecting without apparent reason and the humans that do pick up the phone transfer me to business banking as a default. I can't move the money out to a new recipient and nor can I move it back into the feeder account it came from. Meanwhile I have people that need to be paid from this money, and this situation is not fair on them yet nothing seems to be connecting me and my funds. Its frustrating, annoying and a complete waste of time. 

All I want to do now is take my money and get the hell away from NatWest. I have nothing but praise for FD and that's the bank I can rely upon.

This sounds as if your account has been blocked for some reason, after Natwest got spooked by one or more of the transactions on your account. If so, it's not a fault in their online system, and you will have to wait until they complete their investigation. In the meantime, if you have not already done so, you can raise a factual, unemotional yet firm formal complaint.