First Direct

SparciaM

Well I joined FD and they're ok. A few annoying things.

Such as you can't see secure messages you've received or sent. I'm with smile at the mo and u can see them like an email inbox.

Also, I was told that they couldn't delete a bill payment I set up but only put 'DO NOT USE' I asked for that to happen and they deleted the payment, so it isn't in the drop down list. So if you want a bill payment deleting just message them and they CAN do it.

Finally, they opened the wrong savings account for me so I asked to close it down, yet the lady on the phone couldn't close accounts and had to transfer me to an account closure person. In the welcome pack, it states you wont be passed around from person to person. Well if they have teams for all different things then I'll be passed around non-stop. At smile each adviser could do whatever I asked (sometimes asking someone for help), but could action every request. Hopefully if I need something the person I speak to can do it and not pass me around (just like their pack says).

CopperPlate_2

Good to know that they've finally updated their systems to allow bill payments to be deleted from the lists. I think the idea of not being passed around from person to person is for routine enquiries, transactions, etc. I know that when I called about my mortgage I was transferred to the mortgages/credit section to speak to a specialist there. Perhaps they have a 'retentions' department who close all accounts and have the necessary authorities for doing so, rather than it simply being a normal adviser you speak to? Don't know for certain, only guessing.

I was with smile for a few years and I got sick of the, what I felt anyway, was the declining standard of service I was getting from them. I've never had a bad experience with fd and they are certainly on a par, if not surpassing, the service standards I received from smile.

Hopefully these are just small minor irritations that will sort themselves out.