Beware problems with Abbey (Santander) statements.

dc

I have been worried for some time re Santander's new cc operation, it seems there is a sales office in Bradford dishing out cards like confetti and the working end in Liverpool? struggling to keep up! Their Mainframe is very much up to speed once a card is activated though.

IF YOU HAVE JUST HAD AN ABBEY CARD MAKE SURE YOUR STATEMENTS ARRIVE WHEN EXPECTED.

I applied for a 0% Bt in Oct, waited then received a statement Mid Oct to be payed by 28th( no card.) a week later I got 3 pins! 3 cards arrived a week later, days after the first payment was due. I have applied for internet account 3 times yet the promised paperwork has never arrived.... I decided to use the 2nd card for supemarket shopping to get the 5% "discount" and have NEVER had a statement. In nearly 3 months I have only received 1 statement despite using 2 cards.

Rather concerned about late payment fees and possible 0% cancellation, I went into our local branch to make a £5 min payment on the BT card ( payment required a couple of days after Christmas),only to find out that the payment on the second card was due the same day! Trip to cash machine and sorted.

Moral, do not sit back and wait for an awaited statement from Abbey, as they seem to be having problems.
You could end up with late payment fees . The main computer churns on irrespective as to what the Humans do.
A couple of employees at the bank had actually had late payment fees for the same reason and were reluctant to complain as " It was not allowed for employees to incur financial penalties with Abbey's products" So my problems are more widespread, hence the warning.

Spark

I never use any new cards before I got my online account up and running.
I've applied for my Santander card beginning of october, got the card about 1 month later, got my first log in detail 3 weeks after that,, then the last details arrived one week later. In all, it took 2 months from application to set up online account.
I never rely on statements sent through the post to make payments, things can get lost in the post-late arrival-postal strikes-Christmas time.
My online account is checked at least once a week for possible fraud and surprise date of payment changes and fees.
With Santander, I did notice it takes twice as long to get anything from them, so if they are telling you that it will be with you in 10 days, I wait 20 days (counting monday to friday). If you call then after 10 days, they send you another lot, then it doesn't arrive on time, then you call again, then they cancel and send you another lot...... and you end up on a Merry Go Round.
Most people would set up a direct debit straight away to pay at least the minimum required, I am not a fan of that as if there is a mistake made from the bank, you might end up in the lurch. It's like having all your money in a safe and giving the combination to a total stranger. :eek: But you normally won't incur a late fee, as there will be a regular payment made every month.
Abbey had problems after problems since they were taken over by Santander, so you have to be doubly careful on how you manage any accounts you have with them.......

dc

IF you don't bank with Abbey then unfortunatey you have to rely on paper statements until their creaking system lets you have online access. Neither seems to be available at mo.

I half expected a flood of correspondence in todays post because I had posted this , but no. The last time I called they said there was no record of my 2 previous calls and online access was never instigated. About 60% of the time I have phoned the call-centre "system is down". Not very encouraging.

aloiseb

Thsi is interesting because I set myself up with a credit card back in October. I had no plans to use it (I wanted to clear another card debt at 0%) + I'm sure I set up a direct debit using their form in the branch, for the minimum payment.
I had a statement in mid-November but didn't send a payment because I assumed my (non-Abbey) bank would be doing it.
Next thing I hear is this week - when I really haven't got a lot to spare, cash-wise....:
1) Statement for December payment,including late fee for November payment. I phoned my bank and they had no record of my instructing them to pay Abbey at all. (Having read the above, I bet they lost the form when I applied.)
2) "Polite" letter from credit collection agency demanding immediate payment for November !! I rang them at once + paid over the phone, but it was obvious there would have been no nonsense if I hadn't been able to........they would have been talking bailiffs.
I am not impressed. Direct debit has now (I hope ) been set up and Abbey were kind enough to refund the late fee of £12 (because it was a misunderstanding, and "as it's Christmas!".....nice!) but I will definitely be checking up on them.....

Stephen_Leak

As it had been a month since I received my new 5% supermarket cashback card, I was concerned about not receiving the first statement for it and rang up Abbey. I was advised that there had been a delay with the statements and that mine had just been sent. I was also put through to register for internet banking. (I also have to say that, despite some comments on here about Abbey's customer service, the young lady and man I spoke to respectively were both excellent.) My statement was on the doormat when I got home. Unfortunately, I am still waiting for either of my internet banking letters, but this is not "mission critical" for me.

PS. I also note the comments about DD's. Indeed, I felt the same way. However, a couple of c*ck ups on my part with payments, one leading to a penalty charge, made me realise that I was not as in control as I thought I was. So I set up DD's for my cards. Paradoxically, by devolving responsibility to the bank, I am now in total control. If they c*ck up the DD, they can't charge me.

Spark

Without direct debit, you really need to be disciplined and check your accounts regularly, and pay as soon as you see the payment due amount and date.
All my bills are paid straight away after receipt of bill or after checking online accounts. You need to do that when you don't have DD.
I didn't know that people who don't bank with Abbey couldn't get online access. I wouldn't even consider using the card in those circumstances, especially with what we know about how slow Abbey is about sending you anything.

Moggles_2

Originally Posted by Spark
I didn't know that people who don't bank with Abbey couldn't get online access.

You can view monthly statements and pay online via the Abbey site - in theory anyway.

Unfortunately, it can take weeks to obtain the necessary security codes which Abbey sends out separately by post.

Spark

I do bank with Abbey and my CC online account is up and running, but really if I wasn't banking with Abbey and couldn't get to set up an online account with an Abbey CC, I wouldn't even consider having one. I would have thought that everyone could get online access once they got the card and all the security number and passcodes you need for it.

Originally posted by dc
IF you don't bank with Abbey then unfortunatey you have to rely on paper statements until their creaking system lets you have online access. Neither seems to be available at mo.

It seems though for the ones who don't bank with Abbey,they can't go online.