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refluxer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160118#Comment_82160118

I've only visited a Hanley branch twice (to make a withdrawal from a branch-based account and ultimately close it) and, on each occasion, I've found their staff to be friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

They're a fairly small, local building society with only 5 branches and still deal with a lot of admin via the post unfortunately, including sending out online banking details and passwords. To be fair though, even bigger players like Santander/Cahoot do the same and if it wasn't for the fact that the Royal Mail postal service is essentially broken (for letters at least) and post still took a day or two to arrive like it used to, then having to wait to access online banking with these banks and building societies wouldn't take so long.

As an existing customer, I was able to fund the base rate tracker account via debit card at the time of application - was this not an option for you as a new customer ?

According to moneyfacts, it's an online-only account with no post or phone options so that's the reason they can't accept funding over the phone.

Sherbertfizz

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160153#Comment_82160153

Thanks for sharing your experience. Feeling a bit bad now 😶 I did fund at the time of application with the minimum, but wanted to add more by debit card as there had been a comment on here about bank transfers taking a while to appear in the account. It's just so frustrating when agents haven't been properly trained and are making it up as they go along. Ended well though, did get a call back and my welcome pack/user ID have been sent by email. They are apparently making to the shift to do this for all new customers, so I'm hoping my making a fuss might have nudged them into updating their processes! Friends again 😊

BestSeagull

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160118#Comment_82160118

I called on Saturday morning to clarify a few points and the person I spoke to couldn't have sounded more disinterested or have been less helpful. She was trying to wrap up the call while I was taking a breath to ask the next question. When I called back yesterday to try to get the answers I was looking for, the person who answered was much more helpful. Perhaps try again and hope for better customer service this time.

Kim_13

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82160211#Comment_82160211

Just had this experience myself, phoning to chase my application. They need ID apparently (which surely means someone needs to send me a message over their portal.) She was just directing me to their website (and given you can’t even apply for an online account logged in on there, that isn’t going to work.) She eventually agreed I could send it via the app messaging with the reference number, but when I tried that you can’t add image files so I’ve sent a message on there asking them to provide me with the means to submit the ID.

Same DL as they had when I opened the Branch Saver in 2023, which is still open. I think I was perhaps right last year that declining to fund by debit card (which I would usually use to fund) is more likely to trigger a check, but I didn’t have a choice as I didn’t have the £1,000 on Friday. Had I waited until I actually got the £1,000 today, the account might well have been gone.