Santander Select

Rollinghome

GeoffTF said:

I have had a 123 Lite Select account for many years. It was originally a 123 account, but I downgraded it to a 123 Lite account when the interest rate fell below what I could get elsewhere. The Select status remained. I pay £2 per month and get an average of £5 cashback on my direct debits each month. My statements show the customer service number as 0330 123 0061, but I have not rang them for about a year. The service was excellent when I got through, but I had to wait about 15 minutes on the last two occasions that I had to ring them. There do not appear to be any other benefits nowadays. They seem to be more interested in selling the Private accounts, which have a higher monthly fee.

Yes, I've got Lite, also down-graded from 123.  I get over £10 minus the £2 fee (mostly from council tax payments) and I first thought they were trying to elbow off us greedy ones to a more expensive account.  

Very strange, and still stranger that the phone number the email gave was out of date.  But the email source looks the same, yoursantander.co.uk, as they've been using for years.  Couldn't wait for a reply on their standard number, so will call them again tomorrow to see what they're offering. Or maybe it's just their little joke.

GeoffTF

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

I have had a 123 Lite Select account for many years. It was originally a 123 account, but I downgraded it to a 123 Lite account when the interest rate fell below what I could get elsewhere. The Select status remained. I pay £2 per month and get an average of £5 cashback on my direct debits each month. My statements show the customer service number as 0330 123 0061, but I have not rang them for about a year. The service was excellent when I got through, but I had to wait about 15 minutes on the last two occasions that I had to ring them. There do not appear to be any other benefits nowadays. They seem to be more interested in selling the Private accounts, which have a higher monthly fee.

Yes, I've got Lite, also down-graded from 123.  I get over £10 minus the £2 fee (mostly from council tax payments) and I first thought they were trying to elbow off us greedy ones to a more expensive account.  

Very strange, and still stranger that the phone number the email gave was out of date.  But the email source looks the same, yoursantander.co.uk, as they've been using for years.  Couldn't wait for a reply on their standard number, so will call them again tomorrow to see what they're offering. Or maybe it's just their little joke.

Does the phone number that I gave get you through to Santander Select?

Rollinghome

GeoffTF said:

Does the phone number that I gave get you through to Santander Select?

Haven't tried it yet.  They're just taking non-automated calls 8 till 6.  Email says "Information correct as at 13 August 2024". But not the phone number. Will try again tomorrow.

Says:

 "Some of the benefits you'll have access to as a Santander Select customer
    UK-based Santander Select telephone team available 24/7
    A free 30-minute session with one of our financial planning managers
    Access to 12,000 branches in 12 countries
    35% discount on Travel Insurance
    Get £150 cashback on a new life insurance policy
    Exclusive Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®. All credit is subject to status and credit checks."

Can't wait.  Especially the free 30 min session with their financial planning manger.

PS. Just tried the number you gave me again, got through this time but was told they were closed and to phone again tomorrow.  So it seems the UK-based Santander Select telephone team available 24/7 can only be used up to 6pm. So that just leaves the privilege of being able to buy insurance from them and being allowed into their branches.

GeoffTF

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

Does the phone number that I gave get you through to Santander Select?

Haven't tried it yet.  They're just taking non-automated calls 8 till 6.  Email says "Information correct as at 13 August 2024". But not the phone number. Will try again tomorrow.tomorrow.

Says:

 "Some of the benefits you'll have access to as a Santander Select customer
    UK-based Santander Select telephone team available 24/7
    A free 30-minute session with one of our financial planning managers
    Access to 12,000 branches in 12 countries
    35% discount on Travel Insurance
    Get £150 cashback on a new life insurance policy
    Exclusive Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®. All credit is subject to status and credit checks."

Can't wait.  Especially the free 30 min session with their financial planning manger.

I thought the Select number was 24/7. I have not tried it out of hours though. The free 30 minute session is a sales opportunity for them. I have a standard Santander Mastercard. I do not want an "I am worth mugging" card.

WillPS

GeoffTF said:
I do not want an "I am worth mugging" card.

Fear not, it's basically the same design:


I'm not convinced that muggers are scoping people out based on their payment cards, either.

Rollinghome

GeoffTF said:

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

Does the phone number that I gave get you through to Santander Select?

Haven't tried it yet.  They're just taking non-automated calls 8 till 6.  Email says "Information correct as at 13 August 2024". But not the phone number. Will try again tomorrow.tomorrow.

Says:

 "Some of the benefits you'll have access to as a Santander Select customer
    UK-based Santander Select telephone team available 24/7
    A free 30-minute session with one of our financial planning managers
    Access to 12,000 branches in 12 countries
    35% discount on Travel Insurance
    Get £150 cashback on a new life insurance policy
    Exclusive Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®. All credit is subject to status and credit checks."

Can't wait.  Especially the free 30 min session with their financial planning manger.

I thought the Select number was 24/7. I have not tried it out of hours though. The free 30 minute session is a sales opportunity for them. I have a standard Santander Mastercard. I do not want an "I am worth mugging" card.

Me neither, fortunately I do the impoverished look very well.  .  It did say 24/7 and UK-based.  Maybe, but didn't sound like it. Very difficult to understand the accent and very poor line.  They don't have a very high opinion of their customers if they expect us to fall for that tosh.

GeoffTF

WillPS said:

GeoffTF said:
I do not want an "I am worth mugging" card.

I'm not convinced that muggers are scoping people out based on their payment cards, either.

That is just part of looking poor. You also drive an old banger and wear cheap well worn clothes. I only get my Santander debit card out in emergencies anyway. I have got an even more down market looking card with a few quid on it that I use for small payments in person.

GeoffTF

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

Does the phone number that I gave get you through to Santander Select?

Haven't tried it yet.  They're just taking non-automated calls 8 till 6.  Email says "Information correct as at 13 August 2024". But not the phone number. Will try again tomorrow.tomorrow.

Says:

 "Some of the benefits you'll have access to as a Santander Select customer
    UK-based Santander Select telephone team available 24/7
    A free 30-minute session with one of our financial planning managers
    Access to 12,000 branches in 12 countries
    35% discount on Travel Insurance
    Get £150 cashback on a new life insurance policy
    Exclusive Santander World Elite™ Mastercard®. All credit is subject to status and credit checks."

Can't wait.  Especially the free 30 min session with their financial planning manger.

I thought the Select number was 24/7. I have not tried it out of hours though. The free 30 minute session is a sales opportunity for them. I have a standard Santander Mastercard. I do not want an "I am worth mugging" card.

Me neither, fortunately I do the impoverished look very well.  .  It did say 24/7 and UK-based.  Maybe, but didn't sound like it. Very difficult to understand the accent and very poor line.  They don't have a very high opinion of their customers if they expect us to fall for that tosh.

They had very clear voices when I rang them, but the last time was about a year ago. They always said "thank you for calling Santander Select". I have often wondered whether they just have a message which comes up with "Santander Select" or "Santander Plebs" and greet you accordingly.

Rollinghome

GeoffTF said:

They had very clear voices when I rang them, but the last time was about a year ago. They always said "thank you for calling Santander Select". I have often wondered whether they just have a message which comes up with "Santander Select" or "Santander Plebs" and greet you accordingly.

Thanks for your help. I gave them a call just now on the number you gave me - though I didn't need to after you enlightened me.  This time a clear line and a helpful lady with a Belfast accent.  She's going to inform the senders that the phone number they're giving is wrong, which will please the RSPCA branch I troubled.  I should have asked her to have the "24/7" bit removed too but forgot.

You might be right that it's not a dedicated number, as she didn't realise that was the one I was using. Seemed no different to the standard numbers with the usual "Press 1 for..." stuff. I assume they dropped the old Select account as no one was mug enough to pay for it.  Still, nice to know we're two of their most valued customers.  Might pawn my boots and put another quid in the account.

GeoffTF

Rollinghome said:

GeoffTF said:

They had very clear voices when I rang them, but the last time was about a year ago. They always said "thank you for calling Santander Select". I have often wondered whether they just have a message which comes up with "Santander Select" or "Santander Plebs" and greet you accordingly.

Thanks for your help. I gave them a call just now on the number you gave me - though I didn't need to after you enlightened me.  This time a clear line and a helpful lady with a Belfast accent.  She's going to inform the senders that the phone number they're giving is wrong, which will please the RSPCA branch I troubled.  I should have asked her to have the "24/7" bit removed too but forgot.

You might be right that it's not a dedicated number, as she didn't realise that was the one I was using. Seemed no different to the standard numbers with the usual "Press 1 for..." stuff. I assume they dropped the old Select account as no one was mug enough to pay for it.  Still, nice to know we're two of their most valued customers.  Might pawn my boots and put another quid in the account.

The customer representatives that I have spoken to on the Select line have all had clear voices and seemed very capable, which is consistent with a dedicated line. If not, they should be able to see whether you have a Select account. I have never paid extra for a Select account. My 123 account was upgraded by Santander without a request from me. That was probably because my average monthly credit was above the stated minimum monthly credit of £5,000. Santander's website suggested that Select status was only available with the 123 account, but I retained it when I downgraded to the 123 Lite. I have more recently been offered a Private account despite not meeting the advertised requirements. There seems to be a lot of elasticity. I expect that they offer you an upgraded account if they see you as a sales prospect.