Co-op Bank: Can They Really Be That Bad?

gsmh

I am confused - my experience has been nothing like that. Why are they treating me so much better than other customers?

eskbanker

gsmh said:

I am confused - my experience has been nothing like that. Why are they treating me so much better than other customers?

Surely it's not a massive surprise that hundreds of thousands of customers of any business won't all feel exactly the same way about how interactions are handled?  Practically every time there's a thread on here about any institution there will always be critics and enthusiasts, and there's no particular reason to doubt how genuine either is being....

Section62

gsmh said:

I am confused - my experience has been nothing like that. Why are they treating me so much better than other customers?

Luck.  Or random chance who dealt with you vs who dealt with A N Other's contact with Co-op.

Petriix

gsmh said:

I am confused - my experience has been nothing like that. Why are they treating me so much better than other customers?

You might not see it as negative, but Coop required me to call them three times after opening my new account. Each of those calls meant over 30 minutes on hold.

For comparison I've not had to speak to either Natwest or Santander and I can see my full card details in both these apps as well as viewing my PIN if required. Natwest will let me pay in a cheque with the app.

The issues of poor customer service are secondary. I can't receive poor telephone service if I don't have to call in the first place. 

gsmh

My phone calls were answered in minutes. Absolutely not a problem. Once the account is setup you're not going to need to speak to anyone at the bank.

subjecttocontract

I've had an account with them since at least June 2021 (Everyday Extra Account & Regular Saver) and don't recall ever having to telephone them about anything. Yes just luck I guess !

HillStreetBlues

When shuffling money about it's only the co-op I feel relived when they haven't stopped payment, all the others I don't worry about.

gsmh

HillStreetBlues said:

When shuffling money about it's only the co-op I feel relived when they haven't stopped payment, all the others I don't worry about.

To be fair all banks do this on occasion and the frequency is increasing across the board. I really haven't had an issue in this respect from the Co-operative.

WillPS

gsmh said:

HillStreetBlues said:

When shuffling money about it's only the co-op I feel relived when they haven't stopped payment, all the others I don't worry about.

To be fair all banks do this on occasion and the frequency is increasing across the board. I really haven't had an issue in this respect from the Co-operative.

It's true that all banks do occasionally hold payments to prevent fraud. That said, it's also pretty clear that Co-op Bank do this to a greater extent than most others - possibly drawing equal with Santander.

The worst part of is that uniquely Co-op Bank do not typically immediately inform customers that their payments have been held, all appears to work correctly - the payment does not immediately reach the payee (which again is not unusual with the Co-op Bank), but then time goes by and the payment just doesn't get there. Eventually, sometimes days later the customer is contacted, but it's basically entirely incumbent on the customer to babysit the payment through and chase their bank.

My parents had the above happen recently while trying to buy a car, and they found the whole thing thoroughly embarrassing. They waited 25 mins, it didn't go through, then they had to ring the bank which took another 40 minutes, then they were allowed to resubmit the payment. The advice that the payment had been held up arrived when they eventually got home!

To reiterate - it is only the Co-op Bank who operate in this manner to my knowledge; at least I've not seen other similar reports of anything similar from other banks.

gsmh

When did you last experience such a thing with The Co-operative Bank? Your assertion that "it is only the Co-op Bank who operate in this manner" (sic) is patently untrue. At the risk of going round in circles I suggest you try Triodos. There was a thread on here discussing the issue and Starling was highlighted as one such bank which holds payments too regularly:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6447674/is-there-a-bank-which-doesnt-hold-outgoing-payments-for-review/p1