Abbey... What a bunch of gummy bears..

mrcow

bargains83 wrote:

I can probably understand the need to make appointments to open accounts but to have to come into branch and sit around for an hour just to add facilities to your account is a bit of a joke.

The reason they do this is so that they can try and sell you more products that you don't want/need whilst you're there. You're a captive audience!

RichyRich

What happened to Abbey getting rid of all the in-branch telephones? Last I heard, when I was working there nearly a year ago now (scary!) they were getting shut because customers should be able to contact them in the way they chose.

Also, when I worked there, if someone rang up and asked for a list of charges I would sit down and type them a letter myself. It would print off in the Admin room and be posted that night. I can understand why some advisors would be wary of doing that because you get targets for how long you're off the phone, but I still managed to do it and have one of the lowest off-the-phone ratios in the building.

I have to agree though NatWest are brilliant; I've never looked back. The problem with Abbey is the lack of information circulated to colleagues; I've known five people react very differently to similar situations simply because policy changed that often.

Rich

$17mma

I Agree I have recently changed from Abbey to Woolwich because they are crap and their call centres and service is rubbish.

Have been with them for over 15yrs and have finally had enough and have moved all accounts. Only one I cant wait to get rid of is the CC which I am working on.

The call centres are a joke. And so much so that they have lost a lot of customers.

My friend who works in one of the few UK call centres for Abbey said that they have now made a strategic decision to move the call centres back to the UK!! because customers are fleeing like rats from a sinking ship..

moneyspendingexpert_3

Lloyds were Ok until they joined TSB. We used to get a Christmas card personally from the manager, and they would ring up to tell us if we were about to go overdrawn, to see if we wanted to put any money ion to cover it...The good old days.
Im with Abbey now and have been reading a lot of what Dchurch24 has to say. I have an appointment next Monday at Abbey branch to discuss my charges.

Lady_E

I have an current account with the Abbey , another in my maiden name at Nat West and we have a joint account at First Direct. If you want good service ,excellent internet banking and a good grasp of the situation , go for First Direct. If you want face to face banking and maybe a little telephone banking then Nat West is yer bank . If you just like the colour of the Abbey card and cheque book .......
The OP who wrote about different staff giving out different answers for the same query has hit the nail on the head , and this is even within the branch let alone call centre. I think people have to try things out before they make a decision about which is the best bank . There may be people out there who rate Abbey , who knows .

dchurch24

Abbey just don't learn - maybe it was something to do with the Spanish buy out, I don't know, but they seem to want to steal Barclays crown for being the worst bank to deal with.

Peachy_2

David - this is incorrect - I have been told Abbey have THREE centre - but the population of the India one is double the combined staff of the UK based two (Teeside and Glasgow) - so in fact you're MORE likely to get through to India. I have simply put down the phone when I hear the indian accent - the script reading and the constant need they have to read back to you what you've said and etcetc drives me mad too. Then again, I have a 7 page complaint about Abbey and all the rubbish stuff its done over the past 2 years so I am hoping they come up with something good for (like refunding shed loads of charges) - otherwise I am off - although their in-credit interest rate has been recommended, but I don't yet have that privilege!

Peachy

daddy_tondo

I was with Abbey for nearly 10 years until I threw in the towel and went to smile earlier this year. I can't blame Indian call centres, any time I had to deal with their UK call centres I found them just as incapable of solving a problem. I found I had some sort of bar on my account - so my card wasn't automatically renewed. I was assured this was a mistake and had been corrected; then I didn't get a new cheque book so I complained again "we've really sorted it out this time".... guess what? They hadn't - next time the card was due for replacement I didn't get one. Still if you do get a card, you can get a nice photo put on it.... so it's not all bad.

before_hollywood

abbey are completely useless- they won't handle bill payments over the counter, every time i call i get india, they transferred my isa onto my multifunction card (so i can only withdraw isa funds from abbey machines).... the list goes on