New card - Abbey Zero

HamiltonL

not_loaded wrote: »

It’s fascinating to read on MSE of the many newbies who have picked up this card in less than two weeks with a decent credit limit.

Unfortunately I’m an existing ‘valued’ customer with guaranteed acceptance. It’s eight weeks on Monday since I submitted my application.

Well all the 'valued' pre-approver calls I've had have had no problems getting the card. Most normally just have to wait a fortnight or three weeks tops to get the card. Unfortunately a minority of existing (and also new, as this thread has confirmed) have not had such a fast and hassle free experience.

jackieblack

So, you get invited to apply, send off the forms, spend weeks chasing it up, finally get the cards then, today, get a letter detailing all the changes they're making to the terms and conditions!:mad:
These include a fee of £10 if you don't use the card for 6 months - to deter all those people like me who were only intending to use it abroad!

harz99

jackieblack wrote: »

So, you get invited to apply, send off the forms, spend weeks chasing it up, finally get the cards then, today, get a letter detailing all the changes they're making to the terms and conditions!:mad:
These include a fee of £10 if you don't use the card for 6 months - to deter all those people like me who were only intending to use it abroad!

Surely a simple diary (electronic or paper) entry will solve that?

HamiltonL

Doesn't have to be used abroad. Just use it for your weekly shop once every four or five months for example. As of yet there is no minimum spend to make on card to avoid the fee.

Anon

So after waiting 6 weeks I phone up to find out the status of my application, having been asked to go into branch to change my address DESPITE not being a current customer (a two hour tound trip) ... now no record on the system of any application under my "old" or "new" address (despite having been written to about my application asking me to change my address), my options are apparently to leave it, or apply again.

Anon

jackieblack

harz99 wrote: »

Surely a simple diary (electronic or paper) entry will solve that?

Yes, that's what I'll do.

Just irritating that having waited 3 months for the cards, the T&C are changed within 4 weeks of (finally) recieving them!

If we'd known in May what we know now..... wouldn't have bothered.

ldn-100

Anon wrote: »

So after waiting 6 weeks I phone up to find out the status of my application, having been asked to go into branch to change my address DESPITE not being a current customer (a two hour tound trip) ... now no record on the system of any application under my "old" or "new" address (despite having been written to about my application asking me to change my address), my options are apparently to leave it, or apply again.

I got my credit file recently and I see they had been putting various combinations of the wrong address detail into the search system (house number without flat number, house and flat number wrong way round) which is perhaps why I had to do the same as you.

Now I have actually moved house and written to them to let them know they have not updated my address and continue to send statements to the old address. I telephoned to chase up my change of address letter but was told that changes of address can only be done in branch (any other bank, anywhere operate such a system?). When I went in to a branch (not something I relish as Abbey is horrendously understaffed) I had to fill in a form (again antiquated!) and was asked for my passport, which I just laughed at.

YorkshireBoy

ldn-100 wrote: »

...I see they had been putting various combinations of the wrong address detail into the search system (house number without flat number, house and flat number wrong way round)...

If these are all "search type: credit card application" (or similar, ie NOT unrecorded enquiries), then you must ensure they remove them...eventually. Apologies if you already knew this.

...Abbey is horrendously understaffed

I've been into branch today to apply for this product and at it's peak there were 34 people in a queue to see the ONE cashier manning the counter (space for 5 or 6...that's how big the branch is!).

The reason I had time to count them (several times) was they were 15 minutes late in seeing me.

Having said that, the young gentleman who opened my account couldn't have done any more...very professional indeed. Sadly the systems let him down. For example, he rang the underwriters using a number from the branch contact manual and was greeted with the words "welcome to MBNA Europe Bank"!!!!! And how long have Abbey been running their own (Santander Ltd) cards?

ldn-100

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Having said that, the young gentleman who opened my account couldn't have done any more...very professional indeed. Sadly the systems let him down.

This is the sad thing about Abbey. In all my dealings with them I cannot think of a single bad member of branch staff. The personal service from all I have come into contact with has been very professional. However, almost all appeared overworked and/or were prevented from serving me in some way by antiquated or badly planned systems.

ldn-100

I rang the Abbey customer service number today to check if my address had been updated. The operator read my address back to me as "Flat x, LONDON, SEx xxx" i.e. the street and house number - a vital part of the address - were not included. I pointed this out and she said she could not update my change of address. I pointed out this was not a change of address, but a correction of their own mistake, and she said I had to go into a branch to get it done. Are Abbey a joke?