Chaotic Branch Opening Times

2

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  • 20SmthngSver
    20SmthngSver Posts: 512 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    Just a quick search on Lloyds website shows that there are branches in (very) central London which are open 9am to 4pm on Saturdays, and 37 branches in total with Saturday openings.

    I'm not sure which ones you're looking at but Charing Cross, Regent Street, TCR, Holborn, St. Paul's, Cheapside, Threadneedle Street, Leadenhall Street an several others around Fitzrovia and Marlybone areas are not open Saturday, and they are very central. The only two closest to these are Paddington and Victoria St in Westminster. Any further in and none are open.


    Pretty much every bank in the City of London and City Westminster, and outside of this two areas, are not open on Saturdays.
  • Emily_Joy
    Emily_Joy Posts: 1,230 Forumite
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    20SmthngSver wrote: »
    I'm not sure which ones you're looking at...
    I've just went to "branch finder" on their website typed in "London" in the town field and ticked "Saturday opening".
  • 20SmthngSver
    20SmthngSver Posts: 512 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    I've just went to "branch finder" on their website typed in "London" in the town field and ticked "Saturday opening".

    But as I've shown, the central ones you're referring to are not actually open. Neither are any of the Santander ones.

    I looked at TSB's and although they don't have that many compared to Lloyd's and Santander, they do have some open on a Saturday and some have one day a week early opening as early as 8am and late closure as late as 7pm or 8pm, which is actually beneficial.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    To collect foreign currency I've ordered in advance (from my foreign currency account with the bank in question).


    It sounds like you need to call before making a journey to confirm that they are open.
  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,830 Forumite
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    Robin9 wrote: »
    Perhaps a small branch hit by a combination of illness and holidays?

    This is going to be the correct answer.

    Most bank branches are run on skeleton staff. Small branches doubly so. One person goes off work with the sh*ts or slips and breaks their face or whatever and the branch can't open because it's unsafe. Or there's no supervisor available for the above reasons so they can't open.

    Is this OP's fault? No. Is it the bank's fault? Absolutely, they've cut costs to this extent - all banks have, because branch banking is expensive and unprofitable.. Does that meaningfully change the situation that OP should be going to a bigger branch for their currency if that one consistently doesn't meet their needs? Not at all. Although they'd probably get a £50 goodwill gesture if they complained.
    urs sinserly,
    ~~joosy jeezus~~
  • Takmon
    Takmon Posts: 1,738 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    To collect foreign currency I've ordered in advance (from my foreign currency account with the bank in question).

    That sounds very inconvenient. Don't they provide you with a card that you can use to withdraw the cash while your abroad? (assuming you are going abroad to use the money) or do they charge fees if you do this?.
  • Emily_Joy
    Emily_Joy Posts: 1,230 Forumite
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    Takmon wrote: »
    That sounds very inconvenient. Don't they provide you with a card that you can use to withdraw the cash while your abroad? (assuming you are going abroad to use the money) or do they charge fees if you do this?.
    If you know a UK based bank which offers such a debit card for Swiss Francs/Swedish Krona/Chinese Yuan, please let me know.
  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,830 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    If you know a UK based bank which offers such a debit card for Swiss Francs/Swedish Krona/Chinese Yuan, please let me know.

    It's not a bank, but TransferWise borderless account comes with a debit MasterCard and supports all three currencies including CNY.

    https://transferwise.com/gb/travel-money/chinese-yuan-card
    urs sinserly,
    ~~joosy jeezus~~
  • Takmon
    Takmon Posts: 1,738 Forumite
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    Emily_Joy wrote: »
    If you know a UK based bank which offers such a debit card for Swiss Francs/Swedish Krona/Chinese Yuan, please let me know.

    I was just interested because it seems a right pain.

    I'm assuming that as part of some business you regularly receive payments in foreign currencies into this account/s and then have a need to withdraw it. I have no experience of these types of accounts so have no idea what is on offer.

    If you wanted to simply travel abroad and withdraw cash in the local currency from GBP with no fees and almost perfect exchange rate then there are plenty of accounts for that but your needs seem more complex.
  • meer53
    meer53 Posts: 10,217 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    A lot of branches which are open on Saturdays won't have any counter service. If something important is required, always best to call ahead to check.
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