Banks Suck.

[Lozzie Stardust]

I have been fob'd off so much ! >_<!! All because I'm A Young Adult.

I'm off to Uni soon and I wanted to sort out a student account, I wanting to be more responsible, decided instead of letting Mum & Dad sort it all out I'll start to do things for myself. Big Mistake.

Right, 1st of all I called them on Tuesday, and got a answer machine, it took to 9 to talk to a person then 1 then 7, then I asked the person on the other end about student loans, not his dept, he'll patch me through (fair ), patched through to enquiries they couldn't help and told me I need to see a customer adviser to fill out a form, so I book an appointment, meet her on Fri 3pm, She was as dippy as hell, computer systems are down (typical), so fill out 2 manual forms sorted, explain I need 2 accounts, so wanna open up my student account separately, so I can transfer money and budget. OK she says, she books it all off in her big book, I then ask her if she needs my proof of uni, she goes "ohhh yeerrrrr". goes of to photocopy it, she does, I ask her where my copy is she OH left in copier, goes off on one, I ask about student insurance for dorms, she goes not my dept (she's customer adviser), but the guy is on the phone sorting out system crash, I'll give u a call on monday, so will he, guess what.... monday no call so I call her this morning, (on sat got a letter from student insurance, so called them, lovely no prob) nope sorry busy bloke takes my call i got a "she'll call you back later" & the bloke took a message, didn't get back so I called her AGAIN. she then goes "oohh all sorted ya account has been upgraded", now this was exactly what I didn't want, and told her this, oh we've got a problem she says & passes me off to the branch manager, Who says he'll set up a new R21 account for me, I need to come down & open it. I was fuming by this point and asked him why he can't correct what was done wrong, he said its internal affairs and said he can't do it, so I buckled, get my dad to call up and they call me back and its all sorted.

WHY could they it for him, not me?
:mad:

[Ste150]

*hugs*

I think it's name and shame time!

Any chance of changing banks?

[Lozzie Stardust]

Royal bank of scotland, and no, the student loan company need to send it through my account number ect.

[Ste150]

Well once its all sorted, said some "official" complaints their way, as well as strongly worded letters. May not acomplish much, but i recon it'll make you feel better.
Or Something

[Youlikeyams?]

It's bloody sexist - that's what it is.
I've heard stories of places - not necessarily banks - that treat men better than women. And it's just silly.

There are some garages which are a bit corrupt - they wont show women half the things wrong with their car, or will offer to fix things which aren't broken, because they think women don't know half of what they know, and will show men ALL the faults because they think 'he's a man, he'll know more. Yet, I know some women who have apprenticeships in mechanics and engineering - proof that women can know as much.


Just bloody stupid.

[Oooh Yeah]

i always go for the petty things, which bank is open on a saturday.. which one has the most staff as tellers not people sitting on their asses at the desks.. i went with abbey in the end, been very happy with them, only been unhappy once, when the air conditioning was down and there was a big queue.

abbey have nice adverts too, i might go to nationwide, their adverts boast some might good shizzle, like english call centres

[Aladdin Sane]

I think this happens to all students - I have had problems with my bank lately, and most of my other friends going to university have been having problems too.

My battle with my bank:

At the start of the summer I got a letter from Natwest (who I've had an account with for 2-3 years) offering to upgrade the current account I had with them to a student account since I'm going to university. The prospect of a free railcard seemed promising, so I filled out the form that they had sent me. I sent that off and waited for them to get back to me. Things go okay for a while - I sent off the application for my railcard and get that all fine. My next statement came, and it showed that the account has been upgraded to the student and graduate service. I thought things were all going ok. Then I go down to my branch to pick up my new card and chequebook (I was told I had to do this; although I don't know why they couldn't send these in the post like they normally do). I asked if they had my stuff ready for me to pick up, and the man there starts saying that there's nothing on their computers saying I should have a new card or chequebook (when I should), and in the end he tells me to go away and wait another week. I'm a little annoyed by now, but I decide to do what he said. So a week later I still haven't got anything, I went back down to the branch and they still had nothing, but the woman I spoke to that time was a bit more helpful and she said she would ask the manager and phone me back later that day. Then, later that day, no phone call. So I went down to the branch again the next day and see the same woman and ask her about it, and this time she actually did something and got me to fill out an application for a new card and to sign for a new chequebook. Couple of days later my chequebook arrives in the post. Yay success at last, I think to myself. A few days after that and I got a letter through the post saying that I wasn't eligible for an upgraded card (I already had a debit card from my old account, but I needed a new one that could gaurantee cheques). So I phoned them up and the person on the phone goes and checks why this happened. Turns out that their records said that I was still under 18, hence why my card had never arrived, and why I had all these problems to begin with. After their records had been updated, I finally get my card through in the post.

At the end of this I was amazed that their records could be so glaringly innacurate to say that I was still only eligible for an under 18s account. If it wasn't for the fact that I needed to keep the account open since thats where my student loan is getting paid into, I would have cancelled it ages ago and found somewhere better instead.

EDIT: In reference to what Yams said, yes sometimes places are sexist, but its also as much to do with age as it is sex. I've noticed that I get fobbed off a hell of a lot more than my parents do.

[Pilk Man]

I opened and manage my account with Lloyds fine.

Never had any problems with them AND the building is always lovely and cool as they have ownage air-conditioning.

[Frenchie]

Screw the bank

[monkrocker]

I can only guess you were unfortunate and happened to stumble across a dappy employee on a bad day.

I have two accounts with different banks. HSBC was a doddle and were fine in getting things up and running. I also have a Nationwide account which I'm now using as my main account (better interest rates: FlexAccount, with eSavings - 5% !!) and they were incredibly helpful in getting things going and even when I had to sort some stuff out on the phone, it was all done with no hassle. Oh, and both places actually treated me as they would any other customer, be it 18 or 45, even HSBC when I opened my account with them when I was 16. Rock on.

Changing bank accounts is always a hassle but the earlier the better - if you "stick it out" you could end up with more problems but too many strings to cut free. You can always contact the SLC and change your account details for the loan, if that's the problem.

[T3-X]

My bank is rather lazy. I often run out of money for a few days because I have to go to school, and they close before I can get there. This makes me have to desposit my cheque in the ATM, and takes 3-5 days to clear (BUSINESS days. I have been cashless for weeks at a time) and I am biting myself for not going to a bank that clears your cheques overnight.

[Woloch]

commerce bank FTW.

open 24 hours seven days a week, with free checking, free ATMs and free online banking.

Anyone who has acces to a branch, I recommend them highly.

[Smartie]

I cannot recommend enough Smile.
Not only are they ethical, but you can use any co-op branches or the Post Office to pay in money, my interest is at something like 4.75% on my current account.

If you apply to change to them from another bank, they transfer ALL direct debit, standing orders for you on your behalf, and they are the most friendliest customer service people I have ever had cause to talk to on the phone.

Back to the actual topic - when you talk to call centre monkeys (or even the ones in the branches) you simply need to have your facts correct and an air of authority.

Age and gender mean nothing if you going in there and are prepared, persitant and firm.
Generally I find the more direct I am the better the result I get (this is as simple as changing "I think my account is incorrect, can you help me" to "My account is incorrect and you are responsible for the error. (Then describe the error/s). I would like you to resolve this problem for me now, please")
Also, if you can manage it, throw in some big words! it seriously throws them off. Do not be afraid to ask to speak to a supervisor - that's what they get paid for. Also, refuse to leave until they have taken all action possible to determine why there is a problem with your account. Finally, toss in a comment acount the banking ombudsman/ financial regulator if you think they are fobbing you off.