Abdabz

Me and Mrs Abdabz (to be) are going to buy a house and move out of my batchelor pad of four years.
So along with getting valuations on my house and starting to view others I decided to call my existing mortgage supplier Natwest.
My mission was to arrange a sit down meeting with a mortgage advisor in the branch on Sat with me and Mrs Abdabz (to be)...
I Yell the Natwest St Helens as the adverts say I can call my branch directly... I cant. It's an 0845 number to their call centre in Wavertree (ar ey la).
Chris answers the phone and I tell him I want to speak to my branch and why... He asks me for my sort code and account number and then ID's me asking a multitude of questions
I then get transferred to Aisha who is elsewhere in the call centre and had the wrong info for me and had to ask for my sort code and account number to ID me AGAIN
She tells me that I can discuss my mortgage over the phone and I explain again that I want to make an appointment in my branch...
She agrees to put me through to the branch and after 5 mins on hold angry sounding Kath takes my call...
Angry Kath asks me for my account number and what I want . I tell her and she tells me that the branch cant help me and that I need to ring another 0845 number and follow the process over the phone

So whilst it's only a couple of hundred grand they're losing out on this time it just goes to show that crap customer service can be a costly business

Karl 227

Can't you just walk into your branch and make the appointment?

Leslie

I would be tempted to write to the managing director of NatWest and tell them exactly why you are going to take your business elswhere! No excuse for that kind of treatment.

Les

Abdabz

No I work in a place far far away from civilsation (Warrington)...Full time 5 days a week...

Leslie... I will write... It's a poor effort that there is no-one in a natwest branch the size of St Helens' who can offer mortgage advice on any day of the week

Longjing

You mean it's not like they say in the adverts?

I think we tend to bear grudges about this sort of thing too. I had a Natwest account nearly 20 years ago now... they retained my cashcard once with dubious justification and I've disliked them ever since!

Karl 227

How about Mrs Abdabz (to be), can she not nip in and make the appointment?

Don't get me wrong, Screamin', I agree that the treatment you've experienced is bloody awfull, but I used to walk into the banks and stuff when I still lived in the UK, nowadays everything seems to be done online or via call centres which seems a shame

Infractfree

If it makes you feel any better I had over 15 grand of student debt written off by Natwest many moons ago. Maybe it won't but it fills me with a smug sense of satisfaction when I walk past a branch and remember the smug face of my account manager saying

"you can't just ignore the debt- it won't go away, when will you pay back my money"

lol- his money.

Answer: NEVER

Abdabz

No Karl, she also works full time even further away from civilisation (Liverpool)

I wouldnt ring if there was "another way " I even used to work in the Natwest call centre 11 years ago when I was starting out in the working world... I much prefer face to face dealings, hence trying to arrange an appointment...

Karl 227

Just a thought, but can't you phone these people
NatWest Bank
PO Box 2
Bolton
BL1 1BN
0870-240 3388

And ask for the number of the St Helens branch?

Unless of course that's the call centre number, I just found it on google?

Abdabz

I rang the 0845 number which goes to the same place as the 0870 number, but cheers for your help.
I did speak to Angry Kath at the branch and the branch cant help me, hence the closing part of my rant.

Sonic'

Abs

That Nat West branch is sunny Tellins is one of the biggest banks in the town

If I was you I would look around Warrington if you are anywhere near the Town Centre during lunch time and make an appointment or two with different lenders, then send the Nat West branch manager your appointments

Sonic'

Karl

Trust me, there are a *lot* of angry Kath's in St Helens

stilover

There is another way .....................


Move your mortgage and close down any accounts you have with them.

Abdabz

I think it's because, in Tellins, only 1.1% of homes are privately owned and 98.9% are owned by The Housing Assosciation, or by whordes of angry Kath's...
Cheers Ste but I'm at the ar$e end of Warrington (Fearnhead) so rather than venture into the town, we've made an appt at the Yorkshire bank on Sat... We only chose them because they make good tea bags

Sonic'

Noooooo, don't go to the Yorkshire Bank

I been with them for 36 years, they have stupid charges for just about everything, they dont open on saturdays, except to only pay in money, they are probably one of the worst banks to actually try and get through to the branch, they don't return calls etc etc

The Telephone banking is good, and so is the online banking, but everything else is rubbish about them

Im amazed they will see you on Saturday

My mortgage isn't with them, its with a very small building society based in Staffordshire, not the best, not the biggest, but always been great with me, and when I moved back to Tellins they did everything over the phone, and couldnt help me enough

Steve

Karl 227

Ahh, right, sorry, I had three african black belgian thugs wandering around the company carpark at the time and I was a little distracted whilst I read your post

I'd make it my bloody mission to get to the branch if that were the case and a. see the manager and have a jolly good meeting, and b. have angry Kath fired or boiled in oil or both

Reffro

Rubbish I can call my preferred YB Branch using a local number not 0845/0870 and get through to the manager everytime, without any bother.

But I don't often have to call my sister when she's at work.............

Karl 227

Abdabz, I have a cunning plan

Switch your affairs to the Yorkshire Bank on condition that you get Reffro's sisters telephone number, job done

Hanley

That's what I like to see, someone who sits down and analyses all their options carefully when judging which bank or building society to use.

Sonic'

I hope she isnt manager of the Stafford Branch

Hanley

Why? Have you already made a 'deposit' there?

Sonic'

LOL no

Stafford branch are always permanently engaged, even the telephone banking call centre can never get through to them, and they never return calls

They don't even know their own banking practises either

They have closed down two branches that I was a member of, and when I asked could I transfer back to the st helens branch they said erm yes but we will have to close your account down here, and you will need to pay off your overdraft, and then open a brand new account in St Helens as a brand new customer

So no loyalty bonus for being with them for 36 years then

When I said that was ridiculous, and that there is no incentive, and that I may as well just go and get an account elsewhere, they said sorry its our rules

They also then told me that I don't actually need a particular branch for anything, as it can all be done over the phone these days, and I can go into any YB Branch but they would have to fax my ID etc onto Stafford Branch, and phone them before they could help

Now this isn't too bad, but then if there Telephone Banking system cannot get through to the branch, how the hell is another branch going to get through to them, all have phones on divert to VM and too busy playing solitaire no doubt