You will remember that on Saturday I was not very pleased with Abbey National. When I told my brother he predictably replied 'I don't believe it' but wait till I tell him what happened today!
I rang NatWest to try and obtain a closing balance. A perplexed Customer Service person asked why I wanted a closing balance on an active account. Pause...deep breath... 'This account was closed on 9 May because my wife's card was declined.'
"I don't know why it was declined it must have been a random decline because your account is perfectly healthy. She should have presented it again"
"Have you not heard from Abbey that we wish to close the account?"
"No Sir."
Pause... another deep breath, 'Right if you do here from them bloody ignore it I want this account to stay right where it is."
I then rang Abbey to discover that my Customer Service Manager who had asked me to provide her with a closing balance on Monday had gone on two week's holiday! I did speak to someone else who informed me that only two of our direct debits had been switched. I told her to cancel the whole transaction as we were keeping the Natwest account because I couldn't wait for any more cock-ups. She also informed me that it was our responsibility to contact any employers or pension providers even though we had specifically been told that they would do it!
Could anything else go wrong? Well the piece de resistance came when I rang Charnwood Borough Council to get my direct debit for Council Tax reinstated with the NatWest. The official informed me that they had never heard from Abbey and the direct debit to the NatWest still existed!!! As it stands I have actually not physically lost out at all (so far) but the stress levels and the cost in time have been ridiculous and it has all been caused by inefficiency at a crass level.
Do you know I strongly suspect that they will try and charge me for services rendered or overdraft facilities or anything where they can make a buck out of this whole fiasco. Beware folks these people promise everything and deliver nothing.
In the immortal words of Gordon Brown speaking to Tony Blair , 'I will never trust anything you (they) say ever again.'
2 comments:
Well, if they DO try any charges, just tell them to bugger off and you will meet them in the local county court when YOU issue a "small" claim for up to 5k damages. I had to do it and they DID bugger off!!
You cannot believe it but they told me that I owed them 34p in interest accrued on the overdraft that we had never asked for! These High Street Banks are today's organised crime syndicates.
Tks for your interest.
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