Aral Balkan

My bank can't accept wire transfers into my account and I can't connect to the Internet with my 3G card although I'm forced to pay a monthly fee for it. Neither business is bothered by the fact that they are failing me in their core business functions. And I'm having a hell of a time trying to find alternatives. What is up with the state of customer service and consumer's rights in these two industries these days?

The Little Bank That Couldn't

My bank is Abbey National Business. But not for long. But before you being to think that I'm hard to please, let me tell you: I don't have high expectations of banks in the UK. I learned very quickly that they are still operating in the Dark Ages.

When I came over to the UK four years ago, I had a horrible time trying to find a bank that would accept me as a customer. Me: "Hi, I just arrived here! Here, take my money, earn interest from it, I don't want an overdraft or anything." Them: "Have you lived at the same address in the UK for over three years?" Me: "Umm, I just arrived here!" Them: "Uh, sorry, can't help you!" As difficult as it was to get up and running with a bank account you'd think people never move to the UK from elsewhere. (I finally got a bank account from the Royal Bank of Scotland but they initially wouldn't give me even a debit card for the account for the first three months -- this, despite the healthy balance in my account!)

In the four years since, I've learned to downgrade my expectations. I bank with Co-operative Bank for my personal stuff because they're an ethical bank (they don't invest in or lend money to corporations that pollute the environment or to regimes with low human rights scores, etc.) but their online banking interface is a violation of human rights in and of itself. You like to use the Back button? Get ready to be logged out of the system every time you use it.

So, basically, I don't expect much from banks here and thus I have very low expectations from my business bank. What I do expect is for them to be able to accept money into my bank account when someone pays me and for that money to be available to me if I want to make a payment. This is their core business function as far as I'm concerned. And you'd be surprised (or not, if you bank with them) how often they've gotten it wrong.

Initially, when I first set up my business, they gave me the wrong wire transfer information THREE TIMES! I got different information each time I called and my client was unable to transfer payment for close to two months. Finally, they gave me the right information and things were well for a while until they apparently changed some of the details and never bothered to tell anyone. I found out again when a wire transfer payment failed. I had to call them up and get the latest information and had to wait, again, for the payment to go through. Since that time (about a year or so ago, I believe) things were fine on the wire transfer front until recently when a payment I was waiting for didn't come through. Here we go again! This is ridiculous!

And that's not even mentioning the debacle with accepting foreign cheques. You see, you can't submit foreign cheques (for example ones from the US in US Dollars) using one of their regular envelopes. You need to ask for a "Foreign Cheque Acceptance Form". So, when one of my clients from the US paid me earlier this year by cheque, I called Abbey National to ask for these forms so I could submit the payment into my account. It took SIX PHONE CALLS over a period of over TWO MONTHS for them to get me the forms.

When I google "Abbey National Business", I don't get a single review of their service. Not one complaint. Either I'm having the worst luck with them ever or there is a real need for a review/watchdog site on banks. In fact, I can't seem to find any reviews about banks written by consumers and it's making it very difficult to seek alternatives. All the various review sites (most of which appear to be commercial entities that are either affiliated with some of the banks or make a commission or something) have comparisons of the fees that the various banks charge. What about the service? I'm really not asking for much. In fact, here's all I need:

• An online interface that is easy to use and useful. I need to view statements easily and download them in industry-standard formats (not the ridiculous comma-delimited one that doesn't conform to any standard whatsoever that Abbey National provides.)
• Give me the information I need to run my business. i.e., the correct BIC/IBAN/SWIFT numbers, etc. and inform me if these change so I don't learn about it when something breaks.
• When somebody pays me, make it easy for me to deposit those funds in my account. This goes for wire transfers and foreign payments.
• Make it easy for me to make payments with my account.

I was enticed by Abbey National Business's "no fee" banking offer when I first moved to the UK and started up my limited company four years ago. In retrospect, that "no fee" offer has cost me a lot of time, money, and aggravation. I just want a business bank that works. I don't really care about their fees -- I care about their customer service. Any advice?

Vodafone to Aral: You know that 3G datacard...

So Vodafone told me exactly where I could put my 3G datacard when I told them it wouldn't fit into my new MacBook Pro. I'm on a contract with them and my current contract has about three months left on it. The PCMCIA 3G datacard that I have doesn't work with my MacBook Pro since it doesn't have a PCMCIA slot (it has the newer ExpressCard slot). As I understand it, the newer Dells don't have a PCMCIA slot either. The problem is not that Vodafone doesn't have an ExpressCard or USB version of their 3G datacard available today (they are reportedly working on a USB version currently). The problem is that they don't feel the need to address the problem at all.

When I called Vodafone (their business department, as my phone and datacard are registered through the business) to ask them what my options were, I was expecting them to either offer to send me a PCMCIA to USB adapter like Elan Systems' u132 (which apparently doesn't work that well) or to offer to suspend my monthly fee for the datacard until they had a solution for me. Instead, they told me that they couldn't do anything and I just had to keep paying them the monthly fee even though I couldn't use the service. The guy I spoke to even went so far as to comment in his best are-you-sure-you've-plugged-it-in voice that I shouldn't have bought a MacBook Pro knowing that their 3G card didn't work with it. In other words: Not our problem. (This is made worse by the fact that new customers can happily purchase a Vodafone 3G card from Vodafone's website without ever being warned that it won't work on a MacBook Pro or a newer Dell. This information just isn't visible on their site.)

Now I pay Vodafone a good couple of hundred pounds (read: an even better couple of hundred dollars) every month on my cell phone bill. I would love nothing more than to deprive them of this but the mobile field isn't really full of options. Vodafone has the best network coverage in the UK and their Passport plan makes sense when traveling. I'd love to switch to T-Mobile's "web 'n' walk" plan (unlimited 3G) but it specifically disallows using your mobile phone as modem for your computer. And their 3G card is PCMCIA. Grrr!

Why isn't there a 3G mobile plan with unlimited data where I can use my phone as a modem? I don't want to carry a 3G data card. I already have one. It's called my mobile phone!

So, I guess I have no choice but to bend over and take it from Vodafone. I'll pay them to the end of my contract and by that time they'll have brought out the USB datacard so I'll probably keep on paying them. But oh, how I hate them. That's the sort of customer they have in me. So the MOMENT something better comes along, I will be gone.

What a great business model! Rest In Peace "The customer is always right", you lovely novel, naive concept, you. Adios "customer loyalty". Welcome to the world of 18-month contracts because that's the only mechanism some businesses have of keeping you chained to their services.

A silver lining?

On the bright side, though, the more these companies screw people, the more opportunity there is for future companies to compete on customer service and usability -- in other words, the entire user/customer experience. I hope we begin to see the Web 2.0-ification of traditional businesses and their processes (Business 2.0?). The traditional business world has a lot to learn from the online world in this regard. The online business sphere is such an agile, competitive, low-barrier space that it has gone through many evolutionary generations in its short history, culminating today in what we call Web 2.0. There is much potential for bringing the best of what works in Web 2.0 back to the traditional off-line business world.

Now I shall go and flog myself for perpetuating this whole Two-Point-Oh business! :)

Comments

• Reminds me of a conversation I had with Orange a few weeks back.... After being a customer for more than 5 years I decided to take it into my own hands to get a phone upgrade, so go off and buy a new handset on t'interweb, mainly so I could look at doing some Flash Lite development and none of the phones on Orange seemed suitable. New phone supports 3G (my previous contract phone was 2.5G) so go look on the Orange website and it explains that getting 3G is just like adding an additional data bundle to your contract... On the way to work I pop into the Orange shop to see about doing this... "Sure, no problem, but you will need a 3G sim card - just phone this number". Off I go... I give the number a bell and I'm told they wouldn't give me a 3G sim unless I get one of their handsets... Um... aside from the fact it contridicted what the bloke in the shop said, they don't have a 3G handset that met my needs.... You would think it would be easier to buy something from a company these days.... added to the fact that Orange is making a loss on the 3G handsets anyway.... Grumble! So, yes, I have a nice new phone, stuck on 2.5G, but the Flash Lite stuff is pretty!

  by Chris Korhonen on 2006-10-01 15:42:16

• I hear that! Avoid HSBC for banking, we've been with them for 3 years and it's gone from reasonable to dire in that time. They've removed any decision making from branches, closed a load of branches and your first port of call is always a telephone system manned 90% of the time by offshore call centres. However, I'm not sure any one bank will be 100% better 100% of the time, there will always be the unlucky ones that have bad experiences with any bank. Ever wish us as a developer community could create our own "OS" style business services? You have an idea/widget/problem fix for our mobile phone service send it on in! As a business we don't look for the cheapest deal for banking, hosting, comms etc, we just want something that is reliable ALL of the time, its a real shame whoever you chose to go with its a game of russian roulette.

  by DannyT on 2006-10-01 15:48:59

• [quote]they don’t invest in or lend money to corporations that pollute the environment or to regimes with low human rights scores, etc[/quote] WOW! I've never considered this before picking a bank. How did you find this information? I'm sure the banker will smile and lie to me if I ask. Why don't you, not pay Vodafone, and file a complaint with the FCC uk version? Maybe vodafone will get the message and get back to honoring their role as service provider, not contract ball breaker. When my internet was down for a day and off/on for a week, my cable provider did not charge me for a month, and I respect that bigtime, so probably will be a customer for life, or until they turn Vodafinish on me. Good luck Aral

  by LEE on 2006-10-01 17:46:57

• I'm posting this for Claus Wahlers. It seems that the latest update of Bad Behavior (one of the two anti-spam scripts on the site) is getting ahead of itself with its blacklist. A friend of mine emailed earlier to say that his email address at Yahoo's US campus was blackliststed too. Gotta look into that... oh I hate spammers! Claus's comment:

  Years ago, i realized what banks really are. Criminals of the worst kind. Of the worst kind because their actions seem to be backed by government and law. All of them, without exception. When i came to Brazil, i thought it would get better, because here i earn more than the average population and i was at least hoping to get treated better because of that. It got worse actually, because now i'm a potential money launderer. Sigh. In order for them to accept a wire transfer to my account, i have to go there and bring them a contract with the company i'm working for, a copy of the invoice, and in case i don't have a contract, a faxed confirmation that the money is for me, for services i provided for that company. Last time i brought a contract which obviously was written in english, they looked at it and asked if i could bring a translated and certified copy. WTF!? I'm always asking the employee in charge why i have to deliver those kind of infos, but to date didn't get any sufficient answer. "It just is like that" they usually say. And: "We work with the governments tax department who require this kind of info". WHAT!?!? The bank passes my account data to the government?? It feels a bit like 1984 to me. Also, some wires seem to take up to one month to arrive. A former client once asked his bank why it takes so long and they told him that my bank likes to "play" with the money a bit before putting it on my account, and they require the sender to complain so that the money is finally put on the account. Criminal bastards.

  by aral on 2006-10-01 22:13:05

• Ciao is a user generated review site covering pretty much everything you could imagine, they even have a section for banks and a few hits for 3G cards The thing with banks is that people have a weird narcasistic loyalty to them, if you corner someone about it the service they get from their bank they'll moan and moan but if you press harder about changing they'll suck air through their teeth and mutter something about too much hassle. If it bugs you so much, shop around. I've had similarly agonising poor customer service from a very large British utilities company. My solution was going to the press (guardians consumer column link below) which prompted a response and a cheque for all the electricity and gas we'd ever paid for at the property. At the time I assumed the matter had been resolve but about a month ago I had a random phone call about it and just last week another gas bill came through for 500 odd quid. Read the full story at the guardian As for the 3G card maybe you'll just have to use wires like the rest of us ;-)

  by Jolyon on 2006-10-02 08:54:57

• [quote]they don’t invest in or lend money to corporations that pollute the environment or to regimes with low human rights scores, etc[/quote] I Bank with first direct. A 24/7 hour phone line where you get to chat to people from Scotland in their delectable accents! They're a subsidiary of HSBC ;( I challenged them on there ethical policy after threatening to leave to 'smile.co.uk' (a subsidiary of Co-operative Bank). Within 2 days I got a raft of A4 documents and brochures outlining there ethical policy. It was far more detailed that the basic manifesto at Co-operative bank. (http://www.smile.co.uk/images/pdf/ethical_policy.pdf) It was enough to keep me as a customer as it did outline all the policies of Co-operative. I guess it's more a case of deciding if they put their money where their mouth is. As great as it is for banks to create these guidelines if you read between the lines it still gives them quite a bit of scope to deal in funds/trades you may disagree with or be surprised about... i.e the quote above isn't entirely accurate re: pollution - the statement actually says. '.. will not invest in businesses whose CORE activity contributes to: global climate change....' I might be wrong in this but I wonder if they invest in airline companies? Or a number of other companies that still pollute but it's not as their CORE business... same goes with Arms Trade. The policy still entitles them to deal with theses trades. Hey I've got nothing against air travel but if you're concerned about the environment you've got to think about it. The banks will not give you specifics about companies they invest in as it's confidential so you just have to trust them. If you want a clean conscience don’t have a bank account, keep your money in a crack in the floor boards - Ooo but then you're in trouble... Anyone reading this, one thing you can do is ask your bank for their ethical policy. They should send it to you for free. The more people that do - the more they'll realize it's an important issue... p;)

  by paddy on 2006-10-02 17:40:42

• This sunday at the crack of dawn (11:52am) I awoke with a hangover, and slight bout of the shakes. This was in no way improved by opening a letter from Vodafone with a bill for £701 (£672 of which was an early termination fee), for a phone I had a courier of theirs pickup within only a few days of having. After 3 phone calls it's waived and the bill is back down to £28. This is probably something they try on alot, and if the odd person/company pays it's worth their while, nevermind the stress they cause

  by Pete on 2006-10-02 23:32:06

• Alliance and Leicesters business banking is also horrendous. It seems that whoever you speak to there, they just don't have a clue. Things they should provide they just don't, but then they'll send you mail and phone you up about getting a cash withdrawn machine installed in your flat. We in a era where very few people have pride in their work, which leads to really bad customer service.

  by Tink on 2006-10-03 12:11:33

• I've had the same experience with Abbey National Business Banking regarding the Foreign Cheque Acceptance Forms. I've called for them numerous times - they'll accept the request, enter it into their system and then either won't send anything out at all, or will send the wrong forms (Multiple times). I found the only way to get these is to visit a branch and ask for them. I wish they'd scrap the requirement for those forms altogether. Also - had a similar experience when arriving in the UK - banks looking for 3 years residency before being willing to open an account - I mean WTF. At the moment I'm trying to get Abbey to change my address - they sent me a 4 page form, which I must complete and present in a branch with photo id before they'll change the address - I mean WTF!

  by Alexander McCabe on 2006-10-04 12:14:39

• Hi Aral, I have a business bank account with Abbey too, and really hate their online service. I also have 2 american cheques to pay in but I did get the form relatively easily... It'd be a real nightmare to change business banks, but if you hear about a good one let me know. As for my personal account, I have a Nationwide current account, it's great. Their online service is easy to use and efficient. And they're still an actual building society which means ultimately that they're a non-profit making organisation and the profits go back to benefitting the members (ie people with accounts). Most of the other building societies (Abbey, Halifax, Woolwich etc) have privatised and turned into banks with shareholders etc. If I go over my overdraft limit I don't get a £30 fine, instead I get a letter telling me that they've automatically extended my overdraft for me! At no charge! Well it makes me happy at least.... :)

  by Seb on 2006-10-04 15:48:18

• The banks are all the same.. I had the same problems when moving to the UK, it was a typical case of 'computer says no'. I didn't want an overdraft either, just deposit some money. They ran off scared. In the end Natwest could be pursuaded to take my money and pay me 0.1% interest in any balance... what a joke. I'm now also with HSBC for my business but as I am a sole trader I only use a normal current account for all business transactions - it's free. I have had no problems with US wires or foreign checks. But that doesn't mean I would recommend them. Online banking? I have yet so see a system that's easy to use. It's worse in Germany though, there you have to have a TAN for each transaction (it's like a PIN but you need a unique one for every transfer you make). More secure it may be but horrendously time consuming. Customer service in the UK? There's no such thing. And don't even get me started on phone providers... will they ever get it? I doubt it. Finally - for all things money - check out www.moneysavingexpert.com. It saved me bags of cash. the best deal: 1899.com for phone calls. At 1p a minute to the US (including US cells) it's even cheaper than Skype to landlines. Stefan

  by Stefan Richter on 2006-10-05 13:59:36

• Hey everyone: Just a general note to say "thank you" for sharing your experiences and tips. Much appreciated! :)

  by aral on 2006-10-06 12:01:21

• [...] I recently involved myself in the sharing of frustrations about shocking customer service from banks and telecoms providers in the UK with Aral. [...]

  by Danny-T.co.uk » Blog Archive » Shout about GOOD service on 2006-10-06 13:39:34

• We've had the same problem with Abbey Business. After multiple calls, emails, and finally a letter to their complaints address, they sent us a SINGLE Foreign Cheque Acceptance form (I'd made it clear I had multiple US$ cheques) together with THIRTY envelopes for returning this form!!! I think they must be operating out of a bedsit above a hairdresser somewhere, with a correspondingly tiny stationery cupboard. Otherwise, why are they so grudging about supplying Foreign Cheque Acceptance forms? Considering they make £10 per cheque, you'd think they'd be distributing them like confetti. The real killer with Abbey Business is that the branches only handle retail banking. For business accounts, you might as well be with a different institution (they can't even access your account details). (Though I note that one of the previous posters at least managed to pick up a Foreign Cheque form: no such luck here). Anyway, because of the problems with cheques I'm arranging for one of our customers to do a direct transfer to our Abbey Business account--or at least I was, until I found this page when looking for information on their international transfer codes. Seems like international transfers are not such a good idea with Abbey Business, either. We're currently opening a Nationwide business account to handle our foreign receipts; at least Nationwide's branch staff deal directly with business customers, and they're cheaper at cashing foreigh cheques too (£6.50). The one positive thing about Abbey Business is that the free service goes further; if you write lots of cheques then it could be worth having an account with them solely for that purpose. Definitely not recommended for anything beyond the basics.

  by Huw Thomas on 2006-10-09 14:28:24

• [...] I recently wrote about how I am very unhappy with Vodafone’s service. Basically, I have a 3G data card with them that doesn’t work with my new MacBook Pro and they’ve made it clear that they couldn’t care leess. They wouldn’t, for example, freeze my account until they have a card that does work with my computer. Instead, they want me to keep paying them for the data card until my contract runs out in February. In my last post, I felt helpless about it. Today, I don’t. [...]

  by Sticking it to Vodafone at Aral Balkan on 2006-10-10 11:36:20

• [...] In my previous posts, I was complaining about how I lost the ability to use my Vodafone 3G data card when I bought a MacBook Pro as Apple has abandoned the PCMCIA slot in the new MacBook Pros in favor of the newer ExpressCard slot and how Vodafone could care less. This is a problem that affects more than just Mac users, as from what I hear, Dell is doing the same thing with its new laptops. Yesterday, I posted that I found a new service by T-Mobile that allows you to use your mobile phone as a modem with an attractive data plan and that I ordered a T-Mobile Vario II (a rebranded HTC TyTN/Hermes). Well, this morning, I had a knock on the door at around 8.30am and my new phone and connection were handed to me by a friendly Royal Mail driver. [...]

  by Finally, a mobile data solution for the UK for Mac users at Aral Balkan on 2006-10-11 15:58:48

• [...] I was talking recently with Andrew Shorten, who deals with most of the Flex stuff at Adobe’s UK branch, and he mentioned that he’d read my blog posts about the trouble I had using Vodafone’s 3G service with my new MacBook Pro and my switch to T-Mobile and their mobile solution. Andrew also has a new Mac and is a Vodafone 3G customer and he apparently came up with a way to use the SIM card from the 3G card in his 3G mobile phone (he’s using a Nokia N70). [...]

  by Another mobile solution for new Macs (UK) at Aral Balkan on 2006-10-12 10:27:06

• Hi Aral, I have Abbey National. I was with them when I lived in the UK, and as I have some UK clients, it suits me to keep the account for them to make easy payments to. I live in New Zealand. I have had no end of hassles operating my account from here. 1. They don't post things out to me direct. Everything goes firstly from their mail centre to their international account centre, by second class mail. Then it gets put inside a hand-addressed envelope and posted at the slow-boat-to-China rate. But whenever I ring up to ask for anything, they always tell me it will take '3 to 5 working days'. It always takes about 6 weeks. 2. Last year, I tried to arrange internet banking. The pass codes (they send 2 separate ones) took 6 weeks to arrive. They didn't work. Apparently, you have to use them within a couple of weeks of them being sent out ... 3. Change of address. We moved within NZ last November. It is now this October. The change of address only got actioned last week. This was because they kept giving us the wrong advice about what proof of identity they needed from us. 4. Change of address part 2. There are no local Abbey branches in NZ. I've lost count of the number of times, having explained our situation in slow, plain English, the person in the call centre has advised me to go into my local branch. 5. Change of address part 3. I did happen to be in London in June and went into a branch. A complete waste of 1.5 hours. 6. Payments are irregular, both in amount and time. I've had the account frozen twice because they think the payments are 'unusual'. I then had to explain all the transactions to a rather poorly-educated person who seemed to have trouble understanding plain English. 7. I had my Visa debit card blocked when I tried to use it here. After a 40 min call, during which I got put on 'hold' and then cut off, they told me that their authorisations department had given it the all clear. I still can't use it here ... and no-one can explain why. Argh. Rob

  by Rob on 2006-10-15 08:47:28

• Huw, Rob, sorry to hear about your experiences. I am still looking to move away from Abbey myself -- it's just such a hassle. I hope this post will serve as a warning so potential future customers at least can steer clear.

  by aral on 2006-10-16 15:50:09

• http://www.officinado.com/new-reviews/Abbey-National-Business-Banking.html - Negative reviews of Abbey Business Banking

  by Mark on 2006-11-20 17:37:31

• Vodafone are a nightmare. I recall a headline recently where they had over estimated how many customers would sign up for Vodafone Live, and suffered record losses. I have a friend is a diplomat who gets paid a whopping salary and lives in a highly preferential area. Recently, she went to a Vodafone shop to apply for a contract and was REFUSED. Apparently her gold Visa wasnt enough for a credit check! So, because she wasn't on the voters roll they refused her point blank! So haha Vodafone, I sincerely hope your overpriced company goes bust. Love Kevin

  by Kevin on 2006-12-05 19:30:40

• V o d a f o n e S U C K S

  by Bill on 2006-12-05 19:33:09

• [...] Recently, I very publicly moved from Vodafone to using a Windows Mobile phone on T-Mobile because it was the only mobile internet solution available to me in the UK as a Mac user. Here’s an update on how the past few months have been with T-Mobile and my Windows Mobile Phone (the MDA). [...]

  by Missing the sync at Aral Balkan on 2006-12-19 13:33:16

• [...] If you’re wandering what this is about, see this topic, starting with the Abbey National Business and Vodafone: Two companies that just don’t “get it” and Sticking it to Vodafone articles. [...]

  by And finally, goodbye Vodafone! at Aral Balkan on 2007-01-30 16:14:03

• [...] Yes, I’m still with Abbey National Business. For the backstory on my hassles with them, see Abbey National Business and Vodafone: Two companies that just don’t “get it” and The last straw: Moving away from Abbey National Business Banking. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to move away because of the hassle it involves. Today, they reminded me why I hate them so much yet again, and why I should make the extra effort to change banks. [...]

  by Abbey National Business: How I hate thee at Aral Balkan on 2007-02-01 09:53:55

• i tryed to open a buisness account with abbey over 2 months ago first i called 2 arrange a meeting with a reprisentative of abby and asked if i had to bring the secretrary and they said "no" i then get there and the same rep asks where the secretary of the buisness was i then have to arrange another opointment.after getting the signiture needed by the secretary i handed the forms in the rep checked them through and ok them to be sent off.I then phone them after 2 weeks hadnt had a reply and they said that they hadnt had a picture of my passport so i would have to go back in the shop and send it from there fax machine so i do so. 1 week later i had i call them and they claim not to have reseved it so i had to go back in the abby and resend it this time i asked the rep to keep a photocopy of the passport again 1 week later i call them and the hadnt got so i ring the branch and ask them to resend it the do so and they finally get.1 week later 1 call and they say everythings fine the account will open and to ring if we havnt been in touch within a week. so 1 week later and no reply i call them and the say they need me so sighn something else that the rep should of spotted on the first day. so the send the form back to re do and i sighn them but then i find out i dont have anywere to send them as there is no address or envelope to send it to so again another phone call that costs me money and i get the address. I then ask for compensation for just the phone calls and if i could talk to the manager and replyed with send a letter this has caused much inconvenience and time and money to sort this and the account is still not open.

  by zak on 2007-02-12 16:22:11

• I am glad to hear I am not the only person having problems with Abbey Business Banking. I set up my account with them in November 06. It is now Feb 07 and I am still not able to access my account online. I have sent in my security details three times and each time, they claim they have not arrived (despite being faxed from an Abbey Branch as well as posted). When I tried to complain about this, I was told to phone Royal Mail as it was obviously their fault. Abbey have failed to respond to any of my requests and I was told by customer services that they will read a complaint and then decide whether it is worthy of response!! Clearly, my complaint is not worthy as they have ignored it (or perhaps that is "lost in the post" too). Free business banking? Not with the vast number of telephone calls that I am having to make to try to sort out their incompetence... If you are reading this because you are thinking of banking with Abbey business, I would thoroughly recommend you NOT to. I don't know which business banks are better, but I will switch as soon as I have found that out.

  by Ed Moreton on 2007-02-19 13:52:38

• Just to add a positive, I've been very happy with Abbey Business Banking. Absolutely no compalints at all. Previously banked with NatWest (who were REALLY useless) and Barclays.

  by Martin on 2007-02-23 16:13:17

• [...] Original post by unknown and software by Elliott Back [...]

  by Tax Form » Comment on Abbey National Business and Vodafone: Two companies … on 2007-02-23 20:15:28

• well i am having trouble with my abbey i ring them i cant understand what there saying the phone goes dead i ring again then i ask can company im buying something from in usa take the payment from my abbey visa debit account they say yes , i send the info then get a email saying its been declined i knew it this has happended before , it causes problems , then i do alot of international transfers to america and everyone has been unsucssesfull first it takes ages at the branch i go to cause they have never done one then its sent i ask how long will it take to get there the reply i duno then i get a call from the usa not got there then i ring up they say it can take 14 days then i ring up on the 15th day its still cant find it i tell them we are talking thousands and im worried thewy dont have a tracking device like in usa and they get angrey they dont understand we dont have all this info like they do , i waite and am then told it takes two weeks to come back to my account , so i cant send for another two weeks and have to chase up all the time phone call after call , then its back in my account i do it again and we start with the nightmares again infact this time i got mad wasnt rude but to the point and they put the phone down on me , i hate it and to anyone who haS A INTERNATIONAL BUSSINESS DONT USE THEM THEY END UP COSTING YOU FORTUNES

  by kelly on 2007-04-07 01:35:16

• Abbey should be shot. They do not even let their staff know what is happening. I am disabled and had to wait 45 days for a card so had no access to my account at all due to their upgrade that confused addresses. However, they did not tell me this, I found this out after days and days of very stressful conversations with people who did not have a clue what they were doing. Today the bank is now having problems with visa links. The money comes out of your account at the ATM but you don't get the money. Try and pay at a till for goods and your card gets declined. The only reason I found out was because I got through to the fraud department in the end but it took me 3hrs and 45 minutes of phone calls to get that far. They do not care, simple as. Problem is that those at the top are not interested in customer service. I pity the call centres in the UK as they try their best and the overseas one's just get told to read from a script so they get more abuse than they deserve but are very frustrating to deal with. I hate Abbey and when I get a week where my legs work again I shall get all the stuff together necessary to change banks.

  by Diana Sholl on 2007-09-20 16:10:20

• now if you google abbey business, this page comes up 3rd. http://www.google.com/search?q=abbey+business sweet! I am having enormous problems with them also: http://www.jonstarbuck.co.uk/archives/82

  by Jon on 2008-01-10 16:03:46

• Hi, I would just like to tell everyone to avoid abbey national like the plague they are the most cold hearted, nasty, steaing bunch of theives i have ever encounterd. As a student you would think that a bank would give some leeway to ocharges, however this is not the case. Over the last five years i have been charged a total of over£5000 in charges by abbey national, sometime for as little as going 2p over my limit. Luckily for me i manged to pay off my overdraft and move away from Abbey. However they did everything possible to prevent me from closing my account, using every excuse from you have to wait two months to we dont have enough staff today to you must have more paperwork, statement of the a last 3 months, everything! Then i wake upu yesterday and find that they have charged the account which i never use 44p taking me 42p into the red and then charged me another £25 fine. When i spoke to them they practically laughed at me and said i would be responsible for any charges and that i was my fault! When i demanded to be given an appointment to go in and see them she told me they could see me for another week and a half. It was only after ten minutes of me ranking she managed to realise she actually had an free appointment tommorow morning! NEVER EVER, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH ABBEY NATIONAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ALREADY HAVE ONE GOOD LUCK!

  by Tim Tottman on 2007-11-06 13:21:48

• hi there i been robbet by abbey about 7500 pounds they thieves dont trust abbey think twice i sued them and waiting for court order ABBEY ROBBES COUSTOMERS THEY DESERVE THE DEATH PENALTY

  by eki on 2008-05-24 00:20:06

• [...] seems to be posting about their banking experiences, so I thought I would post one of [...]

  by HSBC and Useful Error Messaging | SourceBottle on 2008-12-25 20:29:24