Dont think much of the customer service! (Barclays Bank)

Member Name: herbie__53

Product:	Barclays Bank
Date:	29/01/09 (37 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good rate on the ISA, monthly interest paid

Disadvantages: knowledge and helpfulness of staff is poor

I opened my Barclays Tax Haven Isa at the end of March last year. I wanted it open for that tax year (which there was only a few days left of), and the lady I spoke to on the phone said that if I was applying in-branch it would be open immediately, as opposed to applying online. So I went in to our local branch, said that I wanted to open the ISA, and the lady asked me if I had an appointment. Erm, no? The woman on the Barclays phone helpline never said I had to make an appointment. But they said I could wait until a space became free and someone could fit me in, so I waited as I had made the trip into town especially to open this account. The account opening process only took about 15 minutes, but I had to wait more than three weeks for the letter to say that the account had been opened! Needless to say it wasn't opened in time for the end of the tax year like I wanted. I was told I could only pay in by cheque, I couldn't pay the cash in at a branch, so once the account was opened I made my first deposit. It took a while to clear, but got there eventually. I think it was my third cheque deposit, that the bank totally messed up with. I kept looking at my account waiting for the cheque to clear, and thought it was strange that still after two weeks of when I banked it the cheque hadn't cleared. Then I received my cheque back through the post, saying they couldn't use this to pay off my Barclaycard as it didn't have my reference number on it! Erm??? I don't even have a Barclaycard! And I'd now lost two weeks interest because of the banks mistake. So, even though I was told that I couldn't pay cash in, only cheque, I asked if there was any other way I could get money into my ISA. The girl I spoke to said I could transfer direct by BACS, so I gave this a try (and also wondered why nobody had told me I could do this before!). After a few deposits I found a helpline for ISA's so I rang up to see if I could be told the balance on the account. They confirmed that all my payments were reaching the account fine. I made my first withdrawal the other day, over the counter at a branch. They asked to see ID but the withdrawal went smoothly. The account itself is alright but I think their customer service assistants don't give you all the information you need. If they were to improve in this area I think it would be quite a good bank.

Summary: Alright once you figure out whats going on!