Braclays Bank - for a bank they do offer quite a good service (Barclays Bank)

Member Name: chrisc92

Product:	Barclays Bank
Date:	12/07/09 (64 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very little - potentially better deals on loans etc

Disadvantages: Savings rates are poor, telephone banking is in India

I knew nothing about banks really until I was at college and I decided to try a part-time job at a well known motor/cycle high street chain.

A friend from college had only recently started working at the store and he persuaded me to apply, so I got the job, but the important bit was a bank account, which again he helped with as he was already with Barclays.

I have been with Barclays since 1985, and I certainly don't remember having such nonsense as 2 types of ID just to open a bank account - for those that engage in dodgy dealings can produce such things without any trouble at all, which just leaves the ones that are their genuine everyday customers like you or I. So, basically, it's a crap system.

The bank was founded some 300 years ago by John Freame and his partner Thomas Gould working in Lombard Street, London. The name Barclay was associated with the bank in 1736 when John Freame's daughter married James Barclay who in so doing was made a partner. It became known as the Quaker Bank because of the family tradition of the foundation families and was subsequently names Barclay and Company.

It amalgamated in 1918 with London, Provincial and South Western bank to become one of the leading 5 banks in the UK and by 1926 had some 1837 outlets.

It acquired Martins Bank in 1969 and acquired the The Woolwich in 2000. Today it is one of the UKs leading Sales Finance institutes due to its factoring service - providing a debt collection service for its business sales invoicing customers. Not only has it become one of the top 5 uk banks, but it has a presence all over the world including the controversial ownership of Barclays De Zoete Wedd, which during the South African Apartheid led to demostrations and a blanket resistance across all universities and polytechnics within the uk.

Now that I have been with them for over 20 years I have to admit, that although there have been a number of times that I wanted to swap, in comparison to HSBC and Natwest to me they are by far the best one to use. My 1st wife had been a HSBC customer and I converted her because for some unknown reason she was being charged interest despite her account being in credit - yes it was 20 years ago, but I saw no reason to pay, and she hasn't had to since.

I used to find banking a chore especially as the branches were in the middle of town and needed a special trip to do any banking transactions, now with the internet my use of the local branches has dropped almost to nil, although I do occassionally pay cheques etc in.

I am extremely opposed to telephone banking, firstly because the call centre is in India and they seem to have a set agenda - trying to sell you extra products when you have a query that you need sorting, and who's paying - yes you've guessed it, the customer! Still, they do seem a little friendlier than some of the branch staff.

I've had internet access for a number of years and had never found any issues until recently - I had a passcode and my own passwords and I could do most of the things I wanted to do like pay bills or transfer money, but then they produced the pinSentry, one of the most annoying pieces of technology I've ever had. I had no choice but to use it so that I could change payees or set ups standing orders etc, as despite having what I consider sufficient security they have to make things easier to hack into!

Yes, to me the new pinSentry is a major stepback, as from what I can see it produces an 8 digit number after you've entered your pin number into the machine - suggesting the pin is stored on the card. Well, if you've ever heard of people putting fake screens over the machines to read your card details you'll understand my extreme concerns to this "secure" piece of technology.

I have looked at other bank websites and I do find Barclays the easiest to use - again it's down to personal choice.

Like most banks these days Barclays offers various savings accounts, current accounts - either with or without additional features, mortgages, loand and a vast array of other financial products. Personal experience of savings with Barclays is not good, and currently the rate on my current account is higher than the e-Savings account - I'd like to know the logic of that one!

Of the top 5 banks I certainly would recommend Barclays, but they are all of a much ness and I certainly wouldn't rate Barclays at 5*. I think 3* is probably about right overall when considering the full range of services provided.

Summary: A bank that may have it's finger in too many pies