Barclays. (Barclays Bank)

Member Name: SugarSpun

Product:	Barclays Bank
Date:	16/09/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: In-person they're great

Disadvantages: Call centre chaos, inconvenient internet banking

I got my first Barclays account as a student, and they were wonderful - I can't remember what they bribed me with to join but it was good, and when my loan came in they talked about the best savings account options with me, made sure I had an interest-free overdraft and in general took great care of me.

Things started changing when I became a postgraduate student. Despite being in fulltime education and having less money than as an undergraduate they refused to let me keep my student account and started charging interest on my overdraft - but I was a captive audience by then, not having the money to clear it and close the account. I explained that as a PhD student I would eventually be earning good money and they should probably try to maintain my goodwill to keep my custom. Nothing doing.

Then I got my PhD and a job that involves a lot of travel. I made it a point to let the bank know this so they wouldn't keep flagging my account and putting holds on it to make sure I and not some scammer was booking hotels in various countries. Nothing doing - every time I went anywhere they closed off access to my money. I estimate that I've spent over £200 on phone calls from out of the way parts of the world begging to be allowed to pay for my hotel or dinner. And God forbid you forget that ridiculously inconvenient card reader - no internet banking for you!

The latest outrage is that a fraudulent transaction was made on my account. After a vast number of lectures from various people in telephone banking on how proactive they are regarding account safety, imagine my surprise when - with clear evidence of fraud including an admission from the company concerned - Barclays refused to fix their mistake and instead told me it was my own fault.

The problems are all related to telephone banking; nobody seems to keep records and their primary concern is not getting in trouble rather than customer service. I'm giving them one star for in-person care - if you go to the bank a lot then I'm sure they're fine. If you rely on internet/telephone banking then save your blood pressure and go elsewhere.

Summary: Only if you only do banking in person.