Bristol and Worst? (Bristol & West)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	Bristol & West
Date:	23/08/00 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Local

Disadvantages: Their administration leaves a lot to be desired

Living in a rural area, we are a bit short of accessible Building Society branches so, when I received a small inheritance a few years ago, B&W was the first one I approached for advice. At the time, their postal account was giving a good rate of interest and I duly invested my nest egg. Twelve months later, I received a call from the local branch, suggesting that I drop in for an "informal discussion" about my finances. The customer services person at the branch, suggested that I invest some of the money from my postal account into a bond which would give a higher rate of interest so accordingly, I transferred some money from one to the other. I heard nothing for some months, until I tried to make a withdrawal from the postal account. By return of post, I received a letter from the postal account saying that my balance was below minimum requirements (this was BEFORE the requested withdrawal) and that unless I sent off a cheque for £3000 within a week my account would be closed. Meanwhile, since my balance had been below minimum level for some months, I would not be receiving the advertised interest rate from the day that it had fallen below minimum requirements. When I wrote and told them that the balance had only fallen below their requirements because I had been advised by their financial advisor to invest in a different B&W account, the reply was "tough".This was despite me having specifically asked at the branch if there was a minimum balance - I was told no, there wasn't, but of course it's my word against theirs. Since I don't have the odd £3000 lying around waiting for such contingencies, my account was closed.
However, it doesn't end there. Some time later, I needed to apply for a mortgage and this time went to another local branch. The branch took so long in making a decision that we came very close to losing the property we were trying to buy.In the end, we were making daily 'phone calls asking what was happeni
ng, each time to be met by a new request such as could they see my bank statements for the last twelve months.Eventually, in desperation, we 'phoned up other building societies - this after B&W had been "considering" our mortgage application for almost 3 months. Of the 6 other Building Societies I 'phoned, 5 gave us a yes decision within 24 hours, the sixth within 1 week.I threatened to take my mortgage to one of them, at which point B&W finally said "yes".
The saga continues - B&W once left a message about my personal account on my fathers ansaphone.They frequently send out letters without stamps.They take ages to address complaints and have a general "so what" attitude. I have always found the local branches to be helpful but would no longer consider using any of their services because of their cavalier attitude.

Summary: