Shambolic (Clydesdale Bank)

Member Name: Rod Webb

Product:	Clydesdale Bank
Date:	25/01/08 (131 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap mortgage

Disadvantages: Bureacratic, unprofessional, disorganised, embarrassingly bad.

We were recommended a Clydesdale mortgage by our financial advisor - and on paper it looked like a great deal. But they have been an absolute nightmare to deal with. It took weeks and weeks to get the mortgage approved - with questions ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous following the valuation on our new home. Then, when they'd finally completed their admin (and delayed our move by weeks) and they'd lent us the money to move, they started sending all correspondence to our old address.

I then tried to set up a savings account so that we could take advantage of the offset nature of our mortgage. I got sent some scrappy application forms by email with print so small that it was barely legible when printed. Weeks after sending them back, I received a paying in book, which again, despite having corrected the mistakes on their previous correspondence, was sent to our old address. Luckily, all of our mail is being redirected. That was it, just a paying in book - no letter, no explanation of the services available - nothing.

Tonight I tried to register for internet banking. Eventually, after queuing, the phone was answered with a 'hello' - nothing else, just 'hello'.

I explained what I wanted to do and was told that I couldn't register my savings account, if that's what it is, so that I could transfer my savings to it from my internet savings account elsewhere, because there were no transactions on my account.

We're on our reduced mortgage rate for 2 years but as there are no tie-ins, I'll be checking Clydesdale's competitors every day and moving my mortgage as soon as I can find as good a deal elsewhere. My advice, stay clear. My first impressions have been of a bank that is stuck in the past - I imagine they are still using quills - and totally unable to cope with the demands of modern customers.

Summary: Not worth the savings - I should have stuck with C&G.