Impossible to even get a Maestro card! (natwest.co.uk)

Member Name: Superfluous

Product:	natwest.co.uk
Date:	02/09/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice internet banking, easy to set up

Disadvantages: Archaic computer-says-no approach, queues and more queues, hopeless telephone support, and more.

Natwest - at the start at least - fulfilled my needs; I had a dormant Cash ISA account with them which was frozen due to inactivity. I was told that it could not be un-frozen, and instead I would have to create a new one. No problem there; I thought it would be a quick job. However ....

.....it wasn't. They changed the rules since the previous account was opened, and now they require you to have a Natwest Current Account open in order to "attach" the Cash ISA to. The more cynical side of me says that it's a cheap method to bolster the figures and hopefully lull you into using them instead of your current account (which in this case, was with HSBC.)

I allowed this, and sure enough, I now wanted to use the current account more often; the online banking and money transfer abilities were very good, well designed and a pleasure to use. The only trouble is, that pleasure was about to end when I decided I wanted more than the Solo card which was provided as part of the basic current account package; as I travel around Europe a lot, and Maestro is a useful option, I wanted to "upgrade" to a Maestro card. No problem, I thought; I'll walk into my local branch.

Which is what I did, this afternoon in fact; after queueing for 10 minutes to speak to the two customer advisors who were dealing with customers (and watching the queue forming to speak to the cashiers, 2 out of a possible 10 serving) I explained that I would need a Maestro card, and that as I have been - and still am - paying a good amount of money into the account, that should not be a problem. It seems I was wrong. The gentleman informed me that it was "up to the computer" (Little Britain, anyone?) and that he had no say in the decision; he tapped a few buttons and informed me that I had gone overdrawn ONCE in six months (for one day, which I also got charged twice for - once for the fact there weren't funds in the account, as I got my dates wrong, and once more for "going over my agreed limit" - which I find shocking. I got charge £68 for one mishap, which I wasn't happy about, but that's another story.)

For that one mishap, and as I "wasn't constantly putting regular funds in" - which is wrong as I indeed AM, and am no doubt making them a pretty penny in interest - I am not eligble for a Maestro card.

That's right, you read it right - I'm not eligible for a MAESTRO DEBIT CARD. The same ones they give out to students who don't have a penny to their name, and the majority of new account holders. I questioned why I'm not eligible for something that shouldn't even need eligibility, and got no satisfactory reply. In my eyes, I don't see why my hard earned money should be put into a bank which will use it to bolster it's coffers, and completely fail to address the only need I HAVE for the bank, which is the ability to access MY MONEY.

I'm currently shopping around to open an account with another UK Bank, as I feel totally dissatisfied with Natwest. On the surface they look good, but delve deeper and you have unhelpful staff who are just quoting a computer screen and a complete lack of good faith. Even with the credit crunch, I can't understand it as I've not even asked for credit - though they've offered me a credit card which I don't want!

I cannot recommend this bank, and would advise people to look elsewhere.

Summary: I wouldn't recommend. There are far better out there.