The One Account - not the product it was (The One Account)

Member Name: maria14

Product:	The One Account
Date:	05/01/09 (357 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good way of keeping control of your finances, while allowing for flexibility

Disadvantages: Royal Bank of Scotland failure to pass on interest rates

Had you asked me a year ago what I thought of the One Account, I would not have hesitated to say it was an excellent product.

In addition to the whole concept of an 'offset' account suiting us financially, the customer service provided by the One Account was excellent.

The phone line was always promptly answered and very helpful. The monthly statements were really informative, providing full details of money going in and out, as well as a graph to show the rate at which your liabilities were reducing or increasing and whether you were on target.

I have always banked with the Royal Bank of Scotland and as far as I was concerned, I was continuing to do so.

Unfortunately, in the last year this level of service has not been maintained. When other mortgage rates were going down, ours went up. Most recently, when there were two significant drops in interest, these were not initially passed on. No explanation was given, other than a recorded message on the phone line saying that the matter was being considered and they would get back to us when they had any news.

Over a month went by, before a campaign by disgruntled customers through websites and the press led to the rate cuts being in part passed on.

During all this it was clear that RBS were treating One Account customers differently from its other customers. It had gone to the press saying the rate cut would be passed on in full to its customers, and yet it was making an exception of the One Account.

Its explanation for this difference in treatment was that the One Account used to be owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Company and therefore, even though they had taken it over, it was not strictly part of their company.

As I have already stated, they did eventually bow to public pressure and passed on part of the rate decrease. But it was only after a hard fought campaign.

These are difficult times and no one really knows what is in the future. I think many of us would have understood that the offset mortgage is perhaps a higher risk product. This was not a tracker mortgage after all. However for the RBS to have dealt with the matter in such a suruptitious way as just lost them alot of good will.

I never considered that I held any brand loyalties, but I realise now that I was 'wedded' to RBS. I had been with them a lond time and trusted them.

This is sadly no longer the case.

Summary: Actions of RBS have led to them losing the goodwill of customers