Put Your Tin Hat On … I Need a Rant!

oooh, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about today.  I hadn’t quite reached a state of panic, but I was wondering.  I needn’t have worried, because it seems there are plenty of people who would like to give me something to write about.

Such as my bank. I won’t name them, but it recently took over the bank I was very happy with. It starts with “S”.  And ends in “antander”.  And they are rubbish.  With a capital C.

I haven’t been impressed with much about them to be honest.  I wasn’t impressed when they changed my account number and sort code and didn’t think to tell me.  I wasn’t much impressed when they migrated my account, along with all the other A&L accounts, over to their own systems and decided that, because I had a joint account with them, my personal account was sufficiently linked with my husband’s personal account as to deserve to have his contact numbers placed on my account.  I wasn’t impressed when they called my husband’s desk at his office to discuss my account.  I was spectacularly unimpressed when they suggested that this was my fault and then, realising it was their fault, apologised in as unapologetic tone as possible, promised me £30 and failed to pay up.

When someone kindly used my card online 4 days before Christmas, they were brilliant at spotting it, declining the transaction, cancelling my card and ordering a new one. Except for that last bit.  They forgot to order a new card.  They suggested I went to my local branch and drew out cash.  Except that they don’t have a branch in my town, I’d just had a C-Section and wasn’t allowed to drive.  Six weeks later, they finally sent me a new card.  The following day, another card arrived, along with four PINs.

Last week, I banked several cheques with the Post Office, as I often do.  The PO seem to do this service well, and they are the reason I can choose to have an account with a bank who don’t have a local branch.  I’m still waiting for the cheques to clear.  Despite having banked them mid-week last week, my bank didn’t apply them to my account until Tuesday.  And I’m still waiting.  And they don’t think it’s a problem.

And so I have spent sometime researching alternatives, and have, this afternoon, applied for an account with another bank.  There’s only so much one can put up with, don’t you know.