Clydesdale Bank > Reviews (14)

I have had a current account and buy-to-let mortgage with the Clydesdale for 15 years. The interest rates on both have always been miserable, but this was made up for by having access to the bank manager for more personalised decisions and service.

It now seems to be very difficult to get any level of personalised service from the Clydesdale. Letters are sent out without a contact phone number or address, and I have to go onto the internet to get the phone number. Contact is via a call centre, often with long waiting times - 15 minutes seems to be about average. They usually can't help, and offers of a call back from e.g. a mortgage advisor don't materialise.

The automated telephonebanking system is awkward to use:
- you need a customer number to access it and as it has no relation to your account details you have to make sure to have the number with you if you need to call the bank. Not handy if you are abroad and something unexpected comes up.
- doing anything other than checking balances or paying money out to accounts you have previously set up requires speaking to a real person, and they are only available at certain times. Depending on what you want to do this will be between 8am and 8pm or 9am and 5pm.
- I once tried to transfer £7000 from my account to another bank via the telephone banking. It appeared to be successful but when I checked my other bank account nothing had happened. It turns out there is a limit on the amount that can be transferred at once (around £3000 I think) but the system doesn't tell you that.
- navigating through the system to the account you want seems to take forever, picking accounts off lists where they read you the full account number each time. Or you can memorise a number to correspond to each account and choose it. I only have two accounts and I find this cumbersome.

Mistakes are commonplace e.g. I asked for a statement of mortgage interest and was sent a copy statement, and charged £5 (twice). They seem to have lost the original documentation for my mortgage and keep miscalculating the payments (they think it ends in 2012 but actually it ends in 2017, that means if I pay what they ask for I'm overpaying but not getting the benefit).

Several years back I was told I had to change one of my accounts to a different account, due to a change in circumstances. I was sent a form to fill in which I couldn't understand, so I called my branch and someone (very kindly) talked me through the form and we filled it in together over the phone. I sent it off, and a week later it was sent back to me with a letter telling me that I had filled it in incorrectly!! I still couldn't understand what to do so I did nothing, expecting that if it was so important someone would get back to me. It has never ever been followed up.

The Clydesdale are currently revamping their computer systems, which seems to be why there has been a sudden flurry of activity relating to my accounts. Statements for my mortgage account are now only coming out annually - worrying, as if there are any mistakes I might not find out for ages. For the first time in years they have also adjusted the interest rate on my mortgage. I don't plan to stick around to find out if the new computer system makes things better or worse.