I`m blue!!!! Thanks a lot for everyone`s help, very very much appreciated!
I`m blue!!!! Thanks a lot for everyone`s help, very very much appreciated!
Member since:24.06.2003
Reviews:20
Members who trust:18
>>>INTRO<<< Recently I was sat there at home on a Friday night, penniless, all my friends having gone out, doing their Friday night thing and I realised that I never had any money. Seriously I get paid weekly on a Saturday and by midweek it had all gone, you know girly shopping sprees, eating out, just breathing seemed to cost me a hell of a lot. Then it struck me, I needed my wage paying directly into a bank account. Just so that it wasn’t quite as accessible, rattling around in my purse screaming “SPEND ME, SPEND ME” at the top of its voice. So I started looking around various banks, and decided on The Halifax. Don’t worry I will reveal all in a moment.
>>>MY ACCOUNT<<< I chose The Halifax because primarily because of the good interest rates (1.76% on my cardcash account, but bear in mind I am not 18, if you are you can get a new current account which offers a huge 4% interest if you pay £1000 or more each month into the account) and the promise of superior online banking, which not all banks offer, especially to young people. I decided to go into my local branch and get an application form, which I filled in and took back within a couple of days, along with the required ID to open an account.
I had no trouble opening the account; I went into the branch and stood at the reception desk, waiting behind two fellow customers. The place looked clean and tidy, but the first thing I noticed was that the queues in the place were enormous, stretching back to the door, quite off putting for potential bankers I felt!! When I got served a young looking girl, she did the basic administration and asked me to sign a form, which I did and when I looked up she had disappeared. I stood there twiddling my thumbs before she returned laughing after about ten minutes. I thought she had been to sort my account out, but no, it seems she had been somewhere for a giggle with her work mates about something. They obviously valued new customers then?!! Nope I was quite disheartened by this and was already late for work!
Still everything seemed fine until about 5 days later when the card and literature for the account arrived. I opened it all excited, and then I realised it; the impolite woman at the reception desk had opened me the wrong account!!! I was fuming; maybe she should have concentrated on me a bit more instead of catching up on the gossip with her friend in the back room! Obviously incapable as well as rude! (I thought she was a bit dumb when she accused me of stealing the pen I used to sign a form and then found it on the floor) but this was ridiculous. I had asked for a cardcash and she’d opened me an easycash, which had no interest on account balances and no debit card, which I had specifically asked for! Needless to say I went back and had a right grumble, they quickly corrected their mistake in about 5 minutes but made no apology at all, I went out thinking that the staff were very rude and their customer service was quite frankly appalling. They have however been slightly more helpful recently. Since then I have received my cardcash card and my pin code and am happy with the services it provides>
• Solo debit card • 24 hour access to your money at home and abroad • Use of virtually every cash machine in the UK with no Halifax or Bank of Scotland charge • Cash withdrawals by ATM of up to £300 a day. Withdrawals of over £300 can be made at any branch counter • Access to your account through the internet, branches and cash machines. Or for customers with a touch tone phone, an automated telephonebanking service on 08457 20 30 40 • If you're aged 16 or 17, you only need £10 to open an account and we'll pay you a special rate of interest • If you're over 18, you can open a Cardcash account with just £50
I have also tried The Halifax online banking facility, the site is easy to navigate and very well organised and you can use it for a variety of things. Online you can print statements showing your last 60 transactions, pay bills, transfer money to other Halifax accounts and organisations, set up standing orders or change them and get a lot of information on other services provided at The Halifax. The registration process does however take a long time; the confidential access code that they sent me took 16 days to arrive. I am very impressed with this facility, though so far I haven’t used it to its full extent. To be honest I avoid dealings with the staff if at all possible, and use the machine in branch instead to pay in cash and link machines to withdraw. The queue to be served is pretty much always enormous, due to not enough staff at the counters I fear. Their first mistake, in opening me the wrong account has also put me off, as well as the fact that they didn’t so much as apologise or explain themselves at all. The impression that the administrative skills of the staff must be pretty bad has stayed with me, as has the off hand manner they took up with me, still screams bad customer service, I’m afraid.
All in all I am pleased with my choice; I get a good interest rate and have a bank account with a really good online banking facility, which is why I opened the account at The Halifax. However I am disappointed with the staff, who I feel do not match up to the jolly characters in the advert (bless Howard with those glasses and his little crew!) they are generally quite unhelpful and tend to rush you. Oh and I forgot you can forget please and thank you if they are busy, they apparently don’t have time for these menial greetings! Other financial institutions do offer better customer service, I have an ISA with the Bradford and Bingley and they always have a little chat and a laugh with me, about everything such happy souls in contrast!!! It doesn’t bother me too much as I have mentioned, but they could do with sorting it out all the same! I would recommend the bank if you think you can avoid contact with these misogynistic people they call staff, but if you have a lot of complication attached to your banking then you can either endure these people or go elsewhere! Thanks
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good op. i also have the same account, and by the way there is no interest for over-18s. =(
mr_brown_eye 06.10.2003 20:01
I sacked the halifax as my main bank about a year ago, went to yorkshire who were worse, now i am with HSBC and royal bank of scotland, and RBOS are fantastic. take care xxx
atlantis140 16.09.2003 11:55
I would just like to comment on your opinion.
I work for the Halifax in a Customer Service position and would like to say that we always try our best to provide excellent service and if we did we do not delibrately go out of our way to upset our customers. If you still have discontent with the service then please do complain to the branch manager or to our complaints team as we do not like to see our customers unhappy.
Advantages: Efficient online service, friendly and helpful staff on phone and in branches, good interest rates Disadvantages: Automated phone service a bit of a pain, some services not available over bank counter
chinnyli 31.12.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Halifax
Advantages: Extremely good interest rates payable monthly. Excellent on-line banking facilities, Easy to understand monthly statements Disadvantages: They don't seem to have got their administration act together
maggs1939 04.06.2001 ·
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Review of Halifax
Jul 8th, 2003
very helpful by (96%):
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