Advantages: reasonable package of benefits, decent online banking, let you use cheques paid in immediately Disadvantages: charges, abysmal interest if in credit, big behemot, not ethical
...coming from. I hold the Barclays account jointly with my husband (it was originally his and I was added on to it when I found out that as a new arrival I can't get a 'normal' bank account here immediately) and we use it as our main household account. Apart from that I also have a Smile current account (see relevant review) which I use in parallel as my personal current account as well as the basic (card cash) account with Halifax. I have Internet ... ...I had my very won Barclays Connect card and was free to use the account. Since then our standard Barclays Account became - somehow inexplicably - Barclays Additions account, and then, by our conscious decision, Additions Plus. *EXTRA ACCOUNT FEATURES*
Additions Plus is one of the recently mushrooming premium accounts, which means that for a monthly fee you get a plethora of added-value benefits, some of them usually more useful than others.
I am ...
magdadh 21.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: (+) expansive range Disadvantages: (-) too many to mention...poor service, increasing prices, made many mistakes w/ my account
...first opened an account with Barclays Bank when I was 11 years old after being recommended by a school friend and her Mother. I had the normal savings account - a bank card to use at the ATM and bank branch itself, with a daily £50 limit.
Between the ages of 11 and 15 I had no problems with the bank, until of course when I was 16; a week before my 16th Birthday my account was updated/upgraded. I now had a chip+pin card but my account was essentially ... ...off the charges, either. Despite Barclays having a £90 maximum charges policy within each monthly period, I was charged a further £150 - yes £150! So, my balance was now nearly £-300, all because I\'d been misinformed. I was told i would be refunded my charges yet, I was charged £30 again because the advisor hadn\'t actually made the refund. Eventually a manager refunded the whole amount and agreed to pay for my phone bill for me after much dispute.
...
vcarina88x 27.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: (+) wide range of accounts (+) generally good savings accounts Disadvantages: (-) poor online + phone service (-) poorly trained advisors (+) many charges
...first opened an account with Barclays Bank when I was 11 years old after being recommended by a school friend and her Mother. I had the normal savings account - a bank card to use at the ATM and bank branch itself, with a daily £50 limit.
Between the ages of 11 and 15 I had no problems with the bank, until of course when I was 16; a week before my 16th Birthday my account was updated/upgraded. I now had a chip+pin card but my account was essentially ... ...the charges, either. Despite Barclays having a £90 maximum charges policy within each monthly period, I was charged a further £150 - yes £150! So, my balance was now nearly £-300, all because I'd been misinformed. I was told i would be refunded my charges yet, I was charged £30 again because the advisor hadn't actually made the refund. Eventually a manager refunded the whole amount and agreed to pay for my phone bill for me after much dispute.
Then, ...
verna-carina88x 16.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
I have banked with Barclays since I became old enough to have a bank account. I often read press articles that "tell" us that the great British public suffers from terrible inertia when it comes to changing their bank account, and that over 75% of us never do. I don't suffer from inertia. I like my bank, and have absolutely no reason to change accounts whatsoever. I often read the scurrilous tales of fees charged for bouncing cheques, which criticise ... ...don't believe that Barclays is any more sympathetic than its competitors but I never personally put them to the test because I don't go overdrawn. It's also worth remembering that your banking history is part of your credit scoring. The longer you have an account, the better your rating is.
My first Barclays account was a Barclays Plus account. This offered the basic cash point card and chequebook and was an ideal account for me whilst I was at ...
LostWitness 30.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Good offers to new businesses. Disadvantages: Lack of experience focused from Barclays towards the business.
...or a Relationship manager, as Barclays like to call them. They are supposed to be there to oversee your account as well offering practical and expert information as and when needed.
The account also includes free online and/or telephone banking for the first year - both 24 hour service - which can be very handy for sorting out your finances and keeping them in check.
You also receive a lot of fact sheets on business information as well as a pack ... ...to match the amount that Barclays had offered - therefore they wouldn't have given me the loan without notice of the agreement from the bank. This turned into a nightmare and, although I eventually got the overdraft, I wasted time I didn't have going to the branch and making endless phone calls.
Secondly, the new manager. As I've already made you well aware the account manager was the biggest factor in choosing which bank I set up an account with, ...
Benniash 19.05.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Great customer support Disadvantages: None
...keeping a healthy bank account Barclays invited me to upgrade my Electron card to a Connect card, which is more widely recognised, and they also offered me a Barclaycard. I applied for both, again thinking they would turn me straight down, and low and behold the new cards turned up within a week.
A few months later I decided that I needed (wanted) a new car, so I telephoned my personal banker to enquire about a loan, again waiting for the inevitable ... ...my Golf GTI Convertible.
Barclays also has very nice and easy to navigate internet site and in these days of easy access to account information I find this a godsend. You have to register and wait for a login number and password but then all information on all of your accounts is accessible at a touch of a button.
Barclays offer many other services for their personal customers including Pensions, Mortgages, Savings Plans, and ISA’s. I am ...
Hippylongstocking 26.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: patient, helpful, always willing to help. Disadvantages: can be put on hold for a while!
...reading so many reviews about Barclays Bank, and a lot of them not showing Barclays in a good light, I thought I would add my opinion, I never could shut up! So get a drink, pull up a chair and read my story!
I have been with the bank for 10 years, and I have always just had a standard current account, which gave me a Connect Visa debit card which I could use with my cheque book and the ability to put my money in the bank, it was all I needed.
... ...lady and I agreed that Barclays would clear our overdraft, with what is called a Resolve Loan, and she worked out monthly payments that we could manage to pay it back. The re-payment amount that she said was too high for us at that time and I said so, it was no problem, she just worked out an amount there and there that was agreeable for us and the bank.
I am very pleased to say that with their help, we have climbed out of the nightmare of being ...
jennylou 26.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Great customer service Disadvantages: Some people just love to hate banks!
...my first bank account with Barclays when I started my first job, as I needed somewhere for my wages to be paid. As my parents had always banked with Barclays it seemed the logical place to go. I chose to open a current account and I also had a cashpoint card (no credit cards as I was under 18). I was very happy with the service I received and have continued to bank with Barclays for the last 14 years.
So, what do they offer?
PRODUCTS
As with any ... ...on savings accounts and, sadly, Barclays is no exception. There are a range of branch-based savings products from instant access to those requiring 60 days notice. They offer varying rates of interest depending on the amount saved. If you like the convenience of having all your financial products under one roof, then fine. Otherwise you will probably get a better rate elsewhere!
Other savings products – Barclays also offer a range of savings ...
jools30 18.02.2002 (19.02.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: None that I can see, unless you're leaving them Disadvantages: Inefficient, outsourced call centres, closed at weekends, intransigent
...has (or had) banked with Barclays for many years, both commercially and personally, but as he contracted Alzheimer's Disease a couple of years ago, I registered with Barclays as power of Attorney so that I could manage his accounts, although he was reasonably compos mentis but he wanted me to do this. I was given access to the accounts online. In the months leading up to January 2007, we arranged for him to move from his large apartment to a retirement ... ...apartment was paid into his Barclays higher interest e-account. Dad said that he wanted to transfer the majority of the sum in his account into my name so that we could invest it, otherwise he'd have ended up having to spend it on a care home if he ever had to be a resident in one, if his condition worsened. So, rather than repeat the above saga, we decided to go for a telegraphic transfer. Having read up on the required documents necessary to be ...
bazward 20.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: NONE! Disadvantages: EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!
Banking with Barclays makes you feel like a masochist! Over the past 3 1/2 years with them I feel that I can honestly say that they are the worst financial institution that I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with, out of at least 7 others that I have banked with over the years. I have totally come around to the idea of building societies rather than banks, as Barclays has come to represent to me the worst aspects of 'banks' as opposed to building ... ...and customer service reps at Barclays are generally really good and nice, I have no problem with them - it is the whole structure and management of Barclays that is the problem. My general experience with Barclays is as follows:
-Getting an account: It is extremely easy to get an account at Barclays, especially for so-called 'high-risk' people such as students and internationals, and I suspect this is one of the main reasons why so many people bank ...
cypress 17.04.2001 (26.07.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Lots of branches, Free pens always in stock Disadvantages: Inefficient and poorly trained staff, Fees, uncompetitive rates, HUGE queues
...to open an account with Barclays for the convenience of being able to pay money in at Barclays branches for occasions when none of my other banks' branches are nearby. This is important to me because I do receive a lot of cheques and Internet banking just doesn't help.
OPENING AN ACCOUNT
I took ID, credit and bank statements into my nearest Barclays bank, and waited in the waiting area until I was called up. When it was my turn, I was called over ... ...I popped into the same Barclays branch to reapply for the current account again. This time, I was served by a lady, and I was told that it was all good and I was able to get Current Plus account, which is the basic current account giving me things like a debit card, cheque book, etc. She asked if I had a Barclays account before because my details from a year ago were still on their system! This shows that applications can just get lost and forgotten ...
Deru 23.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Their error means I now have a pro-active Bank Disadvantages: they were very impersonal
...has very recently switched from Barclays to NatWest (I didn't get involved apart from saying I would but this Opinion up for people to read).
I personally would not go around slating our Competitors but considered my frineds experiences worthy of your interest.
The Opinion is as follows ;
Talk about being just a number and not recognised for who or what you are.
When I was a student , all the Bank's courted us like crazy.
At University we were ... ...society etc.etc.
But to Barclays I am just a number.
Why ?
Three weeks ago , never having gone overdrawn since my student days my account dropped into negative territory by just under £100.
If no money was going through my Bank a/c I could understand their next course of action but I have almost £5,000 per month credited to my A/C.
Barclays returned a cheque , no overdraft letter , just a straight return.
When I contacted Barclays they stated ...
richardandkaye 19.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: Good E-Banking service Disadvantages: Poor Service, Expensive, Poor at communicating
...wasn't that much choice. As Barclays was the closest to where I worked I chose them.
For the first two years I paid my wage in, in cash each week and took most out each weekend from a cash machine. No Credit or Debit Cards no Direct Debits just like a typical working person of that age. No problems on my side and no problem on theirs.
Then I turned 18 and things grew a bit more complicated in the banking world. First of all I could now have a cheque ... ...I didn't shop around because Barclays are my own bank and my own bank wouldn't rip me off would they? - I was indeed a naive child. I never questioned if it was ethical to start pestering an eighteen year old to get into debt as soon as they legally possibly could.
So things are going swimmingly well in life. I'm now 21 have a decent monthly wage coming in, a car (dodgy old Fiesta) which means a couple of direct debits coming out each month. I am ...
Looby5 09.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
...that it got no further Barclays offered to pay back all my charges that I had incurred. Can you believe this nearly payed off the excess overdraft? Finally I can get rid of that awful company and the hold they had over me. My point is how can you trust people like this with your money when they rob off you in broad daylight and get away with it? Take my advice choose another bank please. ...
MaccyB 07.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
Advantages: All in opinion Disadvantages: All in opinion
Barclays Bank is recognized worldwide; more so than any other bank. As all high street banks compete against each other each claiming to offer better interest rates, better saving accounts, better investments Barclays Bank continues to have a firm grip on the financial industry. Growing, expanding and always looking for ways to improve as they move with the times.
I have been a Barclay’s customer for more than 12 years, and after wondering from ... ...invested all my money with Barclays Bank. They are big fish in a competitive market that know what they doing, your finances could not be in better hands. Current Account/Savers accounts:
********************************* My first account opened with Barclays Bank was a current account – opened it with £5. Since then my current account has become my main account where all transactions such as wages, cheques, direct debits, standing orders, loans ...
Versatile 23.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Barclays Bank
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