Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
Members who trust:170
I have had a Woolwich account for as long as I can remember, and a couple of years ago ago upgraded to the Open Plan Account.
WHAT IS OPEN PLAN? The idea of the Open plan account is that you can off-set your current and savings accounts against your mortgage resulting in you paying less interest overall and possibly even reduce the overall mortgage term, this is because interest on the account is calculated daily, and credit balances in other accounts are added to the total of the mortgage balance to effectively reduce the amount outstanding.
Issued with the open-plan, should you require it, you can borrow monies up to 90% of the value of your home at any time during the mortgage term, and also get issued with a credit card all based on the rate at which your mortgage is calculated. I don't actually take advantage of this service as my mortgage is with C&G but thats a different story.
HOW DOES THE ON-LINE BANKING WORK? The service provides 24 hour on-line banking enabling you to check your balance, raise and cancel new standing orders,
make bill payments (money will leave the account on the next working day, or the date selected), get information on a whole range of Woolwich products and transfer money between accounts. Since the takeover by Barclays, a lot of investment has been put into increasing the mortgage side of the business, as we found out tonight when an independent mortgage adviser came around our house to tell us how we could save money - do these people think we are really this imbecilic?
The on-screen display (if you can manage to get through their tight, tight security) - will show you an up to the minute balance and identifies every single transaction and who it was made to - including reference numbers - within the confines of the internet bank you can view all accounts held.
Personally, I find the on-line banking superb and since they launched their new system, a lot less trouble free - I cam remember once making a bill payment on-line that failed to work its way through the normal system, and I consequently suffered late charges from my credit card company.
It took a long time, and several phone calls to convince the Woolwich that I was telling the truth, and they did reciprocate by making a CHAPS payment, free of charge, to the company concerned. I did not even receive any letter of apology.
In addition to the on-line banking, you can contact the bank over the telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. The security system here again is quite intense and you really have to be on the ball when talking to the advisers - as they don't ask you for your full security details, just the 3rd & 4th, or 1st and 8th digits/letters - get the picture?
WHATS IN IT FOR YOU? You will receive a cheque guarantee card - mine covers values up to £100 - which can be mightly useful and saves the hassle of having to write two cheques - ugh remember those days.
You will receive a paltry interest sum - who doesn't in these days of such low rates - which will be added to your account monthly.
Should you require an overdraft - you will be charged one of the lowest rates in the industry (c11.0% APR) - but BEWARE - there is a £3.50 monthly charge, which used to be made regardless of whether you used the overdraft or not, looks like they bowed to customer pressure on this one, as now it is only charged if the overdraft is used - but if you are regularly overdrawn by small amounts at the end of the month - this is most definitely NOT the way to do it.
FREE CASHPOINT TRANSACTIONS At LAST - the one we have all been waiting for - all transactions are free from all Machines on the Link Network (includes all the former building societys and NatWest) and Barclays - superb - I am sure I spend much more money now they have dropped this heinous charge - so although Woolwich do not have many branch outlets dotted around the country - you no longer have to pay to get what is rightfully yours.
CHARGES FOR USING THE BRANCH - Yes, you did hear me right - if you visit your branch for more than a certain number of transactions every month - the Woolwich will charge you - I havent seen any literature about this recently, so assume it is still in place - to me this appears totally ludicrous - we are moving closer and closer towards centralised services - and whilst because of my other commitments I am a big fan of 24 hour and on-line banking - I still don't believe you can beat the face-to-face human contact - I would not want to arrange my mortgage etc over the telephone - some things I do like to speak to a human being NOT a machine - and I fear that we are on the verge of becoming a faceless society if we carry on the way we are going, certainly NOT for the benefit of the consumer - in the long run it is the big businesses that will reap the cost savings and possibly lose the customers - scary, we shall wait and see - my thesis is on the very topic of call centres - will just have to wait and see if the outcomes justify my beliefs.
As I said, I have been with the Woolwich as long as I can remember - yet still managed to miss out on the share flotation because although I had money in my account, it was the wrong type. There was no incentive or reward for loyalty.
I did think about changing my account, but must admit to being a little lazy at all the effort this involves, in respect of changing Direct Debits etc, although I understand the regulations surrounding this topic have now altered, making it easier to change banks.
At the time I was thinking of moving, along came the Open Plan, and convinced me to stay put. In respect of borrowing extra money, they are not the easiest people to convince, and despite being a long term customer, a few years ago they refused to provide me with a small overdraft over the Christmas period. After much discussion however, they did change their minds (again). It goes to prove that if you do have a genuine gripe with the Woolwich they will make some moves to putting the problem right.
SUMMARY In summary, customer service is OK, but I am aware that there is now a wide range of high-street banks offering similar services, and it is difficult to measure the service without experience of the competition.
Sue - UPDATED - 21/02/02
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Online/telebanking very easy to use and flexible, Can earn more interest Disadvantages: Can be difficult to track large numbers of transactions, Only limited counter services are free
cazm17 25.10.2002 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Woolwich Accounts
Advantages: Quite a few branches and a couple of good accounts Disadvantages: You need to actively moitor your accounts - they will NOT do it for you. They are only out to make a PROFIT
CareBear 02.03.2001 (05.03.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Woolwich Accounts
Advantages: Flexible Open Plan Mortgage can earn good interest which can reduce the mortage. Disadvantages: Setting up the account took forever to the point of getting close to loosing the property. Got some compensation though.
bunicadoca 01.09.2006 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Woolwich Mortgages
Advantages: Payoff chunks of mortgage whenever you want. Offsetting saving accounts, interest calaculated daily Disadvantages: Can be tempted to borrow to the max
odtaa 07.11.2008 (07.11.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Woolwich Mortgages
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Mar 23rd, 2001
(Feb 26th, 2002)
very helpful by (96%):
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