Abbey House Barrow - Great, but pricey

Advantages: Perfect service, the whole day went as smoothly as possible
Disadvantages: Too expensive for us common folk

...The Abbey House Hotel is Barrow's only 5 star hotel. I am writing this review after attending a function there, so the review is about this aspect of the hotel services rather than staying in the hotel overnight. Although I shall include a little information on the rooms for your information. The Abbey House Hotel is set in 14 acres of woodland just on the outskirts of Barrow in Furness, in South Cumbria. It's is a sandstone building, first constructed in the early 1900's, and in its time is has been a mansion for Commander Craven and a rest home for the elderly, before becoming a hotel. There is a beautiful walk from the hotel to Furness Abbey itself. When you first turn into the drive of the Abbey House you'll see that the building retains most of its original features, the new Duddon Suite, has been built in such a way that...

Fiver29 16.06.2009 (18.06.2009) · Read review
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Review of Abbey House, Barrow-in-Furness

abbey fantstic

Advantages: great service provider
Disadvantages: none

...abbey house insurance, they offer buildings and contents insurance, i have £280,000 of buildings insurance and £100,000 of contents insurance with them which is an old for new policy and has accidental damage cover included on most household items, for this i pay a year as 10 monthly direct debits, i pay by direct debit as they dont charge you any extra for this like other companys do so the money may as well sit in my account earning me interest as in theres. I have had to put in two contents clains with them which they paid out on both times with no problems unlike another company i could mention. Abbey also offer life insurance which is provided by phoenix life but i dont actually know anything else about this service. They used to offer car insurance which i used to have but since they sold this part of the buisiness to another...

danniell 08.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Abbey

Abbey National

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Robbers, none existing customer care, bad attitude and bad service.

...Abbey National is the most difficult bank to deal with. Their customer care is very poor and they are even rated as one of the worst banks. When we decided to open another bank account we found Abbey to be the most conveniently placed. So my husband and I went to open a bank account with them. They seemed very nice and glad to have us as customers. The bank was very neat and tidy. I never realised that what would come later would put me off this bank for the rest of my life. The problems started when I found only £30 in my account yet there should have been more money in my account. Abbey had not informed me that we had gone over the overdraft or that indeed they were going to take any money out of my bank. So later that evening I phoned the bank to see if I could sort something out, it took about half an hour to get in...

Mickie26 25.05.2008 (01.07.2008) · Read review
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Review of Abbey

ABBEY - You stink

Advantages: Not One
Disadvantages: Open to Fraud, unhelpful, rude, arrogant, no customer focus, terrible bank

...So a recent survey by BBC Watchdog (that average programme that highlights issues and makes you more annoyed with the state if this once great country) listed the Abbey as Britain's worst bank and I couldn't agree more. Let me give you a little bit of history, I have been with them for 23 years (with a few minor niggles, but nothing much to be concerned over), but the last 4 years the bank has hit the bottom in terms of customer service (the bane of my life). About 3 years ago my account was scammed by a lovelly little company and at that time it started with a £1 purchase with a chat line (to test the card was active) and then from there the wonderful gents decided to hit Tesco petrol stations across Birmingham at £25.77 per transaction at exactly the same time. Now being diligent I reported this to my bank had my cards stopped...

ChrisJJ 03.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Abbey

Getting out of the Abbey habit

Advantages: None that other banks don't have
Disadvantages: Too many to list

...account this way. However, when we were moving house, the Abbey gave us the wrong figures as to what we owed. We thought we would be £4,800 better off than we were. We felt cheated and disappointed by the Abbey. We approached Smile, the Internet Bank, to see how easy it would be to change our current account. Smile made it very easy, they handled most of it for us. The Abbey National again caused problems, though, because they didn't provide all the information they should have done to Smile on our behalf. Here is a brief rundown of their services, in case you are interested : They have a full range of banking services – savings, investments, credit card, mortgages, loans, etc. Their site (which, I have to grudgingly admit, is good – clear, easy to navigate and quick. Some grammatical errors though and annoying frog...

MichelleScott 03.12.2000 (23.01.2002) · Read review
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Review of Abbey

My Downward Abbey Spiral

Advantages: Regular bank accounts are provided with Visa Debit cards and good overdraft facilities.
Disadvantages: Rude customer service, mistakes frequently made, banking systems often go down, extortionate unauthorised overdraft fees.

...When I was a very young lad (about 9 or 10 years old) my dad took me up to the St Austell branch of the then Abbey National bank to get my first "super saver" bank account. I can't remember ever using it, except to make the odd withdrawal. Then one day my dad decided that it was time for me to finally stop using cash, and to have my first proper bank account. I soon recieved a bank card which I could use to withdraw money from ATM machines. I seem to remember my dad being more enthusiastic about this moment than I was. I've come a long way since then. I got my electron card when I was, I believe, 16, followed by a Visa debit card. I got pressured into having a £100 overdraft when I was a mere teenager by a woman who would not take no for an answer. I remember being quite intimidated by the sharply dressed bank workers and the formal...

killstrelok 16.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Abbey

Get In To The Abbey Habit

Advantages: Excellent Overdraft Rate, Online Banking, Telephone Banking
Disadvantages: None

...account. They have an array of mortgages available at the moment and continue to come up in the best buy tables. If you are re-mortgaging I think they will pay your valuation and solicitors fees depending on which mortgage you go for. They are also offering 6 months free payment protection if you take it out when you re-mortgage. For more information call 0800 555 100 ~~~~ EVERYTHING ELSE ~~~~ Abbey National offer insurance of all kinds ranging from house insurance, motor insurance, and travel insurance to life insurance and income protection, the prices can be very competitive. If you can have a play around with the online quotes or if you prefer to do it over the phone they have dedicated phone lines. They can also advise you on pension arrangements through the branches or have someone visit you at home. You can access your...

criple 24.07.2002 (04.04.2003) · Read review
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Review of Abbey

GET THE ABBEY HABIT

Advantages: High street, postal, telephone, internet, ATM access. Variety.
Disadvantages: Status

...The Abbey National is now the Abbey following an acquisition by a European multinational. I joined the Abbey National just before it became a PLC and enjoyed a windfall from share options issued then. I transferred due to dissatisfaction with another bank and found facilities for transfer very easy. Even in the 1990's they took care of all my direct debits and standing orders etc. I just completed the paper work. I should think the facilities have improved. THE WEBSITE Since the development of online technology and the Internet in the 1990's The Abbey website and services have expanded considerably. The website has a user friendly interface with advice on many branches of finance including Abbey business, Abbey international, Abbey share dealing, the internet bank Cahoot, Abbey funds centre, Jobs at Abbey, Inscape, Scottish...

JeffreyB 27.12.2004 (18.05.2006) · Read review
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Review of Abbey

The Abbey Habit

Advantages: Peaceful, well preseved for a ruin
Disadvantages: Can be seen from the road

...visited by the Roosevelt family, where Teddy Roosevelt was seen running around the abbey grounds with his siblings. You can use the audio guide when wandering around the grounds, which will give details of the various buildings which are still fairly whole (the chapel, the North and South Transept, the Chapter House and Dormitory). It also details where other buildings would have stood and how well developed the drainage and water ways were for the time. Visitors Centre The visitors centre is small, but has a lot of information dotted around. It doubles as the shop, but the selection of items available is very small and expensive. In the visitors centre you?ll find sconces and pieces of architecture and grave slabs that originally came from the abbey, but have been brought inside to avoid damage. Facilities...

Fiver29 07.07.2009 (20.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Furness Abbey, Barrow in Furness

Bank with Abbey - I think they're brilliant

Advantages: Relaible, Helpful, Trustworthy
Disadvantages: No paying in books issued

...worry about getting to the bank in time or sending a cheque off. There are loads of plus points to Abbey and I know this review is getting quite long now (onto my third page on word.) However Abbey do offer House Insurance, Motor Insurance and Mortgages. I have no experience in using these facilities so I can?t comment. When my mortgage fixed tie in period ends I will definitely contact Abbey for a quote. I don?t find I get bombarded with junk mail from them I just get my statements sent to me and no other junk. When I was at University they had a facility where you could state you had a shared mailbox and pick all your mail up from them. It might be a pain but at least it means your bankcards safe from the other 500 people in your university halls. I really can not rate Abbey high enough. They have always been kind and do all...

natalierees 01.02.2004 · Read review
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Review of Abbey