Westminster Abbey, grand historic experience

Advantages: History and religion well presented
Disadvantages: None that I found

...Slip back in time. It's the 25th of December, 1066. William the Conqueror is being crowned... the first monarch to walk down the stone floor to his coronation with subjects watching in awe, with hopes and aspirations for a wise and honest reign. Move forward to 2006 and step into Westminster Abbey. I did and immediately mused about all those feet which traversed these hallowed stones before me. Just a few foot-steps into this London icon you are hushed by the history, whispering in awe of the noble 'residents' some resting in grand chapels, others stately with massive statues and some marked by stone memorials on the floor. Not just the royal, aristocrats and the country's best in society but poets, writers, scientists, architects, politicians, musicians, military people, explorers and even an unknown solider in pride of place...

Writing321 11.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Westminster Abbey, London

A heady day out in the company of monarchs

Advantages: A stunning building, so many monarchs and figures from history remembered
Disadvantages: A little pricey, but worth it

...For many years, ever since I became interested in royal history, and particularly Mary Queens of Scots, I was keen to visit Westminster Abbey, where so many British monarchs are buried. Following my move to London, I finally got my chance and visited with my mum, who is even more interested in royal history than I am, and is always useful to have around when visiting places like this - she's a walking encyclopaedia of Scottish and subsequently British monarchs. Adult entry to the Abbey is currently £15, £12 for over 60s, age 11-18 is £6 and free for under 11. There are also family tickets available. The Abbey is open Monday to Saturday, but Sundays are for worship only and so tourists cannot visit. Travelling to the Abbey is very easy - it is located on Parliament Square and is right beside Westminster Underground Station. You...

eilidhcatriona 18.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Westminster Abbey, London

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 fantstic

Advantages: great service provider
Disadvantages: none

...Abbey are a fantastic bank that offer a lot of products under one roof. Abbey offer a wide range of bank accounts, they have a current account which i have with them where i have a visa debit card, a cheque book and an overdraft on the account of £1000 although i have never used the overdraft and havent used a cheque for ages, you can pay in most stores through chip and pin with your debit card and use it all over the world at cash machines so this for me is a great account. Abbey offers a specialised account for people aged 11 to 15 years which has a cash card for with drawals and has an interest payment of 6%pa but you do have to make a payment into the account once a month but there is no fixed amount you have to pay in so you could pay as little as £1, i think this is a great way of giving a teenager the chance to be...

danniell 08.06.2008 · 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

...My husband and I had bad experiences with Abbey National that put us off for life. If started off OK, we banked with them for about 14 years. We had a current account, savings accounts, TESSAs and a mortgage. We went to them for financial advice and trusted them. But after they changed into a bank, things went downhill. It was partly our own fault, we didn't keep a close enough check on our accounts. We discovered that they had been taking our mortgage payments out of our current account twice a month (instead of once a month) for a year. When we pointed it out to them, there was quite an argument, not even a hope of an apology. Also, we were in the habit of keeping our mortgage payments at the high rate whenever the interest rate went down. We hoped to pay our mortgage off early this way. We accumulated £4,800 extra in our...

MichelleScott 03.12.2000 (23.01.2002) · Read review
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Review of Abbey

My favourite place in the world!

Advantages: So much history, beautiful
Disadvantages: Slightly expensive, can't see everything

...th. Henry VII added the Lady Chapel or Henry VII Chapel in the beginning of the 16th century. The two dominating West Towers were an 18th century addition. Although it is usually known as Westminster Abbey, the building's official name is the Collegiate Church of St Peter. Henry VIII dissolved all the Abbey's and most were destroyed or sold, but royal connections saved Westminster. Elizabeth I made the Abbey a royal peculiar, meaning that it is answerable only to the monarch and not to a diocese. The Abbey today is still very much a working church, holding regular services, as well as being used for special memorial services and funerals (such as Princess Diana). All of England's monarchs since 1066 have been crowned in the Abbey (with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII who weren't crowned at all). A good number have...

tartlette83 22.02.2006 (29.03.2006) · Read review
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Review of Westminster Abbey, London

Get In To The Abbey Habit

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

...~~~~ UPDATE AT THE END FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY READ THIS OP ~~~~ Abbey National, the habit of a lifetime. How many of us change bank accounts regularly or look around for a better deal? Let?s face it most people will shop around for the best mortgage deal before committing to one institution. How many of us are happy with our current bank or building society account? If we?re not do we actually do anything about it? Have we become complacent in keeping abreast of financial developments? How many of us keep all our receipts for debit card transactions and scrutinise our statements thoroughly when they arrive? I?m one of those people who likes to keep up to date with what?s going on in the financial world. Not so much in the way of monitoring stocks and shares but more in the way of what?s on offer to us consumers in...

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

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