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Went into Lloyds branch to pay my credit card payment, the cashier was a little while checking out my account on screen, suddenly she got up and said, oh you are paying lots of interest and charges i will try to get us to save you money, without waiting for me to answer she was off, people behind me in the line looked at me, as the cashier had gone off to find someone with my credit card statement in her hand, it did look odd. I was feeling quite embarrrased as she darted from one section of the office to another then finally about nearly 5 mins came to me at the cashier till and gestured for me to follow her and that i was to go into an office and someone was waiting for me with my credit card statement on her desk, all the time others were staring at me, i felt like id been caught in a fraud act or something, so i said the the women in the office, "i really dont know why im here, no one asked me if it was convenient" with which she didnt even answer me picked up my statement and handed it to me and i said thank you and walked off,
i was on my way to the gym, but i was livid when i realised i was being set up for a hard sell of something.
clearly there was something on the screen that made the cashier do what she did
if this is one way of getting new sales accosting people, its not good guys,
so beware - however, im a reasonable person, had she communicated with me that if it was convenient for me at the moment they would like to talk to me to save me money on my account, i would have said of course i could come back after my gym session, but they just assumed and presumed to usher me in a office and get on with it, , No way,
letter im proposing to send - have been helped today by Bookworm and koalaattack whose thread id posted on - apppreciate your thoughts,
thanks maz
******
LETTER NOW SENT AS BELOW
Dear Sirs,
RE: My visit to xxxx branch on xx/xx/xxxx at xxx time.
I am writing to you to complain about the way I was treated at your branch which I visited on the above date to pay my xxxxx credit card. I have enclosed a copy of my credit card statement so that you can trace your bank employees concerned.
The lady cashier was a little while checking out my account on screen, suddenly she got up and said, to what I can recall as;
“oh you are paying lots of interest and charges I will try to get us to save you money”.
Without waiting for me to answer she was off, people behind me in the line looked at me, as the cashier had gone off to find someone. She clearly held my credit card statement in her hand, it looked suspicious. I was feeling quite embarrassed and uncomfortable, as she darted from one section of the office to another then finally about nearly 5 minutes came to me at the cashier till where I was still waiting. She gestured for me to follow her and that I was to go into an office and someone was waiting for me with my credit card statement on her desk, all the time others were staring at me, I felt like I had been caught being fraudulent.
This was most humiliating to me, as other customers waiting to be served were still staring at me.
As I entered the small room where your other bank employee was standing, for what I assume was going to be a sales pitch, I noticed my credit card statement on the desk.
I addressed your bank employee in the small room and directly said to her,
“I really don’t know why I’m here; no one asked me if it was convenient",
To which she didn’t even answer me, picked up my statement, handed it to me and I replied “thank you”.
I was then given no explanation following this. I found the person who was in the office who gave me back my statement rude, handing it to me in a very “could not care less attitude” and abrupt manner. Not at all with any acknowledgment of why I was there in the first place.
I have thought about the incident everyday since and finally decided to write this letter after having spoken to a number of people about the issues raised. I am still feeling very degraded in the way I was treated.
This has struck me as very unprofessional, being treated in this manner.
It has taken me some time to decide to write this letter but it’s the fact that I have not stopped thinking about this since the incident that finally persuaded me that I had to let you know about what happened. I would not want anyone else to be treated in this way.
What I am absolutely appalled at is being treated in such a condescending manner. I believe it is only polite and professional to ask me if it is at least convenient for me to speak with someone before your bank employee goes ahead without giving me any chance to reply.
Had she not taken my paperwork with her, I would have been able to leave the branch much earlier, but luckily I arrived just in time for my gym session.
I had rung the Credit Card Team at 1.pm later that day but they advised they had different screens and the information held by them was different to what the cashier saw.
I wish to have a full explanation into why your branch staff acted in such a manner, and am demanding to know whether there is a “flag” or other bank indicator on my account which marks me as a Sales Prospect.
I expect an apology and suitable compensation for what happened and I trust you can see that this is highly inappropriate behaviour and that something needs to be done to ensure that it does not happen again. It was an attempt at a poorly disguised potential sales pitch and left me feeling humiliated whilst walking out from the office and branch as other customers had clearly viewed all the actions taken by your staff. This has left me still feeling very distressed.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course and expect a full investigation and a written response to my complaint.
Good. Considering that in reality, you were never actually given the sales pitch, you can't be as aggressive as KA and this strikes a good note.
I would insist a bit more about the embarrassment and distress caused by their actions, for 2 reasons: If you don't stress it enough, they'll brush it off and secondly they might even offer a bit of compo to soothe your bruised feelings. You might even say that you expect an apology and suitable compensation in your letter, if you don't ask... ;-)
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Bookworm - thank you for the encouragement, i guess i always do say to my daughter if you dont ask you dont get, i should follow that myself, point taken, will jig it about a bit, and stress more the distress caused by their actions
again huge thanks, i will get more confident as time goes by i guess.
have a fun day ciao for now MAZ
update have rejigged letter and now is the one above which i have sent today - hope it helps others too
Good luck with this maz, let us know any response - pretty appalling customer service to be honest.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
well no real surprise, have had an acknowledgment but told to await for a written reply within 10 days, well its really passed that now and i will await on mondays post and see what my next action may have to be,
thank you lula, well it could be of course anyway i went in again today, brave i know hoping it would be a gentleman who served me cos i didnt want to be served by the same woman again
well i was absolutley shocked to be asked if i had time to speak with someone about the interet i was paying that they were sure they could save me money! i just said it was not convenient as i was busy and i would leave it for this month, thank you and she still tried to get me to change my mind , i stood firm and said will leave it as im already on a payment plan with the credit card and they said but at the branch they were able to look at it to save me money!
Well, im going to SAR them now tomorrow had put it on the back burner as tackling others now this takes the biscuit.
only the acknowledgment letter received am going to wait to see how long it take s them to reply to my complaint.
see you guys , its war out there dont let anyone take you down without a fight!
sent a more direct letter advising their compliant s team of their no courtesy update. follow up or even any responce since their only letter sent to me
maybe i need to just wait past the 8 weeks will add up must be near soon and just send to fos, at least will cost them 450.00 to investigate it more formally if thats what they want
Bank staff seem to have a habit of doing this, of course alot of them are driven by bonuses for each product they sell.
Had my bank phone me yesterday to arrange an account review (i.e. opportunity to sell me stuff I dont want or need), turned them down saying that I didnt want to purchare any financial products at present but if it was anything important to put it in writing.
Previously a number of months earlier went into the same branch to report a problem, a HSBC cash machine had only dispensed £10 when I had requested £30. Eventually it was proven from the machines roll that it had not dispensed the correct amount. However on filing in the paperwork the guy at the branch ran a credit check on me (without permission), god was I annoyed when I left, felt like he was inferring that I was trying it on.
I too have had need to write to Lloyds TSB - 16 days ago to be precise They haven't acknowledged my letter and I was under the impression that Banks should respond within 10 days.
I have a BIG issue with them but they will probably respond by serving me with Court Papers instead..... I can't wait
I too have had need to write to Lloyds TSB - 16 days ago to be precise They haven't acknowledged my letter and I was under the impression that Banks should respond within 10 days.
I have a BIG issue with them but they will probably respond by serving me with Court Papers instead..... I can't wait
hiya NYM
i thought that the FSA guidelines to complaints was that either a written acknowledgment or a Full and final letter should be with you within 5 working days of your complaint being logged
would check out the fsa site i think, to see if you get more info
just a thought
if you need an address of what ive been sent - give us your feedback, i will let you have it if you wish
I got a reply from a person but they didnt sign the letter, and i ended up with two copies in the same envelope!
They have investigated and whilst confirmed i have no indicator on their system that marks me as a sales prospect. Lo and behold it was the actual Personal Banking Manager who i was shown to by the cashier!!!!
She says it WAS a SALES Pitch - but done ,. or attempted in my best interests....... (by the way still awaiting on my credit card cca)
They are sorry and the level of service i got was not what i was entitled to.My comments have been noted and assurance given that any training needs will be addressed.
Now as an apology they would like to send me a gift, should i go for cognac, wine, flowers, frame, choccies or cinema passes?
I cant believe that i should take this reply seriously when its not even signed?? am i being too picky here, i mean this could be any run of the mill type reply with cut and paste sentences!
or if we cant come to an agreement then let fos consider complaint
if happy , to accept gift, if not guess to write back
maybe the local hospice could use the gift instead as raffle prize or something
well it s only took nearly 3 months and 2 recorded delivery letters to get a reply, so i should be thankful
Ah well, at least you got a reply... (and a change if username, I wondered who angel1 was! )
If you're not happy with the response, then do escalate to the fos. They obviously are gearing themselves for that with their "your best interest" response, so that the FOS can then hopefully just give them a mild slap on the wrist... Well done for following this through anyway.
Apologies to people who I was in the process of helping, I may be gone some time.
Ah well, at least you got a reply... (and a change if username, I wondered who angel1 was! )
If you're not happy with the response, then do escalate to the fos. They obviously are gearing themselves for that with their "your best interest" response, so that the FOS can then hopefully just give them a mild slap on the wrist... Well done for following this through anyway.
hiya Bookworm
oops sorry to have confused you, hope i did with a few other creditors too,,:grin:
im mulling over this, i dont think it was a very professional reply to a very serious complaint, (2 exact letters both neither signed by a real or non real person) that really was care and attention over my complaint wasnt it?
i now recall i had a friend in the branch who i chatted to whilst part of this this was going on, but then she left after a couple of minutes, so may not have understood totally my dilemma.
Whilst i consider Fos may be useful, more useful for the slap i guess,
at least it was clarification that it WAS a SALES pitch, sorry for capital letters but thats what i thought anyway, it was the way i felt demeaned by the Personal Banking Manager that i now feel that she felt i had wasted her time when i said that no one had asked me if it was convenient or not, totally ignored me and handed back my credit card statement. I now feel she treated me like something at the end of your shoe that is the injustice i feel,
and the type of gifts offered well, i dont think appropiate a cheap bottle of plonk or chocs,,,
no i think i need to persue this with fos, but i would appreciate any wordings i need to express highly in my complaint
many thanks off to do some shopping with my dd will be back later for any of your thoughts,
1. They couldnt be bothered to actually sign their responce letter and sent me two copies neither signed which looks like they should have kept a copy back for their records - therefore Why should i take their responce as a serious and genuine reply if that is the lack of respect showin in even making it sound as a personal reply,
2. Although they have admitted it was a sales situation, stating it like it was in my best interests, what other information did they hold that they took it up by themselves without knowing my full situation they can say it was in my best interests and not a Usual Sales Tactic by being over zealous.
3.I recall the next month in october went to pay my credit card and got another cashier attempting the same thing but this one actually asked if i would be interested in saving money and that they could help me and would i be looking at speaking with someone, i replied i was on a plan and no i didnt have time at that moment, even at the end of the conversation she attempted a final push in trying to persuade me to see someone to discuss.
So in my reply to Lloyds to tell them i m not happy with their responce -
should i include all the above as being my main reasons for not being happy and that i expect the fos address from them to address my complaint?
(i realise that it will cost them 450.00 for fos to investigate my complaint as a starting point, and also perhaps by me pointing out all my above reasons it may even prompt them to explain themselves better as a final push before i do take it to fos)
sorry for rambling i feel i do need persue this more, as it was a blatent attempt for any sale that the persons situation is totally disregarded and that smacks of they saying they only had my best interests at heart,,, they are not my friend or my husband to have that knowledge to speak about my situation in this context.
your thoughts guys much appreciated, i need to be clinical in my approach and not emotional about it , so many thanks
LLoyds complaint - left branch humiliaited
branch to pay my credit card payment, the cashier was a little while checking out my account on screen, suddenly she got up and said, oh you are paying lots of interest
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They haven't acknowledged my letter and I was under the impression that Banks should respond within 10 days.
Originally Posted by NYM
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