Sparky Vs The Abbey

[Gentle_Giant]

I know how you are feeling sparky.

 

I had to update my address in July - I am still waiting for it to be sorted.

 

However they have sent me a chequebook - but no debit card, no statements, no online banking etc.....

 

I wil go and check the name on the chequebook - maybe it is yours

 

I am about to get on the phone for the 10th time (at least!)

 

Sadly I am disabled (ME), so I am not good at keeping as good records as you.

[-sparky-]

I know how you are feeling sparky.

 

I had to update my address in July - I am still waiting for it to be sorted.

 

However they have sent me a chequebook - but no debit card, no statements, no online banking etc.....

 

I wil go and check the name on the chequebook - maybe it is yours

 

I am about to get on the phone for the 10th time (at least!)

 

Sadly I am disabled (ME), so I am not good at keeping as good records as you.

 

Are you contacting the complaints centre in Milton Keynes? Go to them rather than Customer Services... Phone: 0845 600 6014... Get a complaint reference and the name (or names!) of the people you are speaking to to be able to call them back at later dates...

(Try and speak to 'Liz' (Oops, there goes her anonimity!) as she's been the most helpful...)

 

It looks like you are in the reverse situation to me... I was getting statements sent to my new address so I thought nothing was wrong (until no chequebook turned up for 7 months) - You are getting chequebooks but nothing else...

 

Don't take no for an answer and hassle them... tell them I sent you!! Haha...

[Gentle_Giant]

I am getting nothing (apart from one chequebook)

 

Although mine is a sole trader account is on the 09-01-26 sort code, so is looked after by the same people (or roughly)

 

I asked for copy cheques as well, once in July, and again in September when they failed to arrive. I have just has to ask for an audit on two direct debits that have been paid in - they say 7 working days - I am not holding my breath.

 

The problem with the complaints department is they have told me they have up to 2 months to sort things out, they did not seem interested

 

It is also with the fraud department as I have had money taken out via a direct debit. Not for the first time - mind you they then refunded me twice

 

Essentially it is a mess - awaiting a call back from a manager there - who gave me his direct number - problem is all day today it has been just ringing (he 'guaranteed' three times it would be sorted by last Friday!!) - it was suggested to me that they hand out this number to unhappy people, and it is a phone in a room that no-body goes into, and just let the phone ring - nothing would surprise me!

 

Good luck with your situation - keep us informed

[saintly_1]

Think I'm gonna miss sparky's accounts when he finally gets this sorted

[-sparky-]

Tuesday...

 

Other than the call from 'V****' from the 'Executive Media Complaints Team' I have no other contact from The Abbey...

 

And when I get home there is, not unsurprisingly, no chequebook...

 

There is, though, a letter from The Abbey waiting for me...

 

I quote:

 

''Dear Mr ******

 

Thank you for your recent communication to the Daily Mail who have contacted our Media Relations team.

 

We will investigate your concerns and reply to you and the Daily Mail within ten working days.

 

If you need to speak to an advisor about this issue in the meantime, please call us on 0845 600 6014.

 

For your information, I enclose our ''How to Complain'' leaflet, which details our complaints process.

 

Yours sincerely...

 

Etc Etc...''

 

A couple of things I would like to comment about this...

 

Nice of them to include a leaflet this time... not that I need to know 'How to Complain' as it is the very process of me complaining that has brought about this situation in the first place!!

 

Also... Isn't it strange that they will respond to my complaint within ten days... Normally it is within FOUR WEEKS... could it be anything to do with the fact that the Daily Mail is 'on the case'...

 

And, most interestingly...

Isn't it strange how things seem to be moving soooo much faster now that the Daily Mail is interested...

 

I wonder why?!!

 

Heh.

[Gentle_Giant]

Sparky - guess what I got today?

 

Yep - another chequebook!!

 

Nothing else mind...

 

...if it wasn't such a pathetic situation, I would laugh.

[saintly_1]

Sparky - guess what I got today?

 

Yep - another chequebook!!

 

Nothing else mind...

 

...if it wasn't such a pathetic situation, I would laugh.

Does it have Sparky's name on it ??? Maybe thats where he's are going

[-sparky-]

Ahh...

 

The end of another week without a chequebook...

 

Its the start of a month which naturally means I have some bills to pay...

 

I've had no calls this week except for the 'Media' girl... lets hope she calls me on Monday eh?!!

[Mrs_Ryan]

as an ex Abbey employee, all I can say is... I SYMPATHISE WHOLEHEARTEDLY. This lot still owe me nealry THREE HUNDRED POUNDS in overtime from when I left - over FIVE years ago. These lot also said they thought TWO WEEKS was an acceptable time to clear my (government) student grant cheque as my basic account was subject to 'a high level of fraud.' to this I told them as an ex-employee was a load of poo. I then asked them to explain how my (basic) account at NatWest could clear a cheque in 3 days, which they could answer. Ho Hum....

[-sparky-]

Friday night 1 Feb 2008... I arrive home from work...

 

AND THERE ON THE DOORMAT WAS A CHEQUEBOOK!!

 

Yay!!

 

So...

 

14 months since I moved house.

50 days since the problem was first discovered (13th December).

30 days since I first got Milton Keynes involved (2nd January).

And 7 days since The Daily Mail apparently got involved (!!)

 

... I finally get a chequebook.

 

And also, amongst my post, was a letter from The Abbey telling me that it was four weeks since I first raised a complaint and that they were sorry it was taking so long to sort out!!

 

Does the right hand know the left hand exists? Let alone what it is doing?

 

And then...

 

Saturday 2nd February 2008.

ANOTHER chequebook arrives!!

 

So from having none sent to me for around 7 months I now get two in the space of 24 hours...

 

The Abbey are nothing if not efficient eh? *cough*

 

 

So... Lets wait and see what the woman from the 'Executive Media Complaints Team' has to say when she phones me today as she promised!!

[-sparky-]

Ooh...

 

The woman from The Abbey just called me...

Was pleased to hear that my chequebooks had finally arrived...

 

And offered me a £200 'Goodwill inconvenience payment' for all the trouble I've been caused...

 

 

 

So I said no.

 

I want £200 AND the repayment of $180 worth of phone calls from the USA to the UK when they cut my card off when I was on holiday!!

 

She's going to get back to me!!

 

[saintly_1]

Just like buses ..... you dont see one for ages then 2 come along together ;-)

[RK08]

I havnt been a member for long but have read through quite a few threads. I will also miss Sparkys updates because although it is a serious problem the comments bring a smile after a long day.

I too have had problems as a result of their new computer systems.

well done Sparky keep at them.

[-sparky-]

I havnt been a member for long but have read through quite a few threads. I will also miss Sparkys updates because although it is a serious problem the comments bring a smile after a long day.

I too have had problems as a result of their new computer systems.

well done Sparky keep at them.

 

Why thank you!

 

Theres nothing much to report at the moment... As I said, the bint from The Abbey DID call me when she said she would (makes a change eh?!) and offered me £200 for the trouble I've been caused. And I demanded the repayment of $190 worth of calls from the USA to the UK when they cut me off...

 

I received the offer letter on Friday (for just the £200... no mention of the phonecall refund) and I'm just mulling it over... I did though consider it a little less than I would have expected bearing in mind they f'ked me around for 7 months with no chequebook, and for around 6 weeks of me calling them twice a day every day, so, before I got the offer letter I penned them a letter of my own...

 

And here it is in its glory:

 

FAO : V**** R******* - Executive Media Complaints Team

 

From : Complaint Ref ******

 

Dear V****,

 

Thank you for your call yesterday.

 

With regard to the £200 'goodwill payment' you have offered, please note that I have not yet

decided whether to accept this and will mull things over whilst I await the 'offer' letter from you.

Considering the amount of inconvenience you put me to, the promises made to me, the

phonecalls I had to make, the trips to my local Abbey I had to make, added to the problems

I had by not having a chequebook sent to me for so long, I am beginning to be of the opinion

that £200 is a reasonable *starting* figure to offer me... If you read fully all the emails I sent to

you regarding case ****** it reads like a comedy of (The Abbey) errors and I'm sure that

people like The Daily Mail and the FSO would be more than interested in investigating fully and

publicising your inefficiencies. As I understand it The Daily Mail have already been in touch

with you so perhaps you should reconsider whether £200 is a sufficient payment to make for

causing me 7 months of problems.

 

 

Having said that, I have already made you aware that, as well as a goodwill payment, I require

the repayment of 4 phone calls I had to make to The Abbey when I had my card cut off when

in the USA having advised you of my holiday there, and I enclose a copy of my Hotel bill to verify

the amounts I had to pay to get my card working again.

 

 

As you can see from the bill I made four Long Distance phone calls...

 

At 22.12 USA time to: 11441908237

This shows the international dialing code, 11, the Country code 44, and the first 7 digits of The

Abbey phone number of (0)1908237963 for calls from outside the UK.

This was a first attempt to check my balance via telephone banking when it didn't work due to the

'System' having my wrong birthdate... This cost me $22.41

 

At 22.14 USA time to the same number: 11441908237 - This time I was able to check my balance

by using my wrong birthdate to get through... This cost me $32.55

 

At 23.05 USA time (07.05 UK time) to the same number: 11441908237 - This time I spoke to a

member of Customer Services who advised me about the stop on my card and told me to ring back

when the fraud department was open... at 09.00 UK time... This cost me $58.03

 

At 01.06 USA time (09.06 UK time) to the number 11448456016 which is The Abbey phone number

of (0)845 6016... for the Fraud Deapartment... This cost me $63.09

 

So a sum total of $176.08 spent getting my card turned back on and approx 3 hours of my wasted

time having to make phone calls.

 

Please get back to me via the various routes of contact you have for me to advise me of a new

goodwill payment offer that I can give serious consideration to, and that you will be paying me back

for a problem of your making whilst I was in the USA.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Lets see what they have to say about that then!

[saintly_1]

*\o/* Go sparky go *\o/*

[-sparky-]

I hear that Watchdog took the Banks & Building Societies to task last night and, according to my wife who saw it, said that The Abbey was the worst of all...

 

Tell me something I don't know!!

 

(I plan to watch it later on BBC iPlayer...)

 

I checked the Watchdog website and found this survey which I beleive they referred to in their report...

 

BBC - Consumer - TV and radio - Bank poll

 

Not a glowing reference for The Abbey eh?!! :cool:

 

 

 

11 February 2008

 

A total of 13,126 viewers took part, and the results were analysed by the market research company Mintel.

 

Here is a summary of the vote results.

 

Question 1. Overall, how satisfied are you with the service you receive from your bank / building society?

 

...60.0% of voters who banked with Abbey who said they were very dissatisfied with the service provided.

Question 3 - What is the main reason you stay with your bank / building society?

 

Voters who banked with Abbey were the most likely to state that they stayed with their bank because it was too complicated to switch banks. In addition, nearly half (47.1%) of Abbey voters reported that they were currently considering changing their account provider – a higher proportion than for any other bank or building society.

 

Question 4 - During your time with this bank / building society, how would you say the level of service has changed, if at all?

 

...79.8% of Abbey customers who voted said that the service has worsened during their time with Abbey.

 

Question 5 - How clearly do you think your bank / building society explains its policies and charges to you?

 

...27.3% of Abbey voters and 28.3% of Halifax customers who voted said that the banks’ explanations of policies and charges were very unclear.

 

Question 7 - If you have had a complaint with your bank / building society, how easy was it to resolve?

 

 

...three quarters of Abbey voters and over half of both Halifax and Bank of Scotland voters reported that it was difficult or very difficult to resolve their complaints, and Abbey had the least number of voters stating that this question did not apply to them.

 

Question 8 - If there has ever been fraudulent activity on this account, how satisfied were you with how your bank / building society dealt with this?

 

...voters who bank with Abbey and Halifax were the most likely to report being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with how their bank dealt with fraudulent activity.

 

Question 9 - Would you recommend your bank to someone else?

 

Over 90% of First Direct and Smile voters would recommend their bank to others. Contrastingly, 83.6% of Abbey voters reported that they would not recommend Abbey to others.