The Barclays and other non-Lloyds/TSB Bank thread

Post Reply
Andrew
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 18.18

People pm the regional news saying that if they drop the Yorkshire Bank name they will close their account and that they’ve been a loyal customer for 30 years.

You can almost hear Martin Lewis banging his head against a wall at such reasons for being loyal
Critique
Posts: 980
Joined: Mon 17 Aug, 2009 10.37
Location: Suffolk

Where was I? Ah yes.

What's the procedure, I wonder, with removing 'hole in the wall'-style cashpoints from a building that was once a bank but no longer is? Saw a huge old ex-Barclays the other day (complete with the night-safe still intact on the wall) still with some very modern Barclays ATMs on the side - are they considered a public amenity etc so they have to ask to get rid of them? Barclays surely isn't making much, if any, money out of having them I'd have thought!

In other news, switched to NatWest the other day to grab the £150 switch bonus and they've sent me a card through and appear to have done away with the embossed numbers on the front 'for increased durability'. Do not like. Looks cheap and feels like a store loyalty card than a proper bank card. Starling have done the same but as they don't put the numbers on the front of the card at all and hide them on the back I can sort of forgive them...
Alexia
Posts: 2999
Joined: Sat 01 Oct, 2005 17.50

Andrew wrote: Fri 22 Jun, 2018 23.14 People pm the regional news saying that if they drop the Yorkshire Bank name they will close their account and that they’ve been a loyal customer for 30 years.

You can almost hear Martin Lewis banging his head against a wall at such reasons for being loyal
Lloyds customers closed their TSB accounts for the same reasons. Idiots.
User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2456
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

Critique wrote: Wed 23 Jan, 2019 23.40 Where was I? Ah yes.

What's the procedure, I wonder, with removing 'hole in the wall'-style cashpoints from a building that was once a bank but no longer is? Saw a huge old ex-Barclays the other day (complete with the night-safe still intact on the wall) still with some very modern Barclays ATMs on the side - are they considered a public amenity etc so they have to ask to get rid of them? Barclays surely isn't making much, if any, money out of having them I'd have thought!
Probably more than you might think - and if they are able to run those without impeding on the new occupant then they have a second asset which can later be sold. They can also claim to offer limited services from that site still.
Critique wrote: Wed 23 Jan, 2019 23.40 In other news, switched to NatWest the other day to grab the £150 switch bonus and they've sent me a card through and appear to have done away with the embossed numbers on the front 'for increased durability'. Do not like. Looks cheap and feels like a store loyalty card than a proper bank card. Starling have done the same but as they don't put the numbers on the front of the card at all and hide them on the back I can sort of forgive them...
I'm in favour. I have a fairly slim wallet with 4 credit and debit cards. The material on the embossed numbers always rubs off making them hard to read. I presume you're screwed if for some reason your card has to be imprinted (although this has never yet happened to me in 18 years using a debit card).
Image
woah
Posts: 365
Joined: Sun 28 Mar, 2010 12.39

I'm a fan too - if it's anything like my Starling card it's much more resilient to wear and tear, the silver coating on the embossed numbers always rubs off quickly on regular cards in my experience making them hard to read.

Having switched to pretty much every bank in the UK for cash, I'm settled on Starling now. The app, customer service and simplicity is hard to beat and the one gripe I had (not being able to pay in cash easily) is fixed now you can pay in at the Post Office.

It's a stark contrast to my Sainsbury's Bank credit card, which is stuck in the 90s. No app, an awful web interface, transactions take ages to go through and no support for Google Pay. With the exception of MBNA and the major banks, it seems to be a common theme with credit cards.
User avatar
Pete
Posts: 7589
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 13.36
Location: Dundee

WillPS wrote: Thu 24 Jan, 2019 19.06I presume you're screwed if for some reason your card has to be imprinted (although this has never yet happened to me in 18 years using a debit card).
Tesco used to take an imprint for glass hire deposit about 7 years ago. We defo had one at B&Q in case of an EPOS failure but afaik it was never used.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
bilky asko
Posts: 1400
Joined: Sat 08 Nov, 2008 19.48

I've just taken a look through my cards. The only one being close to unreadable is the Clubcard, where the white printing of the card number has crazed.

My embossed cards have lost some of their silver coating, but are readable due to being embossed

The only damage I have ever seen on cards I've used are peeling plastic coatings, rubbed through signature strips, and a work one that started to snap.

EDIT: The text on my Co-op card has started to rub off.
Image
User avatar
WillPS
Posts: 2456
Joined: Tue 22 Apr, 2008 18.32
Location: Carlton
Contact:

woah wrote: Thu 24 Jan, 2019 21.29 It's a stark contrast to my Sainsbury's Bank credit card, which is stuck in the 90s. No app, an awful web interface, transactions take ages to go through and no support for Google Pay. With the exception of MBNA and the major banks, it seems to be a common theme with credit cards.
American Express are excellent for this stuff, I have to say.
Image
Critique
Posts: 980
Joined: Mon 17 Aug, 2009 10.37
Location: Suffolk

Went into a NatWest branch for the first time today to make a transfer, as I could only pay a certain amount via the app as I hadn't paid the payee before, and because to do a higher amount online you need the card reader, which I didn't have as I was at work. A quite baffling experience ensued!

Went inside the (relatively new and well fitted-out) branch and went straight for an express banking machine as I assumed I'd be able to make the transfer from a machine, as I would be able to in Barclays. Turns out I was wrong and you couldn't do the payment from a machine, so I joined the counter queue.

Whilst in the queue a nice chap with an iPad asked what service I needed and ushered me out of the queue whilst taking details on an iPad. In Barclays before when the self service machine has broken the floating member of staff has made a payment for me via just her iPad and a PINsentry reader, so I guessed they had a similar system.

I was wrong, and instead was led to a waiting area and as I sat down got a text from NatWest telling me I was no.5 in the queue, much like when you book a same day appointment in an Apple Store - the text even said I'd get another text when it was almost time to be seen! I then had a good ten/fifteen minute wait before my name was called and I was taken into one of the proper meeting rooms, with actual walls and a door, unlike the open pods lots of banks now use (which the branch also had a fair few of) where a member of staff took the details. The actual transaction took about 90 seconds.

This seems like an absolutely ridiculous system? I don't know if Barclays are maybe ahead of the curve with their self service units, but I'd automatically assumed that the self-service unit could do the payment, and if not I'd just see a member of counter staff. Whilst sat waiting with a couple of others there were a few moments where there was no queue for the counter, and again I wondered why they couldn't do the transfer themselves. Also found odd that they were unable to give me a card reader in branch (meaning I could have nipped in and out and gone back to the office), saying that they had to be ordered online - when I had a physical secure key HSBC happily gave me a new one in branch when I asked.

All in all a very convoluted process for what should be a pretty simple thing? Was going to stick with NatWest post-switch as they've otherwise been fine but not sure I can deal with the longwinded procedures!
all new Phil
Posts: 1965
Joined: Sun 13 Feb, 2005 00.04
Location: Next door to Hell

NatWest just don’t seem to be making the effort to bring their branches up to date.

Where I live is full of old people (the Sainsbury’s Local nearby doesn’t even have any self scan tills, despite only being open a few years). My local NatWest is the same as it’s always been, albeit only ever with 2 staff working to get through what is usually a long queue of old people tutting. Which is good, as their 1 solitary self service machine is never used and so I can be in and out in minutes, much to the annoyance of everyone in the queue. But if they a) had more machines and b) had someone greeting and helping customers use the self service machines, they’d have educated their regulars in them by now.
thegeek
Posts: 858
Joined: Sat 04 Jun, 2005 12.35

Critique wrote: Mon 11 Feb, 2019 20.36 Went into a NatWest branch for the first time today to make a transfer, as I could only pay a certain amount via the app as I hadn't paid the payee before, and because to do a higher amount online you need the card reader, which I didn't have as I was at work. A quite baffling experience ensued!
Next time, ask around in case any of your colleagues have one - they're not tied to an individual user (as I think the HSBC ones are). You can also use any reader of the same type, regardless of whose logo is on it: the same ones are used by the other RBS brands, Nationwide and the Co-op.
Post Reply