The Barclays and other non-Lloyds/TSB Bank thread

gottago
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Why is it called PINsentry? I've never understood it. Is it a play on words?
thegeek
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Martin Phillp wrote: Fri 28 Feb, 2020 22.36 In the end, my mother gave me permission to access her internet banking to resolve it, which they'd rather you use anyway, once I found her PINsentry reader!
Fyi: the readers are just the same as the ones issued by RBS, Co-op and Nationwide, so you can just use one of theirs if you've got one lying around.
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WillPS
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Martin Phillp wrote: Fri 28 Feb, 2020 22.36 Which banks still use foreign call centres? Barclays who my mother banks with still uses them and the call centre operatives were very hard to understand for someone who's used to speaking to foreign call centre operatives to resolve an issue.

In the end, my mother gave me permission to access her internet banking to resolve it, which they'd rather you use anyway, once I found her PINsentry reader!
HSBC do (unless you get forwarded to the call centre who also deal with First Direct).

Not sure about Santander, I think they're all British though. Pretty sure all the other major current account providers don't.

I think the likes of New Day, Creation etc typically use overseas call centres.
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Martin Phillp
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WillPS wrote: Sun 01 Mar, 2020 17.07
Martin Phillp wrote: Fri 28 Feb, 2020 22.36 Which banks still use foreign call centres? Barclays who my mother banks with still uses them and the call centre operatives were very hard to understand for someone who's used to speaking to foreign call centre operatives to resolve an issue.

In the end, my mother gave me permission to access her internet banking to resolve it, which they'd rather you use anyway, once I found her PINsentry reader!
HSBC do (unless you get forwarded to the call centre who also deal with First Direct).

Not sure about Santander, I think they're all British though. Pretty sure all the other major current account providers don't.

I think the likes of New Day, Creation etc typically use overseas call centres.
I'm with Natwest and it's always been UK call centres before and after the RBS acquisition.
TVF's London Lite.
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WillPS
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This caught my attention the other day:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ERKRmJA3ifbx3tt86

The Nottingham Yorkshire Bank half way through its transformation to Virgin Money.

I realised then that the 'normal' thing when banks change their name (such as Abbey/Alliance & Leicester/Bradford & Bingley --> Santander, C&G/Lloyds TSB --> Lloyds Bank and Lloyds Bank/TSB --> Lloyds TSB) is to put new signs up but cover them until an agreed date, whereas Virgin seem to be going down the gradual evolution route.

Indeed there appears to be 2 completely separate routes of applying for a Virgin Money current account (which is a rebadge of the previous B account) currently.
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thegeek
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I've just signed up for a Virgin Money account which is effectively a Clydesdale Bank account, but with a lot of red.

Stylistically it's a bit of a halfway house between "we're a traditional bank, here's your terms and conditions, here's some things you can use your debit card for"; and an upstart fintech bank where they know you already know how a bank works, and they try to make the arrival of a bit of plastic an exciting thing.

compare and contrast with another account I opened recently:
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thegeek
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At about the and time as I opened that Clydesdale Bank account, I also opened an RBS one, for the £100 switching bonus.

It took about a week after applying for them to text me a Digital Banking Activation Code, and now I have you wait a further three days to sign in to the mobile app for... reasons.

I mean, I'm kind of impressed at how slow the process is. I wonder if the process involves someone in a back office faxing someone.
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WillPS
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thegeek wrote: Fri 09 Oct, 2020 22.11 At about the and time as I opened that Clydesdale Bank account, I also opened an RBS one, for the £100 switching bonus.

It took about a week after applying for them to text me a Digital Banking Activation Code, and now I have you wait a further three days to sign in to the mobile app for... reasons.

I mean, I'm kind of impressed at how slow the process is. I wonder if the process involves someone in a back office faxing someone.
If you're up for it - you can get another £100 opening an Ulster Bank account (provided you haven't received a Natwest/RBS/Ulster offer prior to 1st Sept). Expect the account opening process to be even more drawn out, as they don't have any way of digitally signing stuff.
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thegeek
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WillPS wrote: Tue 13 Oct, 2020 08.39If you're up for it - you can get another £100 opening an Ulster Bank account (provided you haven't received a Natwest/RBS/Ulster offer prior to 1st Sept). Expect the account opening process to be even more drawn out, as they don't have any way of digitally signing stuff.
I don't think you can double-dip - from the terms:
• You can only benefit from this offer once meaning that even if you apply, complete the account opening process,
and meet the conditions of this offer for more than one eligible current account, you’ll only receive one payment.
which I think applies across all NatWest/RBS banks. Though I have my doubts they'd notice.

Another bit of slowness: the verification process for Google Pay requires phoning them; when you phone them there's a recorded message asking you to use the Help section of the app to send them a message. Once you've messaged them, it takes 'up to 24 hours' to activate it for payments. I can't quite imagine the amount of technical debt they've got behind the scenes for everything to take so long.

However, I did get something fancy from them: I selected the Fleet Street RBS branch (which is one of my nearest) and got a swanky looking Visa Debit card from Child & Co, the world's third oldest bank.
gottago
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Can't find the actual Lloyds thread (if there is one). Is Lloyds good or shit because I've had a true nightmare of a switch to them over the last week. After applying online I was called to say I needed to go into branch to show them ID, after three attempts to - because only specific members of staff can check ID apparently and they were always busy - I finally got in today to be told I could've done it online and I didn't need to come in anyway because my account was already activated?! I also got a text saying my switching process had been cancelled and to give them a ring on a number that ended up being for Halifax's switching helpline rather than Lloyds. Not fantastic.
thegeek
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I've had various BoS/Halifax accounts for ages (they're basically the same as Lloyds, right?) and found them more competent than my brief experience with RBS, but still a bit annoying.

I think the lowlight was opening a child savings account requiring an hour-long branch appointment, including a financial review we didn't ask for and having the terms and conditions explained to us first in person then in video form.
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