I Hate Financial Institutions........
Oct 29, 2017 17:09:50 GMT
Post by tyrednexited on Oct 29, 2017 17:09:50 GMT
.....their helplines and their systems.
Is it just me, or do they seem to be getting significantly worse.
I've had (one of them I'm actually still having) two dire experiences in my last two dealings.
====
The House and Contents Insurance was up for renewal before we went away on holiday. Renewal notice was received well in advance (up a little bit, but not beyond the required threshold for seeking change), and I decided to leave it until a couple of weeks before the deadline, as technically I needed to remove number one son as a resident (it looked like his departure was going to coincide with renewal day), and I wanted to add the new E-bike to the policy.
Accordingly, I 'phoned the helpline two weeks before renewal, made the two simple amendments (though the guy on the helpline was absolutely dire, taking ages, and he had to ask me what my renewal quote was before he told me there'd be no premium change!), confirmed that the amendments would be dropped into my online document store for me to peruse before subsequently paying, and then, nothing!
A week before renewal deadline of 18th September, I phoned back, and got a much more clued up woman, who apologised profusely, said she didn't understand why the documents hadn't been deposited (it should happen automatically on every change), but confirmed she could see that amendments had been made, and read them back to me. Given the impending deadline, and that we were going on holiday, I said I'd pay on the understanding that it was amended, but (as calls are recorded) she wasn't allowed to take payment, though was prepared to put me on hold for someone who could. They have a (separate) online payment portal, and, having confirmed that the reference number shouldn't have been changed by the amendment, I said I'd pay through that (and did the same day, on 11th September).
I received a confirmation of payment eMail by return (with the amount, but no description of what it related to), and the next day my account was debited. Two days later, the amended details turned up in my online repository (10 days after their execution), but not the expected confirmation of renewal.
Anyway, on the basis of the email and account debit, we went away on holiday resigned to sorting things out, if necessary, on return. We returned to a letter dated 28th September (16 days after payment had been taken and 10 days after renewal date) stating "We notice you haven't renewed your Insurance, and we'll kindly give you 10 days grace from the date of this letter to do so".
Phoned the helpline to be told "I can see you've paid, in fact on the 11th September", along with more apologies, so I let it go. The confirmation of payment subsequently dropped into my online store five weeks to the day after they'd taken the money.
This is a major insurance company whose systems should be much better. Whilst I'm not going to financially penalise myself on a point of principle, next year will see me seeking competitive quotes elsewhere before renewal time.
====
The one that has really irked me, however, is the one that is still running. I'll (hopefully understandably) be light on the detail of this, until it's resolved.
SWMBO and I have a joint account in a prominent financial institution. It offers decent interest rates for an instant access account, but like many, this depends on a bonus which is only active for 12 months, after which the rate drops. The account is available in "issues", however, and there is absolutely nothing to stop you opening a new issue once it is available, and transferring all the balance from the account on which the bonus is expiring, thereby, getting another 12 months bonus, and thus continuing a competitive interest rate.
Should be easy from online banking we were told - it wasn't and multiple problems, and non-customer-first conversations with the helpline ensued. Ultimately, we were guided to another way of opening the account (which would be available to anyone, not just someone with online banking), which successfully created the new account, and then deposited me in my online banking allowing me to do balance transfer and old account closure.
I was so glad we'd finally managed the process that it was only a couple of hours later that it dawned (on SWMBO, to give her credit) that nowhere in the process that had finally worked had there been any request for my online banking credentials, and that the data used to open the new account was effectively all in the public domain!
Now, this may be a quirk of the failed attempts made previously (I doubt it), and I am clear that I was logged out when I started the successful process (it runs differently to that when logged in, and asks for more information, since it hasn't got access to the existing details).
It's bl**dy disturbing, whatever.
(My attitude isn't helped by the fact that this is not an issue I'm just going to 'phone a generic banking helpline about - I want to submit written details to someone with authority. There are contact forms and addresses to use for this online, but every one is broken!! (from two different browsers and three different machines)).
A short letter with a long appendix is now winging its way via snail mail, and I'm considering whether my deposit is safe where it is.
B*st*rds
Is it just me, or do they seem to be getting significantly worse.
I've had (one of them I'm actually still having) two dire experiences in my last two dealings.
====
The House and Contents Insurance was up for renewal before we went away on holiday. Renewal notice was received well in advance (up a little bit, but not beyond the required threshold for seeking change), and I decided to leave it until a couple of weeks before the deadline, as technically I needed to remove number one son as a resident (it looked like his departure was going to coincide with renewal day), and I wanted to add the new E-bike to the policy.
Accordingly, I 'phoned the helpline two weeks before renewal, made the two simple amendments (though the guy on the helpline was absolutely dire, taking ages, and he had to ask me what my renewal quote was before he told me there'd be no premium change!), confirmed that the amendments would be dropped into my online document store for me to peruse before subsequently paying, and then, nothing!
A week before renewal deadline of 18th September, I phoned back, and got a much more clued up woman, who apologised profusely, said she didn't understand why the documents hadn't been deposited (it should happen automatically on every change), but confirmed she could see that amendments had been made, and read them back to me. Given the impending deadline, and that we were going on holiday, I said I'd pay on the understanding that it was amended, but (as calls are recorded) she wasn't allowed to take payment, though was prepared to put me on hold for someone who could. They have a (separate) online payment portal, and, having confirmed that the reference number shouldn't have been changed by the amendment, I said I'd pay through that (and did the same day, on 11th September).
I received a confirmation of payment eMail by return (with the amount, but no description of what it related to), and the next day my account was debited. Two days later, the amended details turned up in my online repository (10 days after their execution), but not the expected confirmation of renewal.
Anyway, on the basis of the email and account debit, we went away on holiday resigned to sorting things out, if necessary, on return. We returned to a letter dated 28th September (16 days after payment had been taken and 10 days after renewal date) stating "We notice you haven't renewed your Insurance, and we'll kindly give you 10 days grace from the date of this letter to do so".
Phoned the helpline to be told "I can see you've paid, in fact on the 11th September", along with more apologies, so I let it go. The confirmation of payment subsequently dropped into my online store five weeks to the day after they'd taken the money.
This is a major insurance company whose systems should be much better. Whilst I'm not going to financially penalise myself on a point of principle, next year will see me seeking competitive quotes elsewhere before renewal time.
====
The one that has really irked me, however, is the one that is still running. I'll (hopefully understandably) be light on the detail of this, until it's resolved.
SWMBO and I have a joint account in a prominent financial institution. It offers decent interest rates for an instant access account, but like many, this depends on a bonus which is only active for 12 months, after which the rate drops. The account is available in "issues", however, and there is absolutely nothing to stop you opening a new issue once it is available, and transferring all the balance from the account on which the bonus is expiring, thereby, getting another 12 months bonus, and thus continuing a competitive interest rate.
Should be easy from online banking we were told - it wasn't and multiple problems, and non-customer-first conversations with the helpline ensued. Ultimately, we were guided to another way of opening the account (which would be available to anyone, not just someone with online banking), which successfully created the new account, and then deposited me in my online banking allowing me to do balance transfer and old account closure.
I was so glad we'd finally managed the process that it was only a couple of hours later that it dawned (on SWMBO, to give her credit) that nowhere in the process that had finally worked had there been any request for my online banking credentials, and that the data used to open the new account was effectively all in the public domain!
Now, this may be a quirk of the failed attempts made previously (I doubt it), and I am clear that I was logged out when I started the successful process (it runs differently to that when logged in, and asks for more information, since it hasn't got access to the existing details).
It's bl**dy disturbing, whatever.
(My attitude isn't helped by the fact that this is not an issue I'm just going to 'phone a generic banking helpline about - I want to submit written details to someone with authority. There are contact forms and addresses to use for this online, but every one is broken!! (from two different browsers and three different machines)).
A short letter with a long appendix is now winging its way via snail mail, and I'm considering whether my deposit is safe where it is.
B*st*rds
