Britain's Most Helpful Bank Strikes Again

[charamei]

The police contacted them about my card being compromised, so they've stopped it.

That's fine.

I found out that something was up when I tried to move money into my savings account, held with another bank, and NatWest declined the transfer. That's fine.

Of course, it's a bank holiday weekend, so my only recourse is the 24-hour helpline. That's fine.

First person: "Okay, you need to tell the operator that your savings account is with another bank, this is the wrong department." Dumps me back into the queue.

That's irritating, but OK.

Second person: "You can't make a transfer out of NatWest with any other website, ever."
Me: "Yes, I can."
Him: "No, you can't."
Me: "Yes, I can. I've done it dozens of times before and I can do it right now while you're listening to me."
Him: Okay, I'll pass you over to someone else.
New person: Okay, you still can't do that.
Me: Yes, I can, and I'd rather do it via [other bank] than NatWest because I hate your card-reader thingummywhatsit.
Her: *hangs up*
Me: *curses*

Third person, after going through thew queue AGAIN: "Okay, you're using the right card, you've got enough money in the account... oh, it's the fraud squad. I'll pass you over."
Me: Hallelujah.

I go downstairs, and what's on the doormat but a letter of apology from the bank for the débacle that ensued last time I tried to get them to do anything.

I mean. Hanging up on me. Customer service at its finest, y'all.

IN HAPPIER NEWS, I may have found a rather perfect house, if I can only scrape a slightly higher mortgage together.

Comments

[st_aurafina]

I hate, hate, hate how helplines are basically dependent on you getting a good operator. And how there are five ways of doing a thing and everyone tells you that their way is the only way. *grinds teeth*

But yay for a maybe house? That's good news.

[charamei]

The thing that really got me was that it was one of the first three really basic checks that the last guy made, up there with 'do you have enough money to do this?'. Surely those three basic checks should be the first thing any of them should have led with. Second Lady would have walked me through the entire transfer process on the NatWest website before finally twigging that maybe, if NatWest was declining my transfer, there was an internal reason for that.

The maybe-house is amazing! It's got two bedrooms, a really nice sized garden and living room, and it's only a fifth of a mile away form the nearest direct train line into London. For the price they're asking, you won't get much better. It's just that leetle bit out of my financial comfort zone. Budget analysis time, methinks.

[charamei]

The thing that really got me was that it was one of the first three really basic checks that the last guy made, up there with 'do you have enough money to do this?'. Surely those three basic checks should be the first thing any of them should have led with. Second Lady would have walked me through the entire transfer process on the NatWest website before finally twigging that maybe, if NatWest was declining my transfer, there was an internal reason for that.

The maybe-house is amazing! It's got two bedrooms, a really nice sized garden and living room, and it's only a fifth of a mile away form the nearest direct train line into London. For the price they're asking, you won't get much better. It's just that leetle bit out of my financial comfort zone. Budget analysis time, methinks.