Offer from Natwest?
I had my Natwest account since the second day I arrived in the UK. Over the past five years, because I was a poor student and was too lazy to take care of my personal finance, I have been a very good customer - never bother them anything, always believed what they said they had offered me.
The other day I spotted a booklet for graduate account in their branch shelf while I was waiting in a long queue. So while I was flicked through, there was an offer of 25% discount on Young Person Railcard (YPR) for graduate account. Normally a YPR costs 20 pounds for a year, so it’s only 5 pounds off, not a big deal. But if they offered and I’m entitled to have, why not ask for it? I asked one of the staffs there, she didn’t know anything about that offer. After a few minutes consulting with her manager or whoever knows behind the wall, she gave me a number (0191-501-3806) to call. Very classic move! So I called right away. The lady on the line wasn’t sure about that offer neither, but she gave it a try anyway and entered my name in the system. However a few minutes later, she got back and said their system was upgrading, she was not able to enter my name. I was advised to call back in two weeks when the upgrade was completed. Don’t you just love what they said?! So I agreed, made a reminder in my phone to call back in two weeks time.
Last Wednesday, exactly two weeks later, I called the same number again.
- Hi, my name is XXX, how can I help you?
- Yes, I want to get the YPR discount you guys offer for graduate account.
- Oh, we only deal with first year students here, but I’ve a number here you can call, it’s 0800-761-033
- OK, sure! I will give a shot, thank you!
So now, guess what happened? After I called that 0800 number, the guy just gave me another number to try straight away, and that number was….0191-501-3806! I told him I just called that 0191 number but they gave me the 0800 one, then another classic reply: I’m sorry but there is nothing I can do from here.
To be honest, getting that £5 discount isn’t a big deal at all. But I’m just interested to see how far they could treat me like a ping-pong ball between the rackets from each department. If you don’t have those offers then don’t put it on a public booklet. Promising something you can’t give doesn’t give your customers a positive impression. Worse, angry customers like me may post a mark on the Internet and SEO it. So next time when people search for ‘Natwest Customer Services’, guess what they will see. Don’t treat your customer like a fool, please!
I opened a new account on another Bank on the first day of my job. It’s not very safe to put all your eggs into one basket, especially when it’s got holes. One of my colleagues went even further, he closed his Natwest account on the first day of his job.
Ps. if you are a Natwest Customer Representative and wish to get in contact with me, please leave your comment below and I will give you a number to call.
ha Said,
January 29, 2008 @ 1:02 am
“please leave your comment below and I will give you a number to call.”
I love this…
yee Said,
January 29, 2008 @ 11:56 am
British hoax…
who said they didn’t have humor sence ^.^
Katrina Said,
January 29, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
u know! that is the natwest way!!!
i applied for the adavantage blue(a type of account for international student), and i was supposed to get a welcome pack(introduction booklet) and a benefit pack(free young person card, a organge SIM card, free tickets for concerts, etc).
However, it has been 3 months!you know! 3months! and i called them for at least 5 times(i paid at least 10 pounds for the calling)!!! and everytime they will say,”ok, i will report your comment and the pack will arrive in 10 working days”.
So, i kept waiting and waiting and waiting! and this morning, i called them again! the manager seems she has remembered my name and said,”oh! you havent got your benefit pack yet?” and i said,”yes! but i’ve already got 5 welcome packs! there shouldnt be problem with my address so you dont have to check my address again.” and this time, she still apologized,”im so sorry, but what i can do is to put your comment and i will call you back.”(i can almost recite what she said word by word!)
fine,i will wait for the last time!and see when my benefit pack will arrive!
Maggie Said,
February 19, 2008 @ 11:08 pm
Natwest is a really crappy bank. Don’t bank there. Close your accounts there. When I ws still in the UK I shared a house with a girl who was working in some call centre for Natwest. She said they were terrible and offered a good deal for no one. She said just recently (it was 2004), it had been reported that the big boss or whatever they are, of Natwest had admitted he didn’t have any bank accounts at Natwest! If that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does! I know banks are supposed to make money, and they are heartless, but when a bank’s own boss won’t invest in it, there’s got to be something dodgy about its policies!
Leave Natwest. Seriously. No bank’s amazing, but they’re the worst.
Alex Said,
February 23, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
I would like to stand up for NatWest - I used to be with barclays who were even worse. In my gap year I had to go in to my branch 6 times just got upgrade my card from a visa electron to a visa before i went travelling. 1st time was while i was still as school - “come back after you’ve left school”. 2nd time: “come back when you’ve got a job”. 3rd time: “come back when you’ve got 3 months good credit”. 4th time: “oh, you need to bring your passport”. 5th time: brought my passport, but they forgot to process it after I left!. 6th time: finally!
I switched to NatWest for my student account and they’re so easy to deal with (in my experience). Account + credit card set up within 20 mins of walking in.
Tried closing my Barclays account last summer + was told I had. Got back home at Christmas and found 6 months of statements from them. I went back in + was told I had to write in to close my account, including my chopped up card and chequebook, which I had already destroyed after I closed the account the first time. Never ever going back to them!
AB Said,
October 21, 2008 @ 1:40 am
Yeah, Ive been with Natwest too - sad it is, indeed… i opened a simple current account for international students and they gave me like 3 cards: debit, credit and savings, but for some reasons they couldn’t give me a chequebook. i mean how ridiculous is that? they gave me a mastercard with a limit of £500 but they couldn’t give me a chequebook?
i closed my current account and switched to Lloyds TSB, which I loved bytheway! i kept my mastercard though, it was very helpful in times of poor student life, you know =)
sherry Said,
November 7, 2008 @ 11:12 pm
two bounced cheques = a 76 pound charge!!!
sherry Said,
November 7, 2008 @ 11:15 pm
forgot to add the details. my natwest cheque was worth 64 pounds. and i was fined 2 lots of 38 pounds for the cheque bouncing. what a joke! i complained straight away and luckly after a week got 1 sum of 38 pounds, still working on the rest!