Abbey

They claim they never received a £3,000+ transfer-in, even though I have obtained a copy of the cheque, which was presented for payment 16 months ago, and have provided them with its number and date of presentation. They have dragged their feet over this for five months. Every letter regarding this matter is deemed to be the first contact, so that they constantly award themselves a further eight weeks to fail to address the issue. They appear to have made no effort whatsoever to locate my money. Their Customer Service is non-existant. Their incompetence is breathtaking.

Posted by Impoverished at 15:41 on 18-Oct-2009

This bank is the most badly run company I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. The staff are rude and unbelievably unhelpful, refusing to give people access to their own money! Having lost my bank card and not being in possession of a recent statement I was told I could not withdraw any cash even though I had several proofs of identity including my passport! I was told that none of these things proved that I was who I said I was, not even my passport but apparently a bank statement would!! These people seem to only employ mentally impaired people which would be ok if they didn't give them this sort of power over peoples hard earned money! They are utter rubbish and I would not recommend them to anyone!

Posted by Anonymous at 16:32 on 29-Jul-2009

As an Executor of a Will I am trying to close three accounts. I have spoken to them on 8 occasions and am being told lies. They say they have closed the accounts but I havem't had the cheques and an losing interest (the money kind). Anyone know anybody honest in teh Probate Dept?

Posted by Anonymous at 13:12 on 28-Jun-2009

Frequently increase rates with NO notice and if you complain don't expect a reply. NEVER reply. I've been writing to them repeatedly for 6 months. Even involvement of FoS can't compel them to reply or give a sh!t.

Posted by Anonymous at 13:43 on 23-Jun-2009

I contacted there call centre, i wish i had taken a degree in another language, extremely hard to understand each other !

Posted by Anonymous at 00:18 on 02-May-2009

From the earlier comments this sounds like a totally different company. I have just needed to find a new mortgage after my fixed term with Abbey was about to end. I rang Abbey, got a lovely Scottish lady who went through 6 different options. She was patient and knowledgable and I have secured another fixed term mortgage at 1% less than my previous. It was all done over the phone - no form signing. The next day a copy of the agreement arrived by post. I am impressed.

Posted by Anonymous at 20:25 on 14-Apr-2009

My experience with Abbey has been utterly abysmal. This organisation has no understanding of rural communities and the nature of property in such locations. They draw the customer in with promises then turn around after weeks of deliberation and renege on the promise leaving the customer to start the mortgage process again. I am at a loss to understand how banks in this country can take weeks to complete processes that take but a few days in other countries. This organization also uses extortionary tactics in its mortgage process. They offer a mortgage and thus hook you and then after a couple of weeks (yes, now you are committed) they come back and decline the initial mortgage but offer a new higher rate mortgage because of 'problems' with the home inspection, or with your banking history. The company is using ancient history of their problems (yes they have been bailed out by the public AND further bank rolled by Santander thus they are on a much firmer footing than they dare to divulge) as a foil for reducing their lending regime. This group is simply a despicable organization that continues to be motivated by greed at the expense of their customers.

Posted by Anonymous at 09:29 on 03-Apr-2009

Fixed Rate Bonds not included on their annual investor statement, which refer you to the bond maturity letter. The maturity statement gives the matured amount, not interest and tax. Asked in branch at 'help-desk' , my details were reluctantly put down on a post-it note (and where did that end up I wonder ?). Her comment was 'if that's all the information we offer that's all the information we offer'. So taken aback I just walked away. Never heard anything and moved my money (to an institution offering a better interest rate and one which has no difficulty providing information on interest and tax, including a tax deduction certificate). All I found on the Abbey web site was the claim that all investments over £500 were covered on the annual investor statement and that they did not automatically issue tax deduction certificates. Abbey are currently offering deals where the rate looks good but then you find you'd be limited by what you put in, and / or that it is tied to other Abbey investments, such as the ISA offering 3.6% but not allowing transfers-in.Then there are the the 'limited' offers that would probably be gone by the time you applied. The decline in Abbey service seems to be linked to the Santander takeover. Inertia has left a bit of other money with Abbey in a short notice account (on which the interest is, of course, now tiny.

Posted by Anonymous at 12:44 on 27-Mar-2009

I wanted to open a savings account with Abbey as they have a good rate if you save monthly. I was told I could get the top rate by someone on the telephone. So went into the Abbey branch and booked an appointment. The lady behind the counter was very short (temperament not height), but them improved. Called to change appointment, the call centre (off-shore) didn't have a clue what I was talking about. So after five minutes of struggle they put me through to branch. I was greeted with "Sorry but I don't know what you want because the call centre wasn't particularly helpful." No kidding! I explained to guy (who was very helpful and apologetic) that I wanted to change my appointment. He asked what it was for and when I told him he said I couldn’t open that account without further investment accounts. Exactly the opposite of what I was told originally. Overall, a really disappointing and annoying experience.

Posted by Anonymous at 19:09 on 06-Feb-2009

Abbey have recently changed over their ebanking site, and taken away loads of functions. For unknown reasons, the ability to move money between internet accounts has become linked to whether you are using your debit card in the real world. WHY? They've taken away the ability to download electronic statements, and limited it to just 200 transactions. Oh, and even that function doesn't work... Their phone lines are deluged with customers (probably complaining!), so I can't even call them to sort out my problems. Abbey is rubbish. I'd move my account, but I can't even do that any more...

Posted by Anonymous at 09:32 on 09-Dec-2008