Following on from this older post, I’ve been having even more “fun” with this crap-awful excuse for a financial organisation. No, not organisation. “Organisation” implies organisation i.e. that they’re organised. And they sure as **** aren’t.
Before I left the UK I rang them up to change my address to that of my folks. Same as everyone else. Only Barclays decided to be different from every other place I got in touch with and ignore my request. Just to be really different they ignored it twice.
Originally, I rang them up to change it. The guy on the phone said he didn’t think it could be done on the telephone without my Phone Banking Passcode. Which I’d not been issued as I’d not signed up for phone banking. But, no, it was OK – it’s only an address change so he can do it (and did – apparently). However, he did tell me to follow this up with a written request as well, which as I didn’t trust him or the bank, I duly did.
To no ******* avail.
I got an inkling after I emailed them regarding another inconsistency in my account about 6 weeks later. A reply came back telling me that, due to the confidential nature of the reply, it had to be sent by mail and to expect a letter in due course. 3 weeks later, and my folks hadn’t received anything. Getting Kim to check I found out why – said letter had gone to Bradford.
Then my internet banking got locked out again. This time I’m 100% positive the details I was entering were correct as I had a flipping record of them that I’d used before.
No worries, thinks I. Get the mother to call them. She has a power of attorney over all my financial dealings.
Tough ****, said Barclays when she called. We don’t care. We need to speak to the man himself who, at that time, was in Hanoi and unable to get a working telephone to ring internationally. Either way, I couldn’t ring the 0845 number required. I needed a genuine, proper, regional phone number.
Currently in New Zealand and I’m in the same boat. I managed to get hold of the “lost and stolen card” number and used that as it’s the only non-08** number they publish. The woman at the end of the phone was nicely useless, but put me though to someone marginally more useful but a **** of a lot less sympathetic.
End result – unless my mother can attend a branch of Barclays to register her Power of Attorney (round trip – 60 miles) and then wait up to a month for it to be accepted and then attend in person again to access my funds and move them elsewhere… the quickest way is to write them a letter. How ******* great is that?
They go on and on about their internet banking. But to fix that I have to ring them on a number I can’t access as I’m abroad – which is when people are quite likely to need internet banking. Even if I could get to them they have to send me a new access code. Which would go to my old address which I can’t access. And I can’t change that address without sending them a letter or having my mother make two trips to a remote branch.
Solution: I wrote them a letter. Both changing my address and asking them to transfer all the funds to another account, then close the account forthwith, retrieving all their records, mulching them with razor blades and shoving the whole lot up their collective ******* arses.
OK, maybe not the last few bits but that’s only as I didn’t have room on the letter to squeeze it into a P.S. Once I have my cash safely into an account I can access, I’ll let them know what they can do with their shoddy account.
******* *******.
The problem is with the first bloke you spoke to. By law they can’t change the address on your current account (don’t shout at me, I didn’t make the law). I don’t understand why you can change a credit card address over the phone, but not a current account, but that’s the way it is. I have moved so many times the last few years, trust me, it’s a pain in the arse. Same with the power of attorney – they will have to actually see it. It’s all to do with Data Protection Act.
But I agree, Barclays are *****.
I had a similar thing with The Halifax.
I can do all sorts over the phone and internet, protected by a ton of security information and questions, but when I wanted to change my address the phone or internet is not good enough. I had to write a letter and sign it.
Now I would prefer all that phone and internet security to protect things like changing my address. I bet I could give anyone reading this a copy of my signature, pen and paper, and in 1/2 a day be good enough to sign anything for me (any my signature is a strange one).
Just doesn’t add up to me.
Yeah, that’s another worrying thing with banks. Some of them can’t add up either. Which is scary given that they’re handling *my cash*.
I also have to deal with the taxman deciding that I owe them £1200+ in unpaid tax despite me chasing them twice over the last 2 years to check that my tax bracket was correct and them stating that it definitely was.
*****.
use SkypeOut for 0845 UK numbers , works fine.
or use http://www.saynoto0870.com/ to see if there’s an alternative number…
I used it to get the non0870-ripping me off number for my Tesco mastercard & at the start of each call it now tells me it’s accepting my international reverse charge call so guess it’s costing them for me to call – hee hee
Rob – I’d need a Skype account and to find somewhere that’d let me use it (like… erm… your house! Thank you!). This is variable when travelling. Some Cybercafes are OK, but the quality is down to pot luck.
JJ – thanks for that link. I’ll “favourite” it now. I’d heard of the site, but didn’t realise they listed alternatives.