'I lost my rag in a Lloyds TSB branch' blog discussion

A question about : 'I lost my rag in a Lloyds TSB branch' blog discussion

This is the discussion to link on the back of Martin's blog. Please read the blog first, as this discussion follows it.

Read Martin's I lost my rag in a Lloyds TSB branch blog

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Best answers:

• This is nothing to how Abbey dealt with me in branch when I moved house - I went into my branch with my card, driving licence and passport and asked to update my address. They said no. I asked them to just stop mail going to the old house then. They said no. I asked them to hold the mail in branch then as I was due for a new card shortly. They said no.
  Their reason for saying no ? I couldnt prove my new address as all my documents were still registered at the old address. Lloyds by the way were excellent and changed my address immediately with no hassle.
  So I finally in desperation told Abbey I would have to close the account if they couldnt guarantee the safety of my mail by not sending it to my old address. They allowed me to close the account and withdraw almost Ј2000 in cash there and then over the counter - but they couldnt just update the address - unbelievable.
• I agree - Lloyds TSB have the MOST awful customer service, and it's only getting worse. I've had several (mainly current) accounts with them since I was about 14 (so over 20 years) - however, I'm now going to be switching to someone else asap.
  About a year ago, I had some fraud on my Lloyds credit card, which took about 6 months to sort out with them. But that's another story altogether.
  Since the fraud, they hadn't been updating my credit file with Experian, which of course messed up by credit report. As I'm in the process of setting up my own business, I needed to get everything smoothed out asap so that I could apply for credit etc. After several weeks of me calling them (and by "them" I mean several different departments each and every time), asking them to simply update my credit report with the correct information, them promising to do that and then nothing happening, I decided to get a bit more insistent. I was fobbed off with the usual "we'll send an email to the correct department, then give it a week for the confirmation that it's been done to come through the post". I explained that they had said this to me 3 times already and NOTHING had been done, so I was going to be calling them every day to make sure that it was moving.
  6 days, dozens of phone calls, 5 instances of the manager I had been dealing with was "in a meeting" and would "call me back", many tears, lots of shouting, lots of pleading, two official complaints and they FINALLY wrote "account up to date" on my credit report. Hallelujah.
  Disgusting - it was THEIR mistake that messed up my credit report and stopped me from being able to start up my business for over a month.
  My advice would be to lodge a formal complaint asap as then they are legally required to respond and resolve within a couple of days, and it is all reported to the government watchdog who are keeping an eye on them at the moment.
• you should have contacted the fraudsters that manage to change my address and phone number at lloyds, then increased my credit card limit and removed 6000 from it.....all in the same day! now that's fast service lol
• Am I being perverse in being reassured that Martin is subjected to the same crap service from banks as the rest of us mere mortals?
  Or is he going to tell us that when they worked out who he is that they quickly and courteously dealt with his problem?
• I take Martin has no accounts with them now?
• Martin, if it's not a personal question, can I ask why you have a Lloyds TSB account as it's not and, in my memory, has never been a 'best buy'? (Obviously you don't have to answer if you don't want to.)
  I've still never forgiven Halifax for not being able to understand that you can be 18 and not be at university yet (they used it to effectively hold my interest to ransom), and also for not telling me that the time period on my student account was up and I now owed them interest on the overdraft. Still banking with them though, if only for the Ј5 reward and the boost to savings rates. And their customer service has got much better in those seven years.
• Martin losing his rag? I can hardly believe it ... I had long ago decided our esteemed leader was far more patient and circumspect than most ... just goes to show, doesn't it ... the banks sorely test the best of us.
  I am sure you are forgiven, Martin. Those bank staff are pretty thick-skinned ... they have to be in order to soak up the pressure dished out daily from their bosses to make sales targets. A few disgruntled customers a day are nothing compared to a boss threatening to sack you unless you sell enough kitchen sinks and grandmothers.
  @minerva ... possibly going for a Lloyds Advantage account to use as a second stream savings account at 4% was it? I tried to apply onlne as an existing CC customer, but gave up recently
• Lloyds have always been great to me and I've never thought about changing. I recently had to change my address details, so I phoned customer service they explained I needed to take proof of address to any branch.
  I went down the next day with a phone bill and it was sorted, no hassles!
  Maybe they are poorly trained at other branches?
• This is an experience not just indicative to banks, but to most customer service centres with other companies too. My pet hate is BT who I have found to be the most useless, frustrating and inept company have had the unfortunate pleasure to deal with and although I have for the most part kept my temper under control, if they had a branch I could walk into I would probably do as Martin did with Lloyds.
• Tempting as it is to get annoyed at individual staff, I don't. Nine times out of ten instead of blowing my top I get extra courteous when I meet with disinterest or incompetence.
  Works better, every time.
  Take it from someone (me) who used to rant and shout. In fact some staff at some places enjoy winding customers up as a sport, so don't give them their fun. Always smile like their cluelessness is irresistably cute and has buoyed your spirits rather than cost you a whole load of inconvenience.
• lloyds are the worst bank in the universe - i was a victim of identity fraud and well over Ј100 was taken from my account on some random american gambling site - i was distraught, phoned the fraud department who told me to write a letter detailing all transactions that weren't mine and i asked them to cancel the card, i rang them a second time as another transaction they said shouldn't clear (as it was fraudulent) did and again they told me to write to them - they gave no address to write to so i composed a letter and went into the branch who faxed it to them and heard nothing. a few months later i went back in to the brach as the money had not been refunded and the woman on the desk was a moron - she refused to help me unless i detailed every transaction that was fraudulent (but seeing as i had only gone in to ask if someone could phone the fraud department to see what was going on and it was just before picking the kids up from school i didnt have the details she wanted (all on the letter) but her ignorance and extremely unpleasent manner has meant that now (nearly a year later) i haven't got a penny back and am not likely o as i wont go into branch to try to deal with it due to her rudeness - i have since opened a student account with barclays as i dont trust the lloyds - someone stole money from me, i reported it the only way i could and they didn't even bother to acknowledge the letter that was faxed to them in branch. I don't know how you kept your temper, i now just wont go into the bank!
• "close my account please" there and then I'm afraid. If there's that much messing about then it's not worth it no matter how good the deal is!
• Hi folks
  As for questions about products and things - I've kept it really lose for ID fraud reasons - but I promise it was appropriate and the best deal for me - don't worry on that score.
• My opinion is that UK management practices, based on the price of everything and the value of nothing (Capitalism anyone?), lead to badly trained, disinterested staff who couldn't give a rat's a** about the needs of customers. Until we sort out what kind of society we want to be, this blind pursuit of profit at the expense of everything else will always result in the customer being last on everyone's list. In a nutshell, it is up to us to elect a government party that gives a rat's a** for the electorate.
  Meanwhile, I left RBS several years ago due to their incompetence coupled with a complete disinterest in offering me preferential rates for a loan (had been with them over 20 years). Am now with Smile and have had no problems whatsoever.
• Silas Marner had the right idea. Put it all in gold coins, and store it under the floorboards.
• As someone mentioned above, I was surprised that Martin even has an account at Lloyds if it's that dismal...? Surely you get what you expect?
• Well if I wanted to let off some steam I would obvious open an account with Lloyds so they mess it all up and you can go and hollar at someone on minimum wage for free.
  Very prudent way of saving money (on the therapy) Martin. You really are as good as they say ;-)