Remortgage Deals

A customer with the High Street Spanish owned bank, Abbey, claims that he had his bank account closed down by a member of staff out of revenge after he made a complaint over the rude service he received when contacting the call centre. He said that he felt justified in making the complaint after the service he received.

George Bates said that when he called the call centre he was spoken to by a very ‘rude and arrogant’ member of staff. He complained and gave the lowest scores that he could on a customer satisfaction survey. The following day he claims that he was unable to access his bank account. A cash machine swallowed his card when he tried to use it, and he was told to go to his local branch, which he could not do because he was working.

Mr Bates then ended up with a range of fees and charges resulting from his overdraft facility being cancelled and his direct debits also being cancelled. He said: ‘This phone operator has obviously seen that I’ve given him bad feedback and decided to change all my details in revenge.’

He added that when he initially spoke to the operator the member of staff has been ‘really unhelpful, rude, arrogant and very pushy. Then he had the cheek to pester me to give him a good rating.’

High Street bank, Abbey, has charged a number of customers overdraft fees on their account, despite the fact that their accounts were not actually overdrawn. Customers have reported that they have found random charges on their accounts, sometimes for a few pence or pounds and sometimes for larger amounts, and there is no reason as to why these charges should have been applied.

Abbey has refunded the charges to customers that have noticed and complained, but officials think that there may be many other customers that have not noticed the charges and therefore may have not received a refund because they did not make any complaint about the charges that had been added to the account.

An official from Abbey said that it was all down to the way the computer system worked, stating: ‘There is an issue with our computer system, which is being investigated. This situation occurs when credits and debits from your account happen on the same day.’

One customer who has various family members who have received such charges said: ‘This is a real pain. Every time we get charged, we have to tell Abbey to remove it. They have promised to rectify this situation, but there has been no improvement. ‘It can’t be that rare for someone to pay in money and take it out of their account on the same day.’

High Street banks Abbey, which is Spanish owned, has recently started a packaged account war by launching two packaged current accounts for consumers. These accounts charge a monthly fee, but in exchange offer a range of benefits for the account holder, so some consumers could find that whilst they have to pay a fee they could save money in the long run.

Many banks now offer these packaged current accounts, and the fees can vary based on the account and the bank that you are with. Benefits can also vary, but most include benefits such as free travel insurance cover, breakdown cover, extended purchase protection, preferential borrowing rates, mobile phone cover and more.

An official from Abbey said: ‘The biggest criticism of packaged accounts is people do not want or need the things they get with them. We want to make sure they do by tailoring them to their lifestyle. We will monitor what customers use and make changes where necessary.’

He added: ‘Abbey wants to be a big player in current accounts and take ourselves beyond being a savings and mortgages institution. By breaking in to this area, it completes the package.’ The new accounts are the Family Reward account and the Travel Reward account, which cater for different needs and circumstances.

High Street lender Abbey has recently launched new packaged bank accounts in a bid to out-do competitors and increase its customer base. The packaged account, like the ones offered by many banks these days, and fee charging accounts that offer the account holder a range of benefits such as breakdown cover, increased protection, travel insurance, and more.

Having already taken a large chunk of the mortgage market this year, Abbey now appears to be focusing on the current account market, and appears to be hopeful of succeeding in enticing new customers in this area. Officials from Abbey hope that the two accounts that it has launched will attract new customers who feel that they will be able to enjoy the benefits that come with the accounts.

An official from Abbey said: ‘The biggest criticism of packaged accounts is people do not want or need the things they get with them. We want to make sure they do by tailoring them to their lifestyle. We will monitor what customers use and make changes where necessary.’ He added: ‘Abbey wants to be a big player in current accounts and take ourselves beyond being a savings and mortgages institution. By breaking in to this area, it completes the package.’

The two new accounts, which are the Family Reward Account and the Travel Rewards Account, offer a number of benefits, and consumers should check whether they will actually use the benefits before signing up as otherwise they could end up paying a fee for nothing.

A UK mortgage broker has been fined by financial authorities after he was found to have given advice to consumers that put them at increased risk in the current financial climate. William John Evans from Abbey Mortgages, along with another director from the firm, was fined a total of £30,000 by the Financial Services Authority.

For some time, and particularly over the last year due to the conditions in the financial markets, the FSA has been cracking down on regulation breaches by mortgage companies and lenders. The regulator looked at around 113 cases between January 2006 and April 2008, and having assessed the cases found that Abbey Mortgages had failed to meet required standards.

Mr Evans said that the fine would be used to pay for a more thorough review of the firm’s practices, stating: “The cases they were concerned about we have to pay for an independent company to do a full review to make sure there was no detriment to our clients. This couldn’t have come at a worse time with the market in the state it is. We’re not short of enquiries, we’re just short of mortgages for them.”

The FSA said: “Obtaining and clearly recording the right information from customers is not just about process. It is an important step in preventing financial crime and giving customers the right advice and treating them fairly. This is always important but is especially important in difficult economic times.”