Inefficient banking systems

My gripe, well much more than a mere gripe really concerns 'the helpful bank' ie the awful Natwest.

We moved house six weeks ago and in consequence had to inform 30 or so entities (banks, building societies DVLA etc) of our change of address. This was more problematic in some cases than in others, however after perseverance the exercise was completed, with one exception Natwest (the helpful bank). The latter operates what they optimistically call customer service via call centre(s).

I have an an online account and after the usual security can access same and if I were so inclined could close it online, One action however cannot be carried out 'for security reasons', is change of address. For this I need to visit a branch with proof of identity and a photograph, which I am not prepared to do.

Since my debit card for this account is linked to my previous address I have had the card declined. Thanks very much to the helpful bank a subsidiary of RBS and fully manned by jobsworths led by inept managers.

I have just started back in employment, I receive 4 weekly pay by credit transfer from a Lloyds TSB account. Made to work a week in hand, I have now gone 5 weeks without a wage, however last week should have been payday for me, the transfer was set up and my first minimum wage was due to land in my account. Well here I am a full 7 days later and I still have not been paid. Lloyds TSB are blaming the bankholidays for delaying my payment, but thats only Friday and Monday, so basically I have waited a full 7 days, 2 of which where bank holidays and 3 of them are full working days, plus the weekend, and guess what, my bank balance is still ZERO. So while all my direct debits are bouncing and my rent is not getting paid and I cant afford any food, some tosspot bank out there is swimming around collecting interest from me and probably millions of other peoples wages. These banks want hanging, do they not realise they are playing with peoples livelyhood?

Banks love to hold on your money and this why a transfer takes more than two days and up to three days in the Country.

Same problem with my Lyods TSB account. I was schoked to find out that transfer from my TSB account to Natwest account takes 3 days. Back home in india bank transfers take less than half a day. I regularly transfer money from my lyods account to indian account. From Lyods to NATWEST bank takes 3 days NATWEST bank to indian account takes 1 day!!!!!!!!

The whole banking system is corupted.Take ISA's for instance why should any bank reduce your interest from 2.8% to 0.20% at the end of the ISA tax year.Then when you ask your bank if you can keep your money with them in the new ISA that they have just opened for new customers only at 2.7% they say no you can not leave your £48000 with us unless you are prepared to accept 0.20%.You are then left having to transfere to anothe Bank or Building Society that will accept your transfer and pay you 2.7%BUT that very same Building Society that is doing what your original Building Society is doing and throwing it's old customers out unless they want to accept 0.20% on there savings.They do this because no Money is actually moved from any Bank or Building Society only bits of paper.They will tell you that the transfere takes up to 30 day's,"It's because of the Tax implications you know Mr Smith".Cobblers! it is so they can get out of paying the interest on Millions if not billions of pounds worth of savers money whilst these phoney transfers take place..It Stinks.

For anybody looking for fast and inexpensive (international) money transfers: have a look at: http//pay.us.com. Very much recommended!

I have just been through the same process with Lloyds TSB. Paid bank transfer online and it left my account immediately. Called the recipient and guess what... yep, told it would take 3-5 working days....aghhhhhh. What are they like, how can they get away with it???

I agree with you Ash, Let me tell you my story in process of buying a flat transferred from LLOYYDS TSB £250 into my solicitor's account in NATWEST, payment went through instantly within 2 hours fantastic I was impressed. Then came a time when I was asked to transfer the deposit monies which was £10K did that on Tuesday 16 March 2010 After painstakingly waiting for few months Exchange of Contracts & completion date is decided for tomorrow i.e. 19 March, Halifax will get the monies on Friday 19 March and guess what LLOYD hasn't done it they say it will take 3-5 working days!!!!!!! Called the Bank and asked monies has left my account not reached the recipient account where has it disappeared they say it is in transit which transit is it or is it with BANK OF ENGLAND or in the air somewhere, ridiculous answers I think they would like to use the monies for 5 working days, it will be causing me so much pain that after being homeless for good 2 months completion will be delayed for 1 more week JUST BECAUSE LLOYDS wants to keep the money for 5 working days for their interest.

I think if it will be taking 5 working days then why couldn't the money stay in my ledger balance which I cant touch it is my money let it stay in my account till it is processed or whatever if it leaves my account then it should be in the recipient's account. I am so frustrated & gutted with this lame unprofessional bank.

Most banks in the UK now operate "fast" payments so that transactions only take 24 hours. However, Lloyds and Nationwide appear to be the only ones that don't do this? Nationwide state "3 to 5 days". I agree with earlier comments that there needs to be legislation on this as banks are simply sitting on our money why they earn interest on it. Then they have the audacity to charge us interest for late payments when they were simply holding back the money for their own purposes.

It is very frustrating. Banks, building societies and insurance companies have been taking money from personal customers for years because people used to trust them when they had integrity. That has long gone and all have reduced their business to selling financial products that are unneccessary, with exagerated claims, but make the most profit for themselves. The financial services ombudsman has no real power because too many people are making money from the unsuspecting public. Now having brought the financial system to its knees by greed and speculation in areas of finance that they do not understand, they need to continue with their working practices to recoup their losses. Until enough people realize their tactics and change their habits it will continue. The new breed of banks like Tesco run more efficiently, are more friendly and transfer money instantaniously. Hopefully they will be on the high street soon and take custom from the most evil of institutions.

I surely support with your lines. The Bank Bosses who sit in their office and concentrate on the Investment sector, so that they receive high Bonus.

Finally the loser is be at the receiving end, the Customer.

They are only lookinmg after themselves. I was allowed to go over my credit limit on my credit card by MDNA. They take my payment by Direct Debit. Their system could not cope with the "extended balance" and sinply took the minimum shown on the statement. I was still over limit and they charged another £12. I calculated and they agreed when I telephoned that this would go on for months unless I made a one of payment to clear it. I said what is the point a a DD if this happens and they could not answer. I got two letters from some moron who "does not take calls". This is the level of customers care they offer! Somebody was to ring me bakc but did not! This is the level of customers care they offer! We paid a lum sum in to reduce the balance substantially to sort the problem. Then a week later probably they will say its not connected they wrote to me to inform that they had reduce my credit limiy. I am considering cutting it up and not dealing with them again.

I submitted the forms to transfer our cash isa's from Coventry Building.Society to Nat West Bank E isa ,on 19-3-09. The funds have gone from Coventry but are still not in Nat West . Where is my £46000 pounds? I'm not rich ,just desperate. Can anyone help please?

I too am sick to death of banks especially their extravagant television adverts. It is a crime surely to let some greedy bank executive run off with a pension of £65k a year while the country is in recession. Not only that but yet again the tax payer has to foot the bill. They should be locked up for negligence.

Insurance companies are just as greedy.

I have a Nationwide Building Society Bond about to mature but Nationwide say it will take up to 28 days to compleat. I also transfered a cash ISA from another bank to the Nationwide and although I had known that it could take up to 30 working days for the transfer to go through the bank I was transfering from took less than a week to pay the cheque to Nationwide but they took a 26 to 30 day period to compleat the transfer with no notification to me that they had even received the funds, all I wanted to know was that the transfer was in hand, but no amount of phone calls by me made any difference in fact most of the time they could not be bothered to give me an answer.

Online banking is a nightmare when it comes dealing with logging on or calling the remote call centre. The banks have made online banking completely un-user-friendly with questions when you call that tax the mind and which are vastly more complicated than "who wants to be a millionaire": memorable names which one juut cannot recall, memorable dates that have slipped long into the obscurity of history. Then customer numbers, then account numbers, then sort code number and the third and seventh digit of a PON number or password which you have long forgotten. Did you pass the security test? No you didn't. You would need a first class degree in mental arithmetic to do so.

Banks which insist on this nightmare I will close my account with no matter how good their interest is. The whole logging on procedure has to be simplified.

What really gets my back up is the time taken to transfer funds from one account to another.

Why, if you are using the internet banking service, does it take 4 working days to move your money? Why isn't it instantaneous?

I'll tell you why. Once the banks get your money by whatever means they have a monopoly on it. They want to keep it for as long as possible. During the 4 days they use when you try to transfer it, they are manaufacturing a huge profit from your funds.

Demand payment for this interest, or instant transfer. Banks have no right to keep your money longer than necessary. There should be consumer legislation and protection on this.

As simple as that bankimg system here is obsolete. Even in Poland when You will do transfer before 09:30AM it will reach its destination at 12:30 THE SAME DAY!!!!! The rest of time banks are STEALING interest from YOUR money!!!!!! that is the Truth!

The trouble is you the customer, because the banks keep selling to you people, and you keep buying! Whilst this keeps working the banks won't change. If you keep buying products, like mortgages with massive fees attached, they'll keep selling to you until kingdom come. There used to be no mortgage fees or, if there were, they were very small, maximum £99 for arranging a fixed rate one. Why you people think it's a good idea to pay £400, £500, £600 today is beyond me. Believe you me there is no need, the extra on top of the £99, is pure profit.

This might not appear to help the person paying fees for late payment or slow clearing, but it's all part of the same picture. It is possible to change things, but banks are big and so it will take an enormous shove to get their attention.

In reality it will take a large group of customers to walk away from one of the main banks and not go back until things change massively in their favour. You keep your account, just don't use it. So if Barclays customers left them in droves and they obtained no new customers from other banks, that would eventually force Barclays to change. If Barclays changed as much as customers demanded, then they could go back to Barclays. All the banks would then be very reluctant to take you for granted again, they'd be pretty dim if they tried. I worked for them for 17 years before taking redundancy seven years ago, I know. It doesn't have to be Barclays, they're all as bad as each other.

What customers need is someone to organise this customer cause. Anyone up for it?

I was called a "stupid B***h" by a girl at NATWEST telephone banking!!!! the Chairman could not be bothered to call me - and Michael Duncan in his office has just insulted me again today by offering me £250. Ihave a copy of the transcript. Should I call the press???? I am claiming compensation. By the way it is that offensive I was not allowed to type it on here, hence the stars.