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Thursday, October 27, 2005

Evil Natwest

I hate Natwest. They are cruel to animals. But they are also cruel to me. I joined up with Natwest for very naive reasons. When I went to uni in England I realised I would need to open a new bank account for my student loan to go into. I looked around me and Natwest had a familiar logo: that of the Ulster Bank. I've heard they are bastards too but I was 18 at the time and knew nothing about banks. All I knew was the Natwest had the same symbol as the Ulster Bank and that somehow connected me to home so that's the bank I chose.

I had no problems with them my whole 3 years at uni and anytime I ever asked for an extension on my overdaft they always obliged. I couldn't grumble really. Then came the time in my life where I thought I should have a credit card. Why? Because everybody else had one. Oh, and because I'd booked a holiday to Amsterdam with my mate and had no money for it. As it happened I didn't even get my credit card until after I came back and Dad had to lend me the money to go (thanks Dad). So when I'd ran up a sufficient bill the card was lost. A blessing in disguise I think. I then cancelled the card, refused another one and set about paying it all back like a good consumer. This has been going well for me up until now.

They keep charging me for not making payments when I have no means of making a payment. I have no money in my bank account so can't pay by debit card. I can't put cash into my account because there are no Natwest banks here. I have no cheque book. I told the lady this and she asked if there was anyone in England who could put money into my account or some family member that could pay on their debit card on my behalf. Well, yes i do but what makes her think that it's ok to inconvenience other people when it's between me and Natwest. So I told her I didn't. She told me there was nothing she could do and I was being charged for late payment anyway. I hated her. I hate Natwest. I'm changing to the Halifax.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds harsh, all banks are essentially rip off merchants!!

JD xxx

Anonymous said...

I hated NatWest too. I too joined them on going to Uni (though not for the Ulster Bank connection, laziness, really, they were the first one I came across.)

They charged me for letters (I once took one back as said 'This cost you 25 quid to send me. I am bringing it back to you. Now give me my 25 quid back) and all sorts. When I started work, I thought of closing the account. I didn't. I paid it all off, left two pence in there, and they still send me statements every month tweleve years later. So I reckon that has cost them more than they took from me in charges. And I don't intend to close it for a few years yet. If ever.

hootchinhannah said...

Ahh, so there's a way to get Natwest back. It may be worth keeping my account with them just to do that.

Anonymous said...

NatWest are a wonderful organistion who keep me in designer suits & a fantastic lifestyle.

Anonymous said...

I can relate to that hannahn the f**kin HSBC said they'd send someone round my house if i didn't clear a £40 overdraft!
mikey

Anonymous said...

So what to do? Boycott Natwest or not. They have been bastards to millions but now anonymous says they keep them in designer suits. Are these suits made from dog fur??? Bet they are. Mikey, I reckon you're definitely overdue some good luck.

Anonymous said...

Have you tried just pitching up at the Ulster Bank with your NatWest deposit slip? Given that they are all part of the same company, you should at least take some pleasure in getting the counter staff to go and find out if it is possible...

Anonymous said...

NatWest are wonderful. They give me huge bonuses, loads of free shares and massive pay rises.

Anonymous said...

I have the misfortune to work for them. One of their latest 'gimmicks' to get sales is to tell customers that their agreed overdraft facility is due for renewal 'now'. In the vast majority of cases there are no expiry dates on overdrafts but it is just an excuse to get you in a room to flog you stuff or to worry you enough to book an appointment.

Anonymous said...

Are people aware that NatWest have removed all the clocks from their branches as they don't want anybody to realise how long they have been queing because staffing levels have been cut to minimal levels.

Anonymous said...

i know this sounds harsh. but ALL banks on the planet charge you if you dont pay them every month, if you take in a pre printed(not written) to any royal bank of scotland, natwest, Ulster Bank, citizens bank you can pay in cash there. it takes longer but u can do it. and if you get any other current acc at ANY, u can send payments through there.

Anonymous said...

Natwest! Never luaghed so much in my life! What a bunch of low lifes! I hope there call centres go to india and all the people in them have to go on the dole! WaNkeRs! As for the prick in nice rags and big pay rises, It's us poor cunts who have funded that, I hope your mrs is sleeping with your brother! (so go and hang yourself please!) I will cost Natwest over 5k by the time i have finished with them!! HSBC are shit hot, no probs if i go over my overdraft by £2 there not bothered and dont charge, I paid for a coffee in Mcdonalds that ended up costing mr £30 becuse of natwest, God i would love to stamp on sombodys head there!!! Moan Over! :-)

Anonymous said...

NatWest are truly, without question, evil, and have turned into one of the most aggressive banks in the UK.

I am slowly working off my overdraft with them and I tell everyone I know to avoid them. I will never, on any account, bank with them again. I would also advise all students to avoid them.

I am currrently in the process of changing my work's bank account with a more ethical company (as I have with my own personal accounts). Last year NatWest began charging us (we're a charity for disabled athletes), whilst we were still in the black. They have never given us a reason why, and STILL owe us £28 of our money. Avoid. Please, please avoid NatWest.

Anonymous said...

why did you take a large overdraft with no intention, or means of paying it back in the first place? why did you leave the country when you still owed all this money? banks dont give out free money...you cant blame the bank for giving you money...take responsibilty for your own finances.

hootchinhannah said...

Did I say I had no intention of not paying the money back? Last time I checked Northern Ireland isn't exactly a different country. The whole point of my rant, which you obviously missed, is they have made it as difficult as possible for me to pay them back. I can blame the bank for giving me money and then not accepting my payments. You would too mate.

Anonymous said...

like it or not, banks dont charge you anything unless you ask for it.

Infact, banks give you more free services than almost any other 'retailer'. When was the last time say, Tesco gave you anthing free? I mean, completely free. Maybe a 25p off coupon...just so that they can tempt you to spend more.

Banks such as NatWest give you a free account. As many cards as you want, free cheque book, free online banking, free telephone banking, free coin bags etc etc...

You dont have to pay for anything if you dont want to. You can have a credit card for 9 monhts or whatever it is completely free of charge. If you dont use it after that, you wont get charged.

If you bank with NatWest and get charges, you'll get the same response from almost all other banks. If you have a loan with them and feel the interest is too high - it probably is. Review it every 6 months.

If you bank with NatWest, go in and have a chat with them. If you feel you're getting too many charges and being ripped off, there is probably something they can do for you.

They're your bank and can more than likely do more for you than anyone else can (assuming you've banked with them for more than 5yrs or so and no one else - and not in hideous amounts of debt)

Anonymous said...

"I was willing to forgive an initial mistake. I am less willing to forgive it when it is repeatedly made and I am certainly not willing to forgive my partner, one of your customers, walking out of your branch feeling bullied by aggressive marketing techniques, in to paying for an account we did not request. With the arrival of this afternoon’s letter, after numerous telephone calls and initial visits to the branch, I am starting to suspect that this is, indeed, the kind of trick that works quite successfully on old ladies. While I suspect that it is not a deliberate strategy, it’s going to take some effort to convince me."

Rest of letter is HERE:

http://flannelcat.livejournal.com/247104.html?view=1543744#t1543744

Anonymous said...

Who eva just said Natwest gives you free accounts is a load of shit as i was paying £12 a month for mine as they informed me that was the ONLY way i could get a check book and a new card, the point that im trying to make is you dnt get any of that free stuff unless u r paying to have an account with them - so therefor it is not free! and even then the chances of u recieving any of it is very slim, im still waiting now and its a year on!
however it is well known that Natwest is in the shit at the moment, so if u want ur money back now is the best time to go 4 it, as they are at braking point. BRILLIANT time to screw them ova like they have done millions of us!!

ed said...

Natwest are true suckers of satans cock! I stupidly transferred from Barclays (who too are evil, though not to the same extent!) and started an account with Natwest. they asked me if I wanted insurance for £14 a month I adamantly proclared NO, not now, not ever. yet 3 months later I find bills on my statement for some bullshit insurance scheme! At the time I was not working and it took me into the red. For those who don't know, Natwest charge people £38 every time they go in the red. Even if it is £0.01p. After being charged repeatedly for only going into the red for no more than a few pounds I have ended up with charges ranging into hundreds of pounds. I feel quite violated by this evil corporate company, they ahve caused me much distress and upset. Whenever I try and sort my problems out with the bank I find myself confronted with a bunch of mindless, spiritless drones who spurt out the same automated garbage they have been programmed to, time and again. If you work for this company I wold strongly advise sticking your head inside a gas oven you leech ridden pieces of human filth.

Anonymous said...

most of you believe that money grows on trees and its always the banks fault get real! the banks have millions of customers and it is your idividual responsiblity to know how much you have in your account before you go spending it, even if it is only for a 30p coffee! banks are there to make money and if you are expecting money to come out for direct debits, payments,etc make sure the moneys there and you wont get charged its f!*king simple!its a form of stealing and if it was your own company you would be pissed off and would charge them.

ed said...

Anonymous probably works at Natwest. No respectable, decent company would charge their customers over 3500% which is what Natwest are regularly doing and sometimes for more. I have been charged about £230 for going no more than a few pounds into the red. Charges should be nominal and relevant to the amount you have gone over. I never agreed to 3500% when I started my account. As for banks making money - they don't have to charge people, they make hundreds of millions a year through interest alone. When they charge you it is little more than a bonus for them - they are minted. Companies like Natwest have no respect for any of their customers. It scares me that there are actually people like 'anonymous' trying to defend such a deeply cynical and highly immoral industry. Anonymous is the kind of servile arsehole who would do Natwest proud, I think anonymous should do something better with his time than stick up for the slut that is Natwest, maybe he could FIND A FUCKING SOUL

hootchinhannah said...

Ed, anonymous is obviously one of these sad, lonely creatures that has never had a friend or lover and so has decided that Natwest is the one they will marry. And yes, most of us do believe that money grows on trees 'cos we're all totally brainless.

I despair, I really do.

But I'm glad that someone gets as riled about the evilness of Natwest as I do.

Anonymous said...

Natwest are completly incompitant!!! i have never had so much trouble with a bank. I tried to open a savin account about seven yrs ago and they just couldnt get it right. They sent me the wrong type of card and the wrong pin and they just couldnt get it right and even at the tender age of 15 i was that angry i caused a scene in the bank. And now i am at uni i thought i would give them another try.... nope still incompitant. The staff are slow the company is ran like a complete shambles!!! HSBC any day!!!

Anonymous said...

I hate Natwest more than anyone i believe.
I just got off the phone with them. I have never been so rudly spoken to from a "service" industry.
Funny though how most people seem to like HSBC?
I used to be with them and changed to natwest because of some stupid offer and have regretted it ever since.
I am now going back to HSBC as I miss them dearly and will not let Natwest have another penny of my money!!!
P.S Dont get me started on E-bay!!!

Anonymous said...

natwest are pure evil.

they made a mistake with my account and then proceeded to charge me £30 for it, im a poor student not someone whose rolling in cash!!

then when i try to pay money into my account today i find that there is only one person working there to help customers whose already really busy and no helpful instructions about how to pay money in using their machines, they just assume that everyone can work it out for themselves.

ive only been with them for 3 months and im already wishing i had stayed with nationwide instead of take out a student bank account with them.

im going to write them to complain and if that doesnt work, well then maybe they'll listen if i set up a website and start trying to get as much publicity as possible about how bad they are.

Anonymous said...

I hate natwest, they are the worst of the worst. absolute thieves.

Anonymous said...

The moral of the story is, don't get overdrafts or credit cards, just spend what you have

Anonymous said...

I hate natwest with a passion!! Just over a year ago i got a letter saying i owed them around £500 when i didnt even have an overdraft or any for of loan! so i went into my local branch and showed the manager-she sent the letter off to someone and 3 months later i got a letter saying sorry we have incorrectly associated your details with those of another party, we have now remover your details from this case and will contact you no further...fine i thought, no problem, its all dealt with and i can now carry on with my life!! but oh no! it is now 9 months on, 3 more natwest letter on in which it says i now owe over £1000 and i am also being chased by some angry debt collectors!! and its not even my fault!! its their fault for fucking up things and incorrectly putting my address on someone elses letters. to be fair the person has the same name bar the middle initial but surely after me going to my bank then them sending me a letter saying it was sorted i shouldn't have debt collectors threatening to come and reposess my things?! so if they were not going to sort it out i was...i've sent all correspondence to my solicitor who has now reported them to the financial ombudsman!!! haha!!
but sadly that is not my only problem with them, i wrote a cheque the other week. cheques enter the clearing cycle at midnight, i also arranged for money to be transferred between my 2 accounts into the one which i'd written the cheque from this should have gone in at midnight also! but the cheque left at 00:07 and the money wasn't moved in BY THEM until 00:20 because of this i was overdrawn by £3.82 for 13 minutes....this cost me £38...having spoken to some dweeb on the end of a phone repeatedly i got nowhere...because apparently its my fault...!!

hootchinhannah said...

Anna, please don't let them get away with this. Go into your local branch, don't bother phoning them because they don't care about you if they can't see you, ask to speak to managers. Don't let them palm you off. You deserve compensation. I've had compensation off them for less. Banks and corporate companies work on the basis that people will give up eventually but don't back down. I hope you kick their asses.

Anonymous said...

have been waiting for 2 1/2 weeks for natwest to replace my solo card. have to travel out of the uk for work this saturday and called almost every day this week to make sure it was delivered. Today spent the whole day trying to get the courier to deliver it. outrageous. more than a dozen calls to natwest and the courier. now 11.30pm - no card. tomorrow bank holiday - fly saturday. no card - no way to get cash from my natwest account.

was so angry that i seriously contemplated suing natwest and the courier.

If ANYONE starts an "I HATE NATWEST" website - i will commit serious effort to support it - and the publicity the site'll get will mean whoever will sooner or later end up on tv.

Anonymous said...

You could actually pay money into a natwest account at Ulster Bank if you had a pay-in slip for your account, alternatively you could have used the giro slip with cash/cheque and taken the bill to another bank. It is ridiculous you can't pay over the phone unless it's a late payment though.

Anonymous said...

I work for natwest and agree with pretty much everything people are saying. The charges are ridiculous, and for going over drawn for a few quid is shocking, it doesn't cost £38 to send you a letter, however their are people who consistently take the piss, but its a small minority. Hopefully you'll notice a change now that sir fred's been fucked off. Also be a bit fairer on the staff, they get paid shit wages and have a huge amount of pressure put upon them, they will try and help you the best they can.

Anonymous said...

I was really pisst off after getting off the fone with natwest after they chargd me £30 as well as £24 at the end of last month.The moron i spoke to didnt tell me anything i didnt kno.He wantd to transfer me to th lendin dept for wat so I can speak to another idiot.I am just gona payoff my overdraft and leav the theiving bastards.

Anonymous said...

NatWest is brill they pay me massive bonuses, pay for my xmas do & even give me a free company car! all you scrotes talking about charges deserve them!

Anonymous said...

they only pay you lots of bonus, because your probably like one of those guys on the apprentice, a stuck up arrogant cunt, and natwest are shit and your boring , love from

commando legend.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't bother going to the halifax I would strongly urge you to go for some kind of Building society.

Most (if not all) of the banks have shareholders, Nationwide (a building society) don't have shareholders.

I'd go with them, as they aren't in financial ruin like those theiving tosser banks like Natwest are (halifax I am sure are, or could be like that).

They are only interested in one thing money screw people with no money, I am a moving natwest customer as of tomorrow.

I 100% agree with the other parts of your post!

Hope you get it sorted out as soon as you can. But technically you'd owe them pay them back when you can that is all.