Massively improved in my experience

I changed to Alliance & Leicester (from the awful NatWest) after the Santander takeover and before the re-brand. i bitterly regretted that decision for years as I had numerous difficulties and issues. Customer services was a misnomer. I can't even count the number of formal complaints I registered ( I got quite a few compensation payments as well).

But over the last year or so, my perception has very significantly changed. I now have the best banking products available. My current account pays me 3% on £20k and up to 3% cashback on most household direct debits (no idea how they do that).. My Santander ISA is the best rate I could find for the terms I want. I have a linked e-saver account, also paying a good rate (and you can start a new one every year) and with instant transfers to and from other accounts. The on-line and mobile banking works brilliantly, no recent problems at all - and I use it a lot.

Customer services is massively improved. EG I sent a secure message about forthcoming trip overseas. prompt reply saying all 3 cards have been flagged so I'll be safe to use overseas, but also including lots of advice about charges for using cards overseas, opting to pay in local currency and so on i.e. exceeding my expectations.

Maybe I'm speaking too soon - and I note others' comments (though if you have to say "WTF" etc in a review, you are probably pretty difficult to deal with in person). But the last year has been pretty good, and I was pondering a 5 star rating, but some small points could be enhanced. I'd be happy recommending Santander banking now.

Excellent service, for loans and mortgage.

I had a loan and mortgage with Santander and they have been the best company I have ever had to deal with.
I would recommend Santander to anyone, I have previously used Nat West, Northern Rock, First Direct, Bradford & Bingley and Barclays.

Santanders banking is better than any others I have used, and I'm not getting paid for saying this..!!!

hands down the worst bank on the high street

crap bank that is going to go bust very soon - you have been warned

Diabolical

Applied online for a business bank account with these jerks, did not need an overdraft or anything, just a simple account. Had 10k in cash ready to deposit so we could purchase the stock to start up. They state they will get back to you within 5 days with a decision. So after 10 days with no reply I phoned them to see where they were, -"you have to email as it was an online application and they will get back to you", Hmmm... so 2 days later I got the usual automated "thanks for your enquirey, we will get back to you within 48 hours" WTF!
Anyway they never did reply, so after waiting around an hour on the phone, finally spoke to a human who assured me the application was aproved and should be open with a week.
To cut short 3 weeks later and after much chasing them, they declined the application with no reason. Not even an apology. So almost 5 weeks to get to this decision and completley screwed my business before I even started. AVOID!!!!!!!

Khufash Mohammed ritiene questo recensione utile

Competitive products but terrible customer service

Santander has recently been on a drive to offer some of the most competitive products on the High Street, so I thought I'd give give them a go, as I'd never been with Santander before (I'm about as loyal to banks as they are to their customers...) I find their customer service very poor, I tried to pay my credit card off via online banking (Santander CAccount to Santander CCard), but when the funds did not appear the next day, I was informed it can take up to 5 working days! They would not accept a BACS over the phone, and said there was nothing they could do. To change the direct debit to the credit card takes up to 8 weeks! I have never had any problems with a bank taking my money until I banked with Santander.

the worst bank EVERRRRRRR

i have been with this bank for 10 years,complete nightmare!!!will never bank with them again,very stressful and confusing.customer service staff are beyond rude.

No one go with these people

They are confusing, rude and it is all complicated. Why can't I give it no stars!

I have moved over to HSBC now and it is sooooo much better

Obstructive and unhelpful

I tried to undertake a variety of transactions over the telephone in one day from a Santander account, including making a payment onto a Natwest credit card and my co-op mortgage, but after the first transaction I was told I couldn't make anymore transactions. Even though I passed all the security checks I was treated as suspicious and told I could not do anything else without going into a branch in a different town from where I live. In order to force me to make this trip into the branch to show them some photo ID, my attempts since to transfer my ISA and accounts have also been blocked. Any attempts to speak to a manager about this have been blocked and my complaints have been routinely dismissed. I will never bank with Santander again.

SANTANDER have made me £6000 overdrawn

Last November Santander made a major error where they've closed an account in the joint names of my Mother (decease) and my father, told me that it was a dormant account in my Nan's name (decease) and paid the money into my account.

Believing in good faith what they told me was true, I've spent the money. 5 months later my Dad tried to access his account only to be told they'd closed it. Santander reinstated his account and returned the funds.

Yesterday (maurndy Thursday) they took £6000 out of my bank account making me £6000 overdrawn. They gave me less than 1 weeks notice on what they were planning to do.

As soon as I received their letter on Monday, I spent a hour on the phone to them trying to raise a complaint ticket. I emailed them on Tuesday with all the details highlighting their gross incompetence which they ignored. The email instructed them not to take any funds out of my account.

Everyday this week I called then each phone call over an hour, and they told me someone would call me back before 6, no one ever did. For 4 days no one would take responsibility for their error. Only at 6pm last night did I get the name of the person looking into it.

My account is now £6000 overdrawn, racking up charges everyday.

Santander are one of the useless, most incompetence banks that has ever existed.

I urge anyone planning on opening an account with Santander. DO NOT DO IT. IF THEY CAN UNLAWFULLY TAKE MONEY OUT ON MY ACCOUNT, THEY CAN DO IT TO YOU.

need to learn how to deal with long standing customers

Tried to close a savings account. One counter open, every one else out the back somewhere and one person in little side office. The young lady said i needed to phone a certain number and that i could use the bank phone as it was free. I used the phone and the representataive i spoke to asked if i had I.D., which i had (passport), this person said i needed to ask one of the staff to look at the passport and confirm it was me. I asked the person dealing with me, she asked me to wait a minute, and she would get a member of staff. A couple of minutes later she returned and went into the side office, then came back out and said to me "sorry but we are too busy, you will have to make an appointment". It would have taken ten seconds.

Not worth it!! Terrible

Open account for university wanted undergraduate account, promised interest free overdraft.
Gave me wrong account, cancelled my overdraft and gave me charges!! If I had right account would have never happen. Tried to change to right account type, every time I went they said I needed something different.
Would not let me change address, online banking is not convenient to set up and passwords only last for 24 hours because not letting me change address. I am not traveling about 70miles for a passwords.

Went in branch to close account with everything they asked for and told me it was ok no problem
I went visit my family and I get Santander letter saying I am over drawn and charged me fees.
I called up communication between departments are very bad !! Actually no word could describe it !
Had to repeat so many details, slow, long waiting time and
They said there was no proof of me going in to bank to do anything!
If they ask for proof how come, when I have been in they don't give me proof ??

Matter still unsolved I have to keep calling.
I am university student being able to access my student loan and grant when needed is important!
If your where my friend I would show you all the letters sent to me and strongly advise you to got with different bank! This bank likes to give different information each time!
lucky in my university there are people studying law and asking my friend in taking the right action so this doesn't happen to someone like me!

Do not join !!
go with another bank! easy quick, you can change your address as many times as you was at Barclays. You just need to prove you are you and that's it! Banking online with them super easy and great mobile app!

A bad experience with Santander

Yesterday my online banking was blocked. Reluctantly I phoned Santander’s helpline to unblock it. Their helpline number, 0845, cost me money.
To my horror, a credit agency, Experian, used by Santander has not been informed that I was a Santander customer.
Another excuse came up by Santander fraudulent department was that I recently changed my mobile phone. When I challenged the definition of the word, 'recently', and they said anything up to 3 months.
So, I immediately reminded them that new and better smart phones coming out every few months.
Anyhow, I have got a 123 current account, paying £2 monthly fee.
So it seems that not only I have to pay a regular monthly fee for a current account, but also I need to pay extra phone bill.
However, I have demanded a refund of £2.
The refund of £2 would just cover the cost of phoning their helpline department.
It covers neither the cost of Santander providing a poor service, nor feeling of humiliation, embarrassment and helplessness suffered by me.

4 years and got an arrow in the knee!

After years of flawless cooperation (got very good credit ratting) they decided to cut my overdraft short in Octover / November 2011 (mind xmass closing in) without sending me a letter. Did shopping as usual and was hit with fees for going beyond the overdraft limit (as it went down from £500 > £100). After few phone calls and visits to branch, they decided to refund me over £100 and reinstated my overdraft to previous limit. So, had a bad experience but did recover. However, next year they cut the overdraft short again leaving me with low cash supply just before xmass.. not happy with them, this is not what I'm expecting from a bank! Moved to FirstDirect - so far so good, can't tell bad word.

AVOID...Do Not Try to Transfer Here. Lost paperwork, no communication, poor support

AVOID AVOID AVOID. As a current Santander customer I tried to transfer to another of their products after constant adverts every time I used my online banking. It was meant to be straight forward. It was the exact opposite and no support is offered so after over 2 months I'm now stuck with 2 accounts, and all of the associated issues with debits, duplicating payments and trying to transfer everything myself. If this is how one of their own customers is treated, woe betide those who have moved form another bank. The entertainingly named "customer service dept" is nothing of the sort, with curt 2 line arrogant responses knowing full well that they have your money and that another account change will further knock credit rating making you look risky. AVOID AVOID AVOID

Santander 123 Credit Card - Don't be fooled, They CHARGE annual fees and dont tell you

be warned if you think the deal sounds great being able to collect cash back reward points think again. The one thing they do not make things clear to you on the site is that they charge an annual fee. Yes it may be in the very small print, but this needs to be made much clearer, before we get credit checked !!!! The fee of £24 charged straight away when you get the card, so you are scammed. No point collecting a few quid of rewards when you have to pay for it at the start !!! MAKE IT CLEARER ON APPLICATIONS. I am in the process of getting this reported to the FSA

brilliant service received, helpful customer service.

I have a loan and credit card with this company. I have received a great service and switching to their credit card will save me alot of money. The transfer went through quickly, customer service was great as they explained everything clearly including telling me the actual fee and double checking I was happy to continue with the transfer.

I have read alot of negative reviews however my experiences with this bank is its the best I have dealt with for some time and i am now considering moving my current account to this bank too.

im not happy

Back in 2010 i put in a check at your bank santander
then received a letter that i was overdrawn so i paid back feb 2011 .
but when i went back to get my money there wont give me my money why?
i paid the overdrawn payment so why this. I was a victim i was scamed you wasnt as i paid your money. as you said you wont never give my money over £ 4,000..
Asking me to give proof that where the cheak came from bt i havent i shown them that i did pay back £ 1,200 took my id's aswel so now what???

Trusted Santander and La Caixa ,lost everything

My Name is Aram Tonakanyan:
In December 2008 I lost my wife Kaloshina Irina.
Two weeks before her death we transferred our money to Irina's accounts in Spanish banks "Santander" and "La Caixa". To her account in "Santander" we transferred about 200 000 euros, and to "La Caixa" about 400 000 dollars.
After becoming inheritor I hired a lawyer to formalize the assets under my name and I found out that banks had given all the money to an unknown lawyer with a forged power of attorney.
Based on all these facts I started a criminal process and the Economics Crime Police found out that the faked power of attorney was given to that unknown lawyer not only THREE MONTHS AFTER my wife's death, but there also existed an obvious lack of conformity with her original identification card.
Woman pictured on faked ID extremely differed from my dead wife, there were mistakes in her last name and some other data.
I am sure that the banks had the copies of my wife's original documents, because she was their customer for ages.
Based on that fake documents both banks gave such an amount of money to an unknown person ignoring the whole transfer security policy. This speaks a lot about the lawlessness which is practiced in such respected European banks.
I sued the criminal process in 2009. My lawyers tried to solve the problems with banks exceptionally in peaceful way, but the banks refused and offered me to address the civil court, beforehand knowing that in this case they will be able to protract the process for an unspecified time.
I am already 65 years old. I am a sick man that lost completely everything because of incompetence and/or malice of banks "Santander" and "La Caixa".
Before I trusted my possessions to these banks I was a well off man having intentions to set up a business in United States of America because whole my family lives here.
Now I receive aid for the poor from United States Government (I am a resident of this country), while banks of "Santander" and "La Caixa" rule over my life and my property, ignoring my legal rights.
We trusted these banks and considered them to be credible, meanwhile they even didn't have any decency to express their regrets about their obvious mistake. They even ignored my lawyer for a long time, before they weren't called in evidence.
We even addressed the Bank of Spain to give an official opinion about the actions of these licensed banks. It was seven months ago and our request is still unanswered. After this what can we expect from banks themselves?
I have lost my hope that these banks will return my property and the health I wasted all these years. My lawyers will insist on criminal responsibility of bank directors for their actions.
I am intended to address the society and all possible organizations in USA, that can help me to retrieve all the things I lost because of my belief in banks of "Santander" and "La Caixa".
I am sure that the institution of human rights in United States works perfectly.
Me and my lawyers have all the verified documents, which we can present in case of necessity.

unacceptable

i am satander customer since 18 months. poor service , poor call center response, poor complaints resolution, online banking is rubbish and website is awful. if you do a transfer more than 900 pounds through online you have to walk to the nearest branch with your id and details and you can wait in the branch 30 minutes for a appointment. my branch is 21 miles away from my house. finally money be in payees account after 3 days. They took 3 months to sort out my simple online transaction issue. if you call to their customer service center better take half day off from your work and call them . if you are using a pay as you go phone recharge it for minimum 10 pounds or more.

Lost my entire ISA balance. Errors when transferring funds online

After transfering my ISA from Natwest Via Santanders advice my balance was lost in the ether. It took about three months to get my money back in my account. That was after numerous phone calls where I got told that I had never had any such amount of money. Along with visits to the bank. Recently transferred an e saver account online and it came up with an error money appeared to have transferred. After confirming it was in the right account in the bank it appears it wasn't three or four months of interest lost. Transferred the balance myself online and another error message came up. Made a complaint. Not interested. A joke from the start.

FROZEN BANK ACCOUNT, REFUSED TO DISCUSS

I have been a customer with Santander for over 6 years and my earnings from IT contracting/consultancy paid in direct. Recently I needed money for surgery so I gave notice to withdraw my balance. They have agreed but when going to the branch I was greeted by manager (Acton, W3 - Shitel Patel) saying that they could no longer allow me to withraw any money at all! Her response was:

"Santender can not allow this transaction to take place at current present of time you will be contacted as and when the situation changes."

I tried to ask the branch manager why they froze my account but she refused to talk to me. When I rang the head office from the bank and got through to Santender's security team they had requested to speak to manager but she had refused to speak to them. So far I have filed a dispute both with Santander and the Financial Ombudsman as I am in a predicament where I can't get to my hard earned money and no body from Santander would give me any information!?

My advice to anyone is NOT to bank with Santander as they can freeze your account for no reason and if you Google topic Santander frozen bank account you will find that they have a habit of doing this to people/customers. I wish I have never done any business with them as they're complete morons!

Absolutely Useless

This bank gives you the run around. Hardly anyone can answer a simple question and its a lottery on if you get help when you call their helpline. The only reason I give them a one star is because this site won't let me post until I pick one. Just plain terrible.

Head and shoulders above other banks

I've had a lot of health issues and personal problems over the years and staff at Santander couldn't have been more considerate or helpful in assisting me when my account has occasionally incurred charges because I wasn't able to manage it as well as I should. I've had a great deal of experience with various banks and its no small thing for me to praise one - I actually believe that their staff are asked to consider how they would like to be treated if it was them on the other side of the counter and they behave accordingly. The advise and help that I've received from this bank has been well over and above what they could reasonably have been expected to provide...

Poor Service and Security Mad

Have just left Santander after having had my account shut down twice in the last month, due to over zealous security and without being contacted. This is despite having over £1000 in my account, but nonetheless I was refused cash at my local post office twice. The second refusal was the last straw!
Accessing a customer service person is cumbersome and often means time spent in a long queue, listening to annoying repetitive piped music.
Additionally, since being moved from A & L I have been unable to set up direct debits or standing orders online. They insisted on having a mobile to "transmit a secure code" to enable the setup, but I refused to give them my mobile number.
I have just joined First Direct and hope that I have gone from the worst bank to the very best!

Santander mafia

When it started in the as family Bank and later local (in Santander) and regional Bank they were really impressive. Then in the 70s they did tart to become national and suddenly they were less impressive. And I know what I am saying because a that time their were poaching staff from other Banks (that in less than 6 months they were regretting it) and I was working in other Bank in front of their local branch. Fortunately, I did refuse their offer.

Mr Botin family always was a local mafia so nothing new on that, His son-in-law is Severiano Ballesteros and is the only thing good in that family.

My sister is going through a legacy issue were the money is deposit in the Santander and after 10 years still she didn't manage to get a cent. Every time is a new legal demand; three lawyers have been involved so far unsuccessfully.

They charge the Moon nearly just to get in a branch (it s joke, of course, but it is pretty close) and to breath inside. To open a new account by transfering the standing balance from the old one they charge you. It is the Bank with more expensive fees in the country to use their ATMs. Customer Service is in fact non existent, when you go to resolve an issue they treat you like if you were a cockroach; if you call by phone always "sorry, in this moment there is not staff available, please call later".

I could write a book about Banco de Santander bad behaviour..

Joe Poor ritiene questo recensione utile

Goodbye to Santander

have had the same bank for over 40 years (by three different names) Girobank, Alliance & Leicester and Santander.The first taken over by the second and subsequently taken over by the last. Their service has deterioted so much that after my last complaint (which has been live for about 2 weeks and I am yet to be convinced is resoved) I have arranged to transfer to a local bank (the Bank of Scotland) who welcomed me with open arms. How refreshing it was to talk to someone face to face within minutes without having to attempt a 36 mile round trip to the nearest Santander branch. I have completely lost confidence in Santander where clearly the right hand does not know what the left is doing. I have always considered myself a reasonable and patient individual as may be seen from my remaining with the same bank for 40 years without conemplating changing until now. I for one will not miss Santander and would not recommend them to anyone.

santander steal your money

santander are a rip off bank late payments fees even when you pay your store card in shop one the day stealing off the less well off as usual its the less well off that suffer who'd not recommend them and i bank with them thre a disgrace

best bank bar none

having been a member of abbey /santander for over 15 years
i have never once had any reason to complain about them to me they are the best bank ever

i have also held account in other bank compared to these they all suck the worst been Barclay the worst bank ever

Awful

They accidently overdrew me by £4, charged me over and over and over for being overdrawn, phoned me incessantly with threats of legal action, caused me untold stress and finally after months, I was told it was a mistake and my account was zeroed after paying an extortionate amount of charges.
I wouldnt touch this bank with someone elses money, if it was the only bank left, i'd bury my cash in the garden

Appalling customer service

I was delighted to be able to summarise my experience with Santander which includes miscalculating my mortgage (and trying to charge me for it), demanding interest payment for a period after I closed it - having previously given me another sum as final payment due, and a catalogue of failing to provide promised information for my late mothers estate which I was only able to get out of them by using the Financial Ombudsman after seven or eight months effort. None of the ten or more individuals i spoke to apologised , took responsibility for the situation or ever, ever returned calls. I really hope if you are reading this you will stay away from them - finance capitalism at its worst.

Totally useless!

1st Uselessness: Having banked with Santander for about 8 years, we opened an online savings account to save £20,000 from an insurance policy for a few months before needing the funds on a new property.

3 months on, and only a couple of weeks before needed the money, we found the account frozen due to Santander not having properly identified us. It took 3 visits to the local branch and 10 days before they finally released our own money to us. They paid us a £50 sweetener before we closed ALL accounts.

2nd Uselessness: Upon informing them my mother had died, I was told to get a copy of the death certificate in order to collect her £6,500 savings. The bank's form needed to be witnessed by a Commissioner of Oaths which I did within an hour, only to find on my return that my cousin had helped herself to £2,500 to pay for my mother's funeral which she had arranged without me knowing. Santander didn't want to know and the matter has spent the last 12 months with the Financial Services Ombudsman.

3rd Uselessness: After buying from dfs, the 3 years 'free' credit was arranged by Santander Cards. After "misinformation" and errors with the handling of initial payments, they paid us a £71.20 "credit". After missing payments (using the "credit" in-lieu of payments)they started to harass us for non-payment. They charged us £12 several times for "late payments" not only when none were due, but due to the "credit" were actually in advance with payments!

Six months into a 3 year load, they demanded the full outstanding amount even though it was only short by the "credit" which they had granted, yet a month later they demanded only the monthly payment and the "credit" shortfall! They also claimed the balance being £120 short for no obvious reason and haven't provided a statement or other details despite having asked for one on several occasions. The matter was referred to the Financial Service Ombudsman last month. [full details www.dfsnightmare.co.uk]

Joe Poor ritiene questo recensione utile

Business banking - forget it, go elsewhere.

Terrible bank for business banking.

We were with Abbey business banking, they were good and offered free banking for life, now Santander have taken over they have ruined a good bank.

Now Santander inform us they intend to charge for business banking.

We will be moving to another bank.

Ok banking but prefered Abbey and A+L

Opened an account with A&L when I was 11. Crappy accounts for kids but I managed... When I was 13 I opened an account with Abbey which gave me an ATM Card, use to put all my money in that account and A&L become useless just had a couple of hundred I'd saved up in it........ When I was 16 I got a Visa Electron debit card and that was better, they also send me a cheque book on my request........ 2 months later had to report my card lost and they sent me a Visa Debit card(Electronic only) I wrote a cheque for £112 and was returned unpaid they charged me £25 there after my cheque book was stolen. When I reported it they said there where cheque transactions on my account.... I'm 18 now and because I refuse to pay the charges when I didn't write the cheques there ruining my credit......... I cant even get a basic account

Worst Automotive Loan Company Ever

Between the 11 pm telephone calls and the fact that they will call 7 times or more a day despite having spoken to me, they are definitely in violation of collection practices. Additionally, they WILL NOT work with you when there is a delay in your ability to pay the loan on time. Every deferment request I have submitted has been denied. Now, having only 4 months left of payments on a 72 month loan they threaten repossession for 2 outstanding payments that were to be deferred by the company they assumed my loan from.
No one in customer service speaks competent English and they get upset when you ask them to repeat themselves to clarify. I almost wish I hadn't bought my car even though I love it. I wish my loan had not been purchased by this company as it has tainted my ability to love this vehicle purchase.

No face to face support. Call their "only" number!

I am disgusted with Santander with their customer support. I am a jobseeker, unfortunately stuck in a £350 overdraft, can hardly afford to feed myself due to their reckless fees.

They have no contingency plans for those who can not afford to pay, their only advice is to speak to the guys on the phone which tell me to freeze my account.

I would love to see somebody in confidence at my local branch who can give me the support I need and those that are in a boat load more trouble then me. I would also like to be able to contact my local branch instead of the "only" 0845 number.

For overdraft debts, they should also provide a method of paying it off at the same price as the overdraft fee, "Currently £20 a month, I guess it will be £30 next year".

I have never had another bank account, I used to be with Abbey and they were fantastic. What a shame.


Maybe Santander is just as bad as any other huge bank, honestly... I'll be getting a credit union current account and i'll just hope Bank of Dave opens near me.

rubbish bank

this bank is shit dont ever ever ever join this bank they are not understanding towards anything they charge u for any little thing and get u in a lot of dept fucking pricks

Dathan ritiene questo recensione utile

They don't want my business...there loss!

I've been successfully self employed now for 2 years and had been warned there might be issues when getting re-mortgaged when I originally decided to go it alone. However, Santander assured me I was now in a position to move house.

After a mammoth search (including to 2 properties we were outbid on) we final had offer accepted on a beautiful Victorian semi. Great! We started to get the wheels in motion, but the wheels quickly ground to a halt. After what seemed like endless chasing we discovered that the wheels had actual fallen off - Santander had changed the criteria for self employed people and were not going to lend any money.

We have now lost the house we wanted and will have to start again. Needless to say, this is not the only business Santander will be losing from me!

Not the best looking but an effective website

I'm a santander website & find it very good to use.

Worst bank in UK

This bank is just terrible, especially their overdraft fees and charges.

I paid all fees and charges and leveled my account to 0 again, yet they tell me they will apply more charges! CRAZY!

STAY AWAY PLEASE.

not enough information

I was looking for some terms and conditions or fee information about my new student account (as i never received any of this when i opened it or through the post) but found absolutely nothing. Had to go into the branch but they weren't much help either...