Barclay's ( Not so friendly ) Bank

We had the misfortune to have to visit Barclay's Bank in Wigan Today, we had not been in for quite awhile and were utterly shocked by the attitude of a member of staff... We wanted to pay a bill at the huge counter at the back ,and were told that is only for business people now ... So we were directed to just 2 two machine's to which we had to pay in... alas we did not have our bank cards with us so this STROPPY YOUNG GAL came to show us what to do ,, this process took around 7---10 minutes and were told this is how they are operating now , if there had been a teller at that counter we would have been in and out in a couple of minutes ,BUT OH NO TECHNOLOGY IS THE WAY SHE SAID .. So again i am offering my advice if anyone wants it STAY CLEAR OF BARCLAY'S BANK WIGAN AS THEY HAVE NO TIME FOR PEOPLE OF A CERTAIN AGE GROUP ,Finally we were dismayed at the amount of stores closed /shut we used to love going to Wigan shopping a walk round but today it is so very sad and depressing we are utterly disappointed with what the clown council have let happen to this once proud town ,,,,,,,,GB.

Naughty Bank

Papers a bit slow on the uptake. Full page story in the Daily Mail today

Barclays uk bank my late mum used it and I had power of attorney but they held on to her money as long as they could even though they knew me never use them

Best branch Chorley you speak to a member of staff face to face at the counter.

Barclays bank must have lost a lot of custom, Like a lot of the big banks they don't want your savings We have just had two ISA's mature which were paying 1-8%.If we did nothing the bank would put the money into an account paying 0-05% and if we wanted to start two new ISA's then they would pay 0-50% for three years . We transferred out and managed to get 1-2% elsewhere. Same with their Blues Reward used to pay in £4 and get £7 back per month. In April my payment will go up to £5 but due to me only having the two direct debits to qualify they will only pay £5 into my blue rewards account. We have also transferred money from our current accounts elsewhere to get an higher rate. We have a meeting with the bank on Saturday Morning to sort a few things out and if we are not happy with the outcome MAY after 45 years close our accounts,

Ena Barclays used to have mini biro's with no tops. i bet thousands of them ended up in the bookies

If you have got a branch where you can speak to a human being, you are very lucky.

Thanks to a Chairman of our bank making some bad financial decisions which lost the bank a lot of money, they closed the majority of their branches a made hundreds of their loyal staff redundant to recover the losses.

Now, if I want to conduct any business at a branch, I have got to go to Bolton, Liverpool or Manchester.

Why have we not changed banks, simply because despite what happened to branches, it is the best bank we have been in.

Owd Codger a few years ago they were shutting the last of the banks down in a town which also had no hole in the walls when pressed about this a spokesperson said that no one would be more than 15 miles from a bank if they wished to use oneSay that quick and we have Liverpool one way and Manchester the other roughly that distance.

It is all very well having internet banking, but not so good when wanting a large amount of cash and the nearest branch of your bank is miles away from where you live.

Went to the bank on Friday to transfer an ISA to another bank. Was told it only matured that day would leave it till Tuesday to be sorted. Parting shot was call in any time on Tuesday, At 11-00am on Tuesday we arrived at the bank and the floor walker member of staff told us we needed an appointment, I told her we were told to turn us anytime and would be seen too, She then said go for a walk round Wigan and we would be contacted with an appointment. I asked how was she going to contact me has I did not have a phone Another member of staff said her 11-00 appointment had not turned up and dealt with us. The service by the bank was crap and I even considered closing our accounts down and moving to another bank

Barclays seem to have such a bad reputation: I am surprised anyone choses to do business with them.

All the banks must be has bad as each other. When I tried to transfer the ISA to another bank Barclays could not transfer the money because the account at the other bank had been closed. It was because I had opened the account but not put any money in due to waiting for the ISA to mature Came home and opened another account with the VM bank every thing allegedly on line banking (I had transfered my ISA into my current account) Took me about 15 mins to open this new account and once it was registered tried to transfer the money from Barclays to VM. Guess what it gave me a sort code and reference number to take to Barclays so they could transfer the money so much for on line bankingIn the end I sent them a cheque which cleared in 3 days and the money ended up where I wanted it

We changed from Barclay's when the one in town closed to the T.S.B, in town had to problems so far , we only use our Debit Card in the bank or machines to get cash, other than that we live on our Credit card and pay it off every month but the interest rate is only 6,75% if we did not clear it,

That's the way we did in the 70s so why change, there was only one card then for everything a credit card, so I say use it or loose it it works just the same as a debit card and no one goes into your bank account only the machine

Dougie we have no problems with our cards or D/Debits . The problem is the bank not telling us that we needed an appointment to move money to another bank [V Barclays are not paying a good interest rate quoted 0.5% were other banks are paying between 1.5% and 1.85% so we wanted to move our money elsewhere We now only have our joint account and the boss also has her own account from when she worked now for her state pension to be paid into Barclays

I seem to recall people telling horror stories about their experiences with Barclays ever since I was a child.

My dad banked with them: not sure but they may have then been the only bank in Ashton, leastways, I do not recall any other.

Soon as I was old enough to need a bank, I chose District Bank on Wallgate, Wigan.

For some years, my former other half was a Barclays customer. They were forever screwing up. She often received a case of wine from them as an apology for their errors. It appeared to be sufficient to motivate her to remain a customer.

Some people are easily bought!

Just looked at my wife's bank statement online and she has closed her ISA accounts down and transfered her money elsewhere. I looked at one of her closed ISA'S and it was set up for help to buyscheme. We have not had a mortgage since1993 so do not know why the bank set this ISA up. I have double checked her money and she did not gain any interest from this.

Is she leaving you Peter? Is that because you check everything she does and have control over her money?

Gerry my wife had a major stroke and a bleed on her brain and short term memory loss. She gets confused using a phone and would not know how to use a computer nowadays .We have been a couple for over 50 years and I try to look after her the best I can At the moment she has just started on her state pension and I am trying to get the DWP to pay her state pension into HER bank account instead of paying it into OUR bank account .My wife as a purse with money in it and every time this is opened the queen blinks and I swear she still as white fivers tucked away somewhere

Barclays Leigh branch is closing in a couple of months.

No point having savings or even a standard isa, the interest rates are too low and you are actually losing money by doing so when you take into account cost of living. A stocks and shares isa is a much better option long term with the stock market achieving 8% on average

Thaknows stocks and shares are OK if you like gambling with your money but as they say your money can be lost overnight and there is no guarantee on your money

leaving it in a savings account is a worse gamble, and like I said it is a long term investment an isa, if it suddenly crashes 25% and you panic and take all your money out, then yes you have lost 25% of your money, but in the long term the stock market ALWAYS recovers (if it didnt where would we all be) If you have a private pension for example, where do you think that is invested? The stock market and bonds and its long term
Compound interest is your friend!!
compound calculator Mortgage free? £500 per month for 15 years at an ''average'' return of 8% gives you a pot of £174000 Do the same in a savings account paying 0.5%(if you can find one paying that much) you will have £93000....I think I will take that gamble.

It's better to get someone else to pay the £500 a month, into your pot, for 15 years!

It certainly is, but they only put in about 300, I am hammering it when my mortgage finishes next year, Im not gonna miss it am I if I have been paying it out for the last twenty odd years, now its time to make it work for me

Why does it take up to 15 days for some transactions to clear in a bank even if the transaction is within the same bank I thought in the day and age of electronic banking it would take minutes not weeks

I am sorry about your wife's illness, PeterP. She is lucky to have you. It is precisely your wife's sort of people that banks and other institutions are not providing a service. Although today's generation can glibly work with computers and modern technology, the number of people relying on themselves is growing and in a few years time many of these youngsters will be in your position, many on their own.

I know we're supposed to be working towards a cashless society, but I can't see how that will work at present. Plus the threat of power outages due to the shortage of any sort of energy is going to hit the online services.

Good luck with the DWP!

Gerry still trying after 3 phone calls and a letter to DWP to get wife's pension paid into HER account. Received a letter today to say they tried to contact me on 3 different dates but no messages on my mobile voice mail/missed callsPhoned them again today and they are sending a letter out to us to fill a form in and to get the missus to sign it letter will take 3/5 days to come to us. See what happens to form as this will be the 3rd form they alleged they have send out to us. I have also given them our landline number which is an answer m/c if they cannot get hold of me via my mobile and double checked they have the correct mobile number.

The DWP PeterP are mainly working from home. All these flaming forms! Don't they just love them?! Fortunately I don't have to deal with the civil "service" much, or at all actually, but I have friends and family who are tearig their hair out sometimes.
What annoys me is when these people say they have been trying to contact you. Do you have any defences or techniques to control your frustrations? My heart is with you and your wife. 50 years. Today that's lost.

What interested me was a post of yours saying you were pushing your wife (I presume; you said "wheelchair" as far as I remember) up the hill, in Wigan. How heavy is your wife? Plus shopping possibly.

Anyway, I have a dog, a Spanish Mastiff, and he is now 10 years getting on for 11, and I have an Innopet Stroller for him. On the flat it's fine but going uphill is horrendous, so my heart is with you there.
But I love cycling, always out on my bike, and I have now got an electric bike and an Innopet bike trailer. And I was just thinking, can you get a similar trailor and go camping in the Lakes or elsewhere with your wife?

At long last DWP have paid Yvonne's pension into her account

Another one bites the dust, Barclays Bank in Chorley closed this week.

In Ormskirk yesterday Barclays closing there this year

I'm in Barclays, and must admit the service is shocking they don't seem to be helpful anymore.

I thought it always had been.

My father banked with Barclays. When I first need a bank account (1960's), I was damned sure that Barclays was not going to be my choice.

My wages were paid to Barclays for years and when I took my redundancy it was paid into Barclays , I called in to Barclays for some reason mentioned interest rates and found I was only getting 2% anyway we went into wigan and saw that Nationwide were paying 6.2% so the next day we went off to Barclays and asked why we were only getting 2% as Nationwide were paying 6.2% we were told that we had agreed to that sum so we said we were going to another bank. Next day off to Wigan and got it sorted. But now the interest rate has fallen badly,but happy where we are.the

"But now the interest rate has fallen badly,but happy where we are. the ..........

..... Bastards" ?

We have decided to open an ISA but when I tried to do it online the online account would not accept the money transfer and I would have to go to the bank to sort it out So much for on line banking

Peter, a friend of mine (who you know well) who is very experienced in low-risk investing, told me he'd looked high and low for decent return and, would you believe it, the best rate was from the Trustees Savings Bank!

WENT into Wigan Barclays today to find out their 4% Isa is now 3.2% walked over the road to Yorkshire Building Society and got an ISA for 3.95%. We will be going back into YBS next month to cancel our existing ISA'S we will lost about £150 in interest by closing them early but will gain over £600 in the new interest rate that is if they are still paying 3.95% against 1.2% at the moment The lady in Barclays said at our age we should spend the money, I suppose we could go Skiing with the money( that's Spend Kids Inheritance)

Never forget the words of Groucho:

" A banker is someone who lends you his umbrella, but takes it back when it begins to rain."

Barclays have shut down most of the branches around this area
Leigh
Chorley
Ashton
Ormskirk
St Helens(May)
Where do we go if they shut Wigan

It is disappointing that Post Offices have not stepped into the role of acting as agents to handle deposits and withdrawals on behalf of banks that have decided they will no longer maintain their branch offices. But they too are also disappearing from many locations, and can have some horrendous queues.

“it is disappointing that Post Offices have not stepped into the role of acting as agents to handle deposits and withdrawals on behalf of banks “

I thought they had?

Have any of you been into Barclays Wigan lately because I’ve had it on good authority it’s been improved.

Barclays at Wigan could improve by just opening the customers counter again

It shows the difference in banks yesterday Nationwide gave myself and my wife £100 each as a gift, always been happy with them,

bentlegs,

Was this a payment under their 'Fairer Share' scheme?

Ena, not sure what or why but it was good of them, just heard they have raised the interest on some accounts,