Fucking God Damn stupid English banks are worthless!!!

My bank card has not worked properly in three months and I cant get any money out of my account. Everytime I need money I stand in line at the branch for an hour or more. I ask to take some money out and they say 'No you have to use the machine' I tell them it doesnt work and I have gone through all this before. They insist on having me show them. So I do, again. Then I have to stand in FUCKING line again. Then when I am back, with my passport as ID, they tell me thats not needed because they have to do a security questionaire regardless.

I go to the bank today, do the whole fucking procedure again. Then the teller asks if I have ID, I say No., I was told last time that you dont use it just the question thing. 'Oh no sorry we need ID, perhaps the other bank has a different procedure.'

How can different branches of the same fucking bank have different procedures? So they refused to give me money. The banks here are the most incompetant, unhelpful, backward and stubbornly self-important organizations in the world. I cant wait till I am back in Canada where they treat you with respect not as a nuisance.

FUCKERS!!!

My goodness. Is it just that company or are they all that bureaucratic?

As far as I know thay all are.

The one I am with is an easy going one as they allowed me to open an account with only a passport and one piece of addressed mail.

Well, I don't have any problems.

maybe it's because you're a foreigner! My bank's fine if I go in to take money out, and they've never asked for ID. I have to do this a lot because I am constantly sitting on my cards!

Is it a building society? mine won't let me do anything in branch - it all has to go by post.

I think the UK just hates us filthy furriners.

Methinks we do. We don't want your monopoly money. Three looneys to a pound???

One thing that shoked me: when I go to withdraw money from my acocunt, I just need to stand in line, hand them my card, say how much I want and then sign a paper (no-one checks that signature, as by that time they already handed me over my card back).

So, I can steal anyone's card, and get money. No-one, in 3 years, has ever asked me any security questions or asked for ID.

More rants:

-How come when you're a foreigner, they won't lt you get a debit card, but they have no problem giving you a credit card? Which btw is regulated by an "indepent company" so any issues with your Visa have to be dealt over the phone (at an expensive rate), not at the bank, coz they don't want anything to do with it.

(Warning: long)

I opened an ISA (special savings acount) recently. I had to fill in loads of paperwork (even though all the info I gave them they already have, duplicate). Three weeks later, no sign of my account, so I go there (can only go on Saturday mornings before 12, so thats' a nuisance). I talk to someone about it -they've lost my forms, but that's ok, someone will send me some more on the post, and when I complaint about yet more forms, they assure me I only need to sign and return (in pre-paid envelope enclosed). Nice one.
Four weeks later no sign of forms, so I go back yet again, explain everything, talk to a bunch of teenagers who have no fucking clue what to do other than look like they're being suffocated... Eventually one chap gets my details, makes me sign a random white paper, assures me they'll open the ISA for me, sorry about that, blablah.

Next week, my ISA is open -but has no money in it. I make a mental note to go back to the bank the next available Saturday... One week later, a girl phones me, saying, in customer-advisor speech, that they fucked up and need me to sign their forms after all. I complain about no money being in my account, about having opened this over a month ago... She interrupts me and says she'll call back... When she does, she says forms will arrive to my house and then hangs up without letting me speak.

Two weeks later: I receive in the post, the same day, TWO sets of forms: the ones the girl mentioned, and the ones that were supposed to be sent to me the first time ever I went to complain (with enclosed pre-paid envelope). EACH OF THE SETS OF FORMS IS FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF ISA!!!
So I curse them, ignore the forms and plan on visiting the bank to raise hell as soon as I can.

And finally, yesterday, I got a nice but unpleasant letter from their customer services, warning me that if I don't return the signed forms they'll have to cancel my ISA! AAAARGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you know, i really don't think this is exclusive to UK banks.

oh it is!! there are so many more things my podiddly hick bank in nowhereville canada will do than a major bank in freaking CANARY WHARF!!
i can't pay bills at my bank, i don't get a proper card at my bank, they never have ANYbody working, it seems to forever to do ANYTHING, its unreal.

Hal says that the HSBC in New Zealand is way better than it is here as well. it isn't just the bank companies, its the procedures.

everything costs £20 to do. any bank transfer for me is that much right off the bat. but anything that i want to do, that my bank home could (including international currency tranfers and they don't charge anything) mine can't do!!! i hate it!! its the worst part of England, i swear.

*is surprised*

Funny - I never had a single problem with my NatWest account or card or anything while I was in England.

Maybe I shouldn't have said that as I've now jinxed it?

But here you also pay for everything. In fact, I pay 10 quid a year for them sending me a sheet once a month stating how much money I have on my account. When I called them to ask them to block those statements, they said they could do that but blocking them would actually cost even more!

Oh, I'm with NatWest too - maybe they're just better

*loves her bank to pieces*

I like my bank too.

The place The Boy™ was working at in NH had a perk that we got the 'expensive' account at our bank for free. No minimum balance, no charges, no nothing.
When we moved, we changed the address and told them he wasn't in that same job anymore. We were ready to go down to the less lovely 'free' account. But the woman said once you're signed up and the fees are waived, they're always waived. Doesn't matter that he's changed jobs.

I like it so much, I'm going to open a savings account there once the extra hours and the raise kicks in and I have money to save.

This is making me very uneasy about setting up an account while I'm visiting over there!

Brings me to a question though, HSBC is an international bank - if I set up an HSBC account here, can I use it at any HSBC branch anywhere? As in, can I use it in the UK?

Don't see why now LadyJ. Although given Liz's and Dan's experiences, I don't say that with certainty.

Well, according to the bank's website it's doable, and I know it's the policy with other banks that wherever there's a branch you can use it.

Gonna ask HSBC directly though

Jas, HSBC was the bank I worked at for 3 years over here, and while people could come in with an account set up in another country, at least back then the computer systems from the different countries didn't interact at all, so there was a whole long ordeal that had to be gone through, including usually calling the bank where the account was set up, having the details faxed over, and there was always a hassle to it.

Now, when I went up to Canada, I could use the HSBC or whomever else's ATM, no problem, it just took a little longer than usual for it to process, but if you're actually going to be going in and using the bank itself, I'd suggest setting it up there. While the UK banks may have more lenient rules than the US, (anti-organized crime rules in the 90s and more restrictions post 9-11 make the banks here fairly tough... and in some issues, while HSBC was a pain, we weren't the worst on restrictions and such by a long shot), I'd recommend doing it over there, it'll make your life easier, especially if there are any problems.

Thing I'm concerned about is can I even set up a bank account as a vistor? As in, I'm on an extended vistor's visa, I'm in no way a resident..