Many years ago when I was 15 and an assistant in a hardware
shop I decided to open a bank account with with Barclays.
I earned £4 a week and decided to open an account with
£1.
Barclays bank Sevenoaks seemed like a good idea so I strolled
in with my pound note and said I would like like to open a bank
account. The counter clerk was not very nice to me, in fact
she was very snobbish and almost rude as she set everything
up for me but in my innocence I assumed this was how banks behaved.
A few months later I had to return to the bank as I had been
sold some sort of Insurance and investment by Barclays that
I really could not afford. They basically said "hard luck,
you have lost all your money" if you opt out.
I probably would have accrued about £3 in my account and
decided to transfer it to Nat West.
From the minute I walked through the door and spoke to someone
behind the counter I was made to feel very important.
Most of my banking was done at Borough Green as I always worked
in that area and when I was self employed the Bank manager was
very helpful and arranged a low interest loan with no problem.
Forty five years on and I now live in Borough Green, love every
minute of it as it such a friendly place.
My account now shows a little more than £3, and I had
put a few bob into a Woolwich saving account.
Wow! suddenly one day I get a letter saying that my money in
the Woolwich savings account is being transferred to Barclays.
So I am not too happy about this and visit Barclays Bank Borough
Green, queue up at the counter and eventually get to see the
counter clerk. "I need some advice" I said. She says
"Do not plant your tomatoes in the shade".
Now I do have a sense of humour as this website should show
and laughed but it was not the advice I was looking for.
I needed advice on how to close the account and transfer the
funds to Nat West.
They filled in a form, had me sign it and said in 5 working
days you should see a closing statement and a cheque on your
doorstep. After nine working days, several calls to Barclays
telephone banking who refused to tell me anything as I had no
way to identify myself, several visits back to Barclays bank
Borough Green I eventually got to see Wendy Stevens.... how
I wished I had seen her in the first place... she had it sorted
and my money transferred straight away.
Walk into Nat West Borough Green today and you will met by
smiling faces and competent service, a team that pride themselves
on the best customer service available.
Julie Sivyer, customer adviser is a star.
