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Post by iolar on Apr 9, 2024 12:59:04 GMT 1
I spent an hour and a half on the phone with First Direct yesterday - each individual dept. hasn't clue what other dept. are doing.
My wife wrote a cheque to go to my Nationwide account I paid for it - signed for delivery here in France. It was for a considerable amount of money. This was Feb 2nd. After a couple of weeks I got in touch with my old branch in Hove - they hadn't received it but they would let me know when they had.
Yesterday after my wife managed to make a transfer to her Wise account I asked to be put in touch with F/D fraud control dept. They went through a w hole b/s about phishing etc. etc. etc. I then got put through to their fraud dept. again more of the same anti-fraud b/s.
I then found that the transfer of £15K that my wife had arranged to go to my Nationwide account 2 weeks ago was reversed by a dept in First Direct. At least I think it was, as the broad Scots dialect of two operatives was so strong that the first operative made 15 sound like 13. I was then promised that 'at some time' that afternoon another woman would phone about the cheque. The first operative quoted the phone no. for the account. I tried to point out that for international nos. you have to drop the initial 'o' she got annoyed when I pointed this out. I never received the call and no one has got in touch today.
The word training is bad word in the UK. I simply cannot understand why operatives are not trained in all aspects of the banks details. Or alternatively a small team are trained to know what applies to UK nationals living in the UK,or abroad in general. of course this will impinge on bonuses for executives at the top of the food chain.
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Post by ajm on Apr 9, 2024 14:48:22 GMT 1
I assume you have checked that the money is still in the FD account and that you have cancelled the cheque.
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,552
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Post by suein56 on Apr 9, 2024 14:53:02 GMT 1
Iolar .. is your wife's account with FD in your shared married name?
Point 2 .. with such a large cheque made out to a third party (out of the blue) FD would most likely have contacted, or tried to contact, your wife to make sure she hadn't been coerced into writing a cheque for a large amount. If they couldn't contact her then they might decide, as a measure of protection/security, to prevent the transaction.
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Post by iolar on Apr 9, 2024 17:29:52 GMT 1
I assume you have checked that the money is still in the FD account and that you have cancelled the cheque. That was what I tried to do, the person who was supposed to contact me never did. |
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Post by iolar on Apr 9, 2024 18:02:57 GMT 1
Iolar .. is your wife's account with FD in your shared married name? Point 2 .. with such a large cheque made out to a third party (out of the blue) FD would most likely have contacted, or tried to contact, your wife to make sure she hadn't been coerced into writing a cheque for a large amount. If they couldn't contact her then they might decide, as a measure of protection/security, to prevent the transaction. In spite of the broad Scots dialect I 'think' she said that the cheque had been returned to FD. That contradicts what my old Nationwide Branch told me which is where I posted the cheque to with signed for delivery. My cousin Zak told his daughter who is continuing her vocational training in animal care in Oz 'not to come back' to Scotland. What really hacks me off is that when Angela cancelled her Bonus Saver account on my advice because it was paying virtually nothing then, no one said that it would mean that she could not re-instate that account which now pays a handsome 6.05% rate. Did anyone living full time in France get any notification that the terms and conditions of their accounts with UK banks would in future differ from UK based account holders because neither FD or Nationwide notified us. If they didn't I think we have another banking scandal here like PPP and motor insurance. BTW I never got response from contacting the Guardian - what a surprise. My wife has 3 male district nurses who come daily and one Jerome has been really helpful unlike the doctor who you cannot contact by phone or email to make and RDV you have to go and wait a minimum of 2 hours to make an RDV in person. Jerome also banks with Banque Populaire and like me pays €135 for his debit card. We could afford to move to Scotland and we are seriously thinking of doing so, we wouldn't for a moment think of moving back to the SE or indeed anywhere in England. My wife's niece has told us that getting an appointment where she lives near Southhampton is virtually impossible. The Labour party - it should be called the Pink Tory party is going to continue privatising the health service. if Sterling collapses and you have to return to the UK be prepared for what you will find. Unpaid carers are now being hammered by the DWP. |
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Post by iolar on Apr 21, 2024 11:09:27 GMT 1
First Direct - earlier last week I actually got to talk to 3 women agents who were professional, correct and polite.
The first confirmed that yes, Nationwide without consulting me or keeping me informed had sent the cheque back to FD which totally contradicts what I was told in 3 conversations with my local branch in Hove.
The second confirmed what I had surmised that the surly woman who didn't listen when I tried to intervene to correct the phone number for France - you leave off the first (o) so that the woman in the fraud dept had no idea that when calling a foreign country you leave off the first (o). She apparently tried to call 3 times but it never occurred to her that she was doing something wrong - training?
The third confirmed that yes the sum of £15K had indeed gone into my Nationwide account and suggested quite rationally that it would be better for my wife to close her FD account in the UK as there was no benefit in her keeping it.
Indeed there is no benefit whatsoever in anyone living in France or elsewhere who doesn't visit or stay in the island having a UK bank account. I have arranged now to have my State pension paid directly into our French joint account and on Wednesday will do the same for Angela's State pension.
After more than 2 months we now have proof by way of the monthly statement from our French bank that Angela's NHS pension is now being paid into that account. I've worked out that it is costing around €40/2.5% when with Atlantic Money it would cost €3.51 but it is hassle free and requires no action on my behalf( I do all the work on Angel's behalf).
Once Angela's State pension arrives in our joint account and we have set up a French POW and I have found the best French account for her then the balance can be transferred via Atlantic Money the FD account can be closed whoopee!
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