Poor Customer Service and long queue for 1 teller!!

miclights

I am writing to give B.O.I. one last shot at my custom. After over 15 years with the same branch in Galway I have just had it up to the gills with all the "cost cutting" measures in branches and all the EXTRA fees for using my account. What is the benefit of me staying with B.O.I. if they just keep cutting corners to save a few euro for their shareholders and to protect the wages of their upper level staff?

A couple of examples, this first one does not apply directly to B.O.I. (I think it does but I am sure they will say that its a separate entity, even though I set up my Credit Card account in my branch, which happens to have a B.O.I. sign above its front door) 
I tried to cancel my credit card late 2013 as I hadn't been using it and didn't want to get charged for having it anymore. I was told I would get a letter to confirm that the account had been closed. This letter never arrived but I didn't notice as I was very busy over the Christmas period. 

So last week I got a text reading 

"Please contact Bank of Ireland urgently at 1890365444 between 9.30am and 5.30pm. Do not reply to this message."

As anyone would I contacted them immediately at the number they sent me, which is for B.O.I. Mortgages. I don't have a mortgage so this was becoming a real concern now. Anyway after the obligatory 15 min wait I was put through to Mortgages, then 10mins waiting to be transferred to Savings, then finally 10 more mins to get through to someone that seemed to know who I was and what the text was about. I was informed that the text had been sent as my Credit Card account was now in debt as the €30 Government levy had been drawn down. I found this confusing as in my mind I didn't have a credit card any longer. That passed the minute I realised that B.O.I. had sent me one of those call URGENTLY texts (which usually refer to stolen cards or foreign transactions on your account) about a €30 euro outstanding debt that shouldn't have been there in the first place. What a way to make those texts meaningless to me in the future. I seriously question what sort of nit wits are making policies in their head office. 

Almost 2 weeks on and still they can't seem to close my account. Apparently the people in the Accounts Closure Dept don't have phones so I can't speak to them myself. Also Carol in Credit Card CUSTOMER Services told me they are experiencing a large quantity of account closures at present. 

Another gripe I have is this closing of all the teller positions and replacing them with these machines. Why if Bank of Irelands running costs have dropped by €57,000,000 am I not seeing my charges go down?
 
"By increasing our fees and other income....and reduced our operating expenses by a further €57 million" Andrew Keating B.O.I. Group Chief Financial Officer in their 2013 annual report.


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I am interested in having an informed debate here in the public forum with any and all Bank of Ireland representatives on these and more issues. Is there a B.O.I. employee that will carry this out with me here for all to see clearly. A company that is doing everything it can to make things better for its CUSTOMERS will have nothing to hide and will welcome the opportunity to speak about their operating procedures. [/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]What say you B.O.I. ? I will be here and in other places waiting for your reply. (at least this way I won't have to listen to any of that awful "on hold" music)[/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Yours[/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A 15+ year customer who is thinking of leaving [/font]

Bank of Ireland: Elaine

Hi miclights,

Thank you for contacting us here and welcome to Boards.ie.

We appreciate that you have taken the time to send us such a detailed post and we are sorry to hear you are considering leaving Bank of Ireland.  In recent years we have invested substantially in the infrastructure associated with current accounts (branch, phone, online and mobile channels).

We continue to build on this while providing the following features and benefits to our customers:

• Access to the largest branch network in the country and 1,500 ATMs nationwide
  
  
• Over 2,000 qualified financial advisers across the country
  
  
• 365 Online and Mobile Banking app, for iPhone and Android users, giving you access to your account both at home and on the go
  
  
• Pay to Mobile service - allows our mobile banking app customer transfer money to any registered Bank of Ireland account simply by knowing the mobile number of the account holder
  
  
• eStatements - a choice of receiving statements by pdf via 365 Online instead of paper
  
  
• Our recently revamped website with a new Help Centre where you can find answers to our customers most frequently asked questions
  
  
• Numerous customer service channels, phone email and social media presence.
  

We can confirm the text message you received would have been sent from our Credit Card, Credit Control Department. As you correctly mentioned, this text asks you to call 1890 365 444 between the appropriate office hours. When dialled, this number will bring you directly through to our Credit Card, Credit Control Department. This service is provided to ensure our customers are made aware of any arrears and to enable them to rectify this as quickly as possible. We apologise for the hold time you experienced and that your query was not resolved with the initial representative with whom you spoke to. We will forward your feedback to the relevant area regarding the service you received. Just to mention, our Security Department may also send text messages to customers to confirm recent spend on their account however, this message will provide you with the direct line to that department.

We are unable to comment on the level of closure requests received as we would not have that level of information through this channel. Likewise, we wouldn’t have any information on how many new accounts have been opened this year.
However, as you have already requested the closure of your Credit Card we would like to get someone from this area to call you to investigate this matter further and to ensure this issue is resolved as soon as possible. If you would like to PM us with your name, telephone number and branch name we will be more than happy to arrange this on your behalf.

Our fee structures are reviewed regularly and a number of factors are considered when doing so. Please see this link which provides helpful advice on how to minimise fees and charges on accounts. We will ensure the team who review these charges receive a copy of your post for feedback purposes.

We are more than happy to answer day to day banking queries on boards and we encourage people to read all threads. We aim to give full responses wherever possible however, in some cases we simply don’t have access to the level of information requested. Please review our Charter which will explain this in detail.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to post your concerns and we do hope that you decide to remain a valued customer with Bank of Ireland.

Thanks,
Elaine

cerastes

Bank of Ireland: Elaine wrote: »

Hi miclights,

Thank you for contacting us here and welcome to Boards.ie.

We appreciate that you have taken the time to send us such a detailed post and we are sorry to hear you are considering leaving Bank of Ireland.  In recent years we have invested substantially in the infrastructure associated with current accounts (branch, phone, online and mobile channels).

We continue to build on this while providing the following features and benefits to our customers:

• Access to the largest branch network in the country and 1,500 ATMs nationwide
  
  
• Over 2,000 qualified financial advisers across the country
  
  
• 365 Online and Mobile Banking app, for iPhone and Android users, giving you access to your account both at home and on the go
  
  
• Pay to Mobile service - allows our mobile banking app customer transfer money to any registered Bank of Ireland account simply by knowing the mobile number of the account holder
  
  
• eStatements - a choice of receiving statements by pdf via 365 Online instead of paper
  
  
• Our recently revamped website with a new Help Centre where you can find answers to our customers most frequently asked questions
  
  
• Numerous customer service channels, phone email and social media presence.
  
  
  

[*]


We can confirm the text message you received would have been sent from our Credit Card, Credit Control Department. As you correctly mentioned, this text asks you to call 1890 365 444 between the appropriate office hours. When dialled, this number will bring you directly through to our Credit Card, Credit Control Department. This service is provided to ensure our customers are made aware of any arrears and to enable them to rectify this as quickly as possible. We apologise for the hold time you experienced and that your query was not resolved with the initial representative with whom you spoke to. We will forward your feedback to the relevant area regarding the service you received. Just to mention, our Security Department may also send text messages to customers to confirm recent spend on their account however, this message will provide you with the direct line to that department.

We are unable to comment on the level of closure requests received as we would not have that level of information through this channel. Likewise, we wouldn’t have any information on how many new accounts have been opened this year.
However, as you have already requested the closure of your Credit Card we would like to get someone from this area to call you to investigate this matter further and to ensure this issue is resolved as soon as possible. If you would like to PM us with your name, telephone number and branch name we will be more than happy to arrange this on your behalf.

Our fee structures are reviewed regularly and a number of factors are considered when doing so. Please see this link which provides helpful advice on how to minimise fees and charges on accounts. We will ensure the team who review these charges receive a copy of your post for feedback purposes.

We are more than happy to answer day to day banking queries on boards and we encourage people to read all threads. We aim to give full responses wherever possible however, in some cases we simply don’t have access to the level of information requested. Please review our Charter which will explain this in detail.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to post your concerns and we do hope that you decide to remain a valued customer with Bank of Ireland.

Thanks,
Elaine

[*]
what a load of ball rocks, Ive been with Boi for 23 years and their service, while never great has sunk to new levels in the last 2 or so years, you can never get through to anyone on the phone, Ive been left waiting for up to an hour on their 1890 customer service number, they wont deal with you at the branch, tellers decline to deal with you and point you to the automated machine before you even get to explain to them there is a massive Que for the automated machine which they are aware, even when no one is present at the teller, or the transaction you wish to complete isnt one that can be done at the machines. Its not just Galway, the experience is one I have come across myself in Dublin too.

cerastes

miclights wrote: »

I am writing to give B.O.I. one last shot at my custom. After over 15 years with the same branch in Galway I have just had it up to the gills with all the "cost cutting" measures in branches and all the EXTRA fees for using my account. What is the benefit of me staying with B.O.I. if they just keep cutting corners to save a few euro for their shareholders and to protect the wages of their upper level staff?

A couple of examples, this first one does not apply directly to B.O.I. (I think it does but I am sure they will say that its a separate entity, even though I set up my Credit Card account in my branch, which happens to have a B.O.I. sign above its front door) 
I tried to cancel my credit card late 2013 as I hadn't been using it and didn't want to get charged for having it anymore. I was told I would get a letter to confirm that the account had been closed. This letter never arrived but I didn't notice as I was very busy over the Christmas period. 

So last week I got a text reading 

"Please contact Bank of Ireland urgently at 1890365444 between 9.30am and 5.30pm. Do not reply to this message."

As anyone would I contacted them immediately at the number they sent me, which is for B.O.I. Mortgages. I don't have a mortgage so this was becoming a real concern now. Anyway after the obligatory 15 min wait I was put through to Mortgages, then 10mins waiting to be transferred to Savings, then finally 10 more mins to get through to someone that seemed to know who I was and what the text was about. I was informed that the text had been sent as my Credit Card account was now in debt as the €30 Government levy had been drawn down. I found this confusing as in my mind I didn't have a credit card any longer. That passed the minute I realised that B.O.I. had sent me one of those call URGENTLY texts (which usually refer to stolen cards or foreign transactions on your account) about a €30 euro outstanding debt that shouldn't have been there in the first place. What a way to make those texts meaningless to me in the future. I seriously question what sort of nit wits are making policies in their head office. 

Almost 2 weeks on and still they can't seem to close my account. Apparently the people in the Accounts Closure Dept don't have phones so I can't speak to them myself. Also Carol in Credit Card CUSTOMER Services told me they are experiencing a large quantity of account closures at present. 

Another gripe I have is this closing of all the teller positions and replacing them with these machines. Why if Bank of Irelands running costs have dropped by €57,000,000 am I not seeing my charges go down?
 
"By increasing our fees and other income....and reduced our operating expenses by a further €57 million" Andrew Keating B.O.I. Group Chief Financial Officer in their 2013 annual report.


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I am interested in having an informed debate here in the public forum with any and all Bank of Ireland representatives on these and more issues. Is there a B.O.I. employee that will carry this out with me here for all to see clearly. A company that is doing everything it can to make things better for its CUSTOMERS will have nothing to hide and will welcome the opportunity to speak about their operating procedures. [/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]What say you B.O.I. ? I will be here and in other places waiting for your reply. (at least this way I won't have to listen to any of that awful "on hold" music)[/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Yours[/font]


[font=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A 15+ year customer who is thinking of leaving [/font]

I recommend you leave, to either Ulsterbank or PTSB, the latter is better, I was with both and they are a lot better than BOI, but no longer needed the UB account, whoever offers the cheapest banking, BOI service is at an absolute low level, if someone doesnt have an account with them, dont consider joining as its just hassle changing DD,SO over, but possible, I switched manually to PTSB. I only maintain my BOI account as my mortgages are there, which Id switch out too but cant for other reasons.