Bank of Scotland Review

Overall Rating

Their ATM's are no different to any other banks so cant really complain about them.

Insufficient management leading to poor training for front line staff, considerable lack of knowledge and customer consideration is apparent with every transaction they process......

My mother who suffers with epilepsy has banked with the Bank of Scotland for many years without too much trouble however since my dad died it would appear that they have been "selling" her products that she does not need or understand. This came to light the other day when I had travelled to Edinburgh from the Borders to collect something. While in town I intended to stop off at my mum's new house for a coffee, she had moved in the previous weekend - a fresh start after being widowed - and instead found her disorientated on a busy road almost in tears. When I approached her she didn't realise it was me until I spoke to her. It transpired that she had received a telephone call from the lawyers (Fraser Brooks & Co) who had acted on her behalf in the recent house purchase. She was told that the cheque she had given them had bounced which meant she did not own the house and if the cash was not in their bank account by that afternoon she would need to find somewhere else to live! Although extremely upset she attempted to resolve the situation by phoning the Bank, unfortunately she spoke with two advisor's who were both disinterested and extremely unhelpful. It was after this that I found her in the street extremely distressed and under the impression that she was once again homeless!! (she had a 6 week delay between her house sale and purchase)
I took her down to the Portobello Branch where I am pleased to say that we were very fortunate as they not only sorted out all the mistakes that the bank had made but also lodged our complaint. When my mother had went to George Street Branch to pay in the proceeds of her house sale the member of staff opened a new account and lodged the funds there. As my mother was unaware of any new account she wrote the cheque to purchase the new house from her current account thinking the money was there.
I am however extremely angry as during the interview with them it transpired that Bank of Scotland staff had been selling my mother numerous new account plus a credit card. It is my understanding that banks should not sell products to customers unless the customer fully understands the product. There is no doubt in my mind that anyone in a professional situation who spends a few minutes with my mother will realise that she does not understand anything of a financial nature. She has been extremely distressed by this situation and I am thankful that I happened to be in Edinburgh on that day as I dread to think what may have happened on that busy road. She has yet to recover as the worry and stress have caused an increase in her seizures.
I like almost every Bank of Scotland customer have had problems with them in the past but I feel this situation with my mother should never have happened and the only reason that it did is because the branch staff are constantly under pressure to meet sales targets. These sales targets are used as a measure of performance within the Bank. The majority of these new accounts end up closed very quickly causing more work for the staff and more costs to the Bank however these closures are not deducted from the original performance measurement. What a waste of resources.... shareholder wealth?