Have a picture of Smile Internet Banking www.smile.co.uk?, please send it to us.
Picture courtesy of Timski.
| Ease of Use | 6.3/10   |
|---|---|
| Value for Money | 6.1/10 |
| Reviewer Rating | 5.8/10 |
| Overall Rating | 5.6/10 |
Full review by
zephyrx
on 11th May 2008
User Rating : 0
Respect :
0
Good Points: The people in the contact centres are generally very friendly.
Bad Points: Their infrastructure is obviously very under invested in. The whole bank, as with many organisations with a mutual heritage, gives off an aura of amateurism. Customer service is shambolic. The web site is bizarre - very poorly designed and unprofessional. Light years behind what many other banks offer.
General comments: I've had nothing but trouble with Smile Internet Banking. They seem incapable of doing anything more complex than paying in and out. I've had over £200 in compensation from them in these past 18 months because of basic errors they have made, ranging from getting credit card numbers wrong when making balance transfers, to giving me incorrect information about minimum payments I had to make, and then charging me for their own error. They also managed to mess up my overdraft on several occasions, resulting in incorrect charges that I had to reclaim from them.I think a lot of people are attracted to Smile for emotional reasons - because of their ethical policy, and because many customers dislike the nasty big banks. I think a lot of these people then turn a blind eye to Smile's customer service because of that. it's a shame that Smile don't have the infrastructure in place, and are too 'amateur' to provide consistent customer service. If I could afford to pay off what I owe to Smile, I would close my account instantly and move it elsewhere.
zephyrx's review and ratings | 241 words
Review by
peebeeone
on 5th Apr 2008
User Rating : 3
Respect :
0
I have been with Smile for some years now and always been really happy with it. I particularly liked the ethical aspect of Smile Banking. However things seems to be going from bad to worse and I am revising my opinion of Smile. Account management is really difficult to wade through, eg, no running balance column on the statements, limited space to put reference details when making payments out. They have been quick to charge me even though I believe the fault lies within their user-unfriend ...
peebeeone's full review | 171 words
Review by
horacephoto
on 5th Apr 2008
User Rating : 10
Respect :
0
Excellent service really with only very minor point of contention (see above). Can recommend the Smile More account, really is a seemless service which saves on a multitude of insurance and other services.
horacephoto's full review | 111 words
Review by
Guest.
on 2nd Apr 2008
User Rating : 1
Respect :
0
I use my Smile Internet Banking account for online transactions and have had to re-link it to my paypal account FOUR times due to the bank refusing to pay direct debits. Even when funds are available in the account, I've had excuses such as 'fraud security', Admin error and blocks being placed on the account for no apparent reason.
Blocks exist on newly created DD's for no good reason also.
As its a second account I top it up as required and for this they withdrew any overdraft facility as the ...
Guest.'s full review | 149 words
Review by
mush12uk
on 9th Feb 2008
User Rating : 1
Respect :
0
The tried to charge me £50 for going 72p overdrawn but backed off when I started getting stroppy and threatened to close my accounts. They refunded the first charges then tried charging me AGAIN a month later blaming an "administrative error". Ever since I complained, basic everyday functions have been withdrawn (temporary overdraft increases, new account applications etc).
Shame as I've recommended them to family & friends. I'm closing my accounts this week.
mush12uk's full review | 95 words
Review by
simonamoore
on 24th Jan 2008
User Rating : 8
Respect :
0
Will happily stay with them for years to come. Unauthorised overdraft charges are crazy - I have been a few pence over for a few days in a row, and got charged £5 each day. Overall Smile offer a generally good customer service communicationVery simple and navigable site/portal.
simonamoore's full review | 49 words
Review by
Guest.
on 24th Jan 2008
User Rating : 5
Respect :
0
So many other banks with online statements can get this right, why can't a purely INTERNET based bank. There is no way to change or make your home page to your preferences and the way it is set up is unclear to use, difficult to navigate and a awful colour. Get it right!
Guest.'s full review | 63 words
Review by
deliciouskitchen
on 4th Jan 2008
User Rating : 9
Respect :
0
I have been with Smile for a long time and can't fault them. Offered interest even for current account.
However, I have no knowledge of treatment of overdrawn etc.
I highly recommend this bank if you are always in credit.
deliciouskitchen's full review | 48 words
Review by
Guest.
on 29th Dec 2007
User Rating : 4
Respect :
0
Website1) Font far too small2) Illogical navigational buttons3) Statements still issued. Why do you need statements with an internet bank?4) Inability to download account information.5) When statements are produced they are in reverse date order to the way it is normally displayed on screen! You can not put the information in the order you choose as you can with other internet banks.It is that bad and frustrating, it is this alone that is making me consider leaving. ...
Guest.'s full review | 93 words
Review by
vivpot
on 2nd Dec 2007
User Rating : 10
Respect :
0
I have recomended several people to Smile Internet Banking as I have had nothing but positive experiences with them.
vivpot's full review | 49 words
Review by
marcoh
on 18th Nov 2007
User Rating : 9
Respect :
0
I've switched from Natwest to Smile 5 years ago and never looked back. Great to see monthly interest in your current account, the website is easy to use and they've been very helpful whenever I had to call them. You can even go into a co-op bank if you need to cash a cheque or withdraw some a lump sum. Overall a great experience so far. I thought of switching somewhere else just to get a slightly higher interest rate, but these are often introductory rates so I am happy I kept smiling :-)
marcoh's full review | 120 words
Review by
Tavita
on 15th Nov 2007
User Rating : 1
Respect :
0
I have never had reason to switch banks due to poor service before and really didn't want to close my Smile account due to their Ethical policy. But even the simplest of requests to Smile meet with a blunt negative. Replies are not followed up and despite a top class credit rating, I have had my overdraft level reduced on numerous occasions with just a months notice. I wish the above wasn't the case, but frankly I can only assume their good ratings come from well meaning customers who would rat ...
Tavita's full review | 127 words
Review by
isisisis
on 10th Nov 2007
User Rating : 4
Respect :
0
Could do better in terms of usability and the quality of their online customer service. email help desk was not good - forever getting the answers wrong.
Never tried the phone.
Site not very good.
isisisis's full review | 39 words
Review by
penponds
on 19th Oct 2007
User Rating : 0
Respect :
0
I have had a Smile account for many years and was pleased with it. I encouraged my son (a student) to open one but when he unwittingly exceed his overdraft limit by a measly £54 he incurred penalties of £200. It's a pity their so called ethical policy doesn't extend to their own customers! They charge a penalty of £5 per day for each day you exceed your limit.
penponds's full review | 82 words
Review by
scraggy
on 18th Oct 2007
User Rating : 9
Respect :
0
Have looked at the other options available in the UK and the mix of good interest, ethical standards, ease of use and access are, for me, a difficult act to beat. Very helpful telephone backup - UK based & quick to reply.
Also online secure e-mail support is speedy, with detailed individual responses to queries (unlike some others I've used, where if it isn't in the Q&A, then it takes ages to get a response -if at all).
Able to set up & cancel virtually everything online.
Can pa ...
scraggy's full review | 162 words
Review by
serindipity
on 22nd Sep 2007
User Rating : 2
Respect :
-1
I have at least 10 other online financial accounts and this account is more difficult to access than all the rest put together. If one partner of an account is blocked then both parties are.
The security checks are space sensitive. In the last 2 years my need to contact other accounts by phone nil, need to contact Smile 4 or 5.
serindipity's full review | 77 words
Review by
hainelj
on 9th Sep 2007
User Rating : 2
Respect :
0
Smile Internet banking is very poor at transferring direct debits: internal problems led to payments not being made to 3 organisations, despite correspondence.
hainelj's full review | 49 words | 1 comment added.
Review by
Newhaven
on 2nd Jul 2007
User Rating : 9
Respect :
0
Recommended - have had much better service and far fewer problems than with the High Street Bank (NatWest) we used to deal with.
Newhaven's full review | 72 words
Review by
Miss G Voo
on 27th Jun 2007
User Rating : 0
Respect :
0
I moved my long term Barclays bank to smile because I was concerned about what my money was being used for, and was sucked in by the happy glossy ads. I have had nothing but issues with them. I was asked to pay back an agreed 1000 overdraft on one of my accounts within 28 days (just after Christmas) for no reason just that they felt like it. I had to grovel and was made to feel like Oliver to get a payment plan to pay it off. Happy Christmas me!
Then, forgetting a direct debit after Christmas m ...
Miss G Voo's full review | 424 words
Review by
eurozulu
on 20th Jun 2007
User Rating : 4
Respect :
0
I maintain an exceptionally clean credit rating as its essential for my job, yet they treat me like I have bad credit, ever since they paid back the excessive bank charges I reclaimed, I have had nothing but poor service. I'm closing the account as its become useless. They insisted they can not issue a debit card because the account doesn't have a monthly amount paid in, despite me informing them I get paid quarterly.
eurozulu's full review | 170 words
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