Right then. So on Saturday Mr Digger is off for a nice holiday in Florida.
He thinks "I know, we should probably tell the bank that he's going away, so they don't do anything silly like stop his card."
How wrong could he be.
So he rings Natwest, and they tell him if he uses his card abroad it will be stopped. Even if he tells them almost to the nearest shop where he's going to be spending his money, and the exact dates when it will be happening.
Sorry, I forgot the first call where I spoke to a lovely person in Enfield, who can't tell me the extension to get back to speak to them, or their surname for security reasons. I'm told if I ring back that I probably won't even get through to Enfield.
So, I then ask why if I have told them in advance why my card would be stopped? They tell me there's a computer which stops things like that from happening, and they can't tell it not to stop my card. OK, so how about it stops my card and flags up to the fraud team, which is what happens anyway, and we leave a little message on their desks to say that it's ok, Digger's on holiday and that spending money in shops is quite normal. Part of the problem is that we only get to find out that it's stopped when I get to the checkout with a trolley full of products.
I'm also a little concerned about making an international call to tell them I'm on holiday, when I'm supposed to be relaxing. The cost if nothing else offends me.
What about if I am in the middle of nowhere in a dodgy area and I've had to pull over for petrol in the dark, and I can't leave until I've paid. I can't pay until Natwest calls me or I call them. How long does this take? 10 minutes apparently. Bollocks. Nothing with Natwest takes 10 minutes.
They tell me there's nothing they can do. They can't control their computer. They can't keep a customer happy.
Apparently no-one in all of Natwest can prevent my card getting stopped.
Amusingly, neither Lloyds TSB or Nationwide have had a problem doing this for us. They obviously want their customers to relax knowing that they can get on with their holiday, and yes, if strange activity pops up they should let us know. Buying 20 widescreen TVs, or a new car, give us a call. But not for buying a stick of gum in a petrol station.
I just don't want to end up johnny foreigner in a shop somewhere unable to spend any money.
The bank has no mechanism to prevent this from happening.
I really really want to leave the bank. Someone please show me how easy it will be to change my bank. I currently am in credit, have about 2 direct debits, and want to leave Natwest forever, and laugh at people who are stupid enough to put up with their Go-Dive level of customer service.
Wankers.
Digs.


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