Banking Cater Allen

[Jog On]

I have had an absolutely horrendous experience trying to open an account with Cater Allen (using the procedure on this site). After nearly a month of waiting I've been informed that I need to fill out all the forms afresh because somewhere along the line someone has put tippex on my forms.

I was told initially that it should take 5-10 days, it took 1 week for anyone to actually do anything with my forms and almost a month later I'm back to square 1 because someone has tippexed my application form.

I understand they're busy due to all the new Ltd incorporations but this is beyond unnacceptable.

My advice to anyone looking for a business account - go elsewhere.

[cykophysh39]

Well I had no problem with them at all.

It comes as a surprise to me that you are experiencing a problem!

I seriously can't recommend them enough, I have just recently moved my personal banking to them as well

[Jog On]

My application forms are 'void' because someone tippexed them...

I'm back to square #1 after waiting almost a month because of this.

I'm going to take my business to some professionals, hopefully I'll haver a proper account set up sometime this year.

[cykophysh39]

I really do feel for you dude, I don't like incompetence, and unfortunately the UK is full of it.

Have you tried making a complaint to a manager, about the level of service you have recieved, one thing I can assure you is that Cater Allen are really keen on sorting out any issues.

The problem with a High street bank is that "Personal Service" doesn't exist, so you'll probably get treated worse.

Best of luck with you endeavours.

[Jog On]

I've made a complaint so I'll see what they say. I think the main failure is in the communication. I had someone tell me that the account should be set up before easter, I've phoned them every day since to chase up and they've only just decided to tell me that they need to start again because someone tippexed my forms..

I deal with users every day and a lot of what I do is communicating the status of issues and managing their expectations - I really go out of my way to do that so maybe that's why I'm so irked by what's happened - that and being back at square 1 after a month of waiting.

Busy is no excuse - if I used 'busy' as an excuse for screwing something up I'd be told it's not good enough.

[philip@wellwoodhoyle]

My advice to anyone looking for a business account - go elsewhere.

Or persevere with Cater Allen but either do it directly with them or through a more efficient route (such as an accountant). By the sounds of it, it isn't Cater Allen's fault that your problem has arisen as someone must have tippexed the form before it got to them, i.e. the broker.

[Jog On]

This has been dealt with very efficiently by the broker (CUK), looks like it's still going ahead, I'll put it down to bad luck. I'm sure with the deluge of new accounts and measures taken to try and process them all things like this are bound to happen - to me of course

I'm very impressed with the level of service from CUK I've had today to get this sorted out - looks like I might go with Cater Allen after all.

[texto]

Cater Allen is a part of Abbey Group, isn't it? Why open an account with Cater Allen when you can open a much better account with Abbey National (with internet)?

http://www.anbusiness.com

[Jog On]

I initially did it because I thought it would be quicker than a high street bank, also I was impressed with the reputation they have for good service on here. Every time I've called them up (which is a lot over the last 2 weeks) the phone hasn't rung more than once before a human has answered - you'd never get that with a high street bank, I've read that internet banking is coming to CA as well sometime soon.

Also the account is specifically catered for IT contractors so I don't have to answer stupid questions about expected turnover and write business plans or try and justify why I think I'm worthy of an account which I've had with RBS who I initially applied to.

I'm told CA have increased their staff by 300% to try and deal with all the new accounts after the budget changes, I just chose the wrong time to open a Ltd company I think - oh well, it's my first contract and I had to get out of my last perm job and the time was right so que sera sera.

It's all in hand now, I'm confident things will be in place soon, I'm used to a bumpy ride. I was absolutely livid when I got off the phone with them this morning - since then the broker has managed to turn things around.

[Zorba]

JogOn - good to know that you haven't thrown in the towel yet. I've been with Cater Allen for just over a year and the phone service is just superb. Yes, I'll chime in with everyone on the 'internet banking next month' thing, but it's almost sad how refreshing it is when you call them - I've gotten so used to the crappy offshore call centres of other businesses that I would almost bank with Cater Allen just to prevent decent telephone service from disappearing!