No excuse for the chaotic state of affairs at bank

I have been a BoS customer for 66 years, and, until recently, I have had unstinting praise for its efficiency and friendliness. In fact, its motto was (is it still?) "a friend for life".

I have been a user of HOBS (Home and Office Banking) since the bank started it 20 years ago and, again, it was excellent. Now, it has been discontinued and a much inferior (Halifax) system has been put in its place. As for the general operations of the bank, what has been said in previous letters says it all - almost.

I had a direct debit set up with the bank for health insurance premiums that were paid each year on 1 May, and had been so paid for many years. This year, a few days after 1 May, I noticed it had not been paid out of my account. I tele-phoned the insurer to ask why it had not drawn this money and was told its application to the bank had failed.

When I phoned the bank to ask why, they said they did not have a mandate. I completed a fresh mandate form and post-ed it to the insurer on 31 May, but even that did not work. I finished up having to make a direct payment to the insurer.

This, it would seem, is the sort of chaos that integration with the Halifax can bring.

I understand that a massive operation like this merger can have its teething troubles, but there can be no excuse for this chaotic state of affairs.

GEORGE A MUIRHEAD

Auchenbowie

nr Stirling

Among all the letters deploring the slide in Bank of Scotland service since the Halifax/BoS merger, nobody seems perturbed that you can no longer save with the BoS, as all savings accounts have been transferred to Halifax plc.

If you inquire and comment on phoneline or at branch, the parrot-cry is "but we are all one now and so it makes no difference". To whom? Why make the change at all if it makes no difference?

It must have made a difference to somebody, for application had to be made to Scottish courts of law to implement it. It would be interesting to know if BoS plc, registered in Scotland, asked to hand over its savings accounts to Halifax plc, registered in England, or if it was the other way round. And what does BoS plc get in return, if anything?

Does it all matter? Well, it should if you value freedom of choice. The Halifax’s reputation for expertise in the savings field (strange though it be with an account, Liquid Gold, giving a rate of 0.03 per cent) has been offered as reason enough to accept this move.

However, in spite of that reputation, many choose to save elsewhere - elsewhere now excluding the BoS.

Mergers are difficult, but this one has been highly unsatisfactory from the beginning. It is time the officials driving it gave a clear account of their actions hitherto and their fu-ture intensions.

MOIRA STRATTON

Balgreen Road

Edinburgh

Following on from the many complaints in your columns about the poor service now received from HBOS, there are three further points which have yet to be made and which fall into my direct experience.

1, when opening accounts for my three grandchildren, who live at present in England, it was most important for me to have Scotland in the name of the account. Without a by-your-leave, the accounts were changed to "Halifax Save 4 it" . When I objected, I was told the name was not important and that the interest rate would be increased. The teller could not grasp that sometimes other considerations matter more than money;

2, using the telephone banking service, I was told all my personal details would need to be changed due to a "computer update". When pressed why, the call centre person reluctantly admitted that the system had changed since Halifax was involved; and

3, why did the mobile banking van at the Kirriemuir Agriculture Show have the name and logo of the Bank of Scotland and the Halifax name was no-where to be seen? Did the bank think the farmers were taken in by this? I think not, due to the fact that the banking facility was empty.

Needless to say, I am now making other banking arrangements.

PAMALA McDOUGALL

Teapot Lane

Inverkeilor, Angus