If you could wave a magic wand and improve your banking experience, tell Barclays what your wish would be and you could win a £200 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As you know we have been working with Barclays and this week Barclays want to hear ideas from customers and non customers.

They say "we want customers to be at the heart of what we do, but we can only do this if we keep on listening to your thoughts and suggestions. That's why we've created Your Bank, a place where you can go to share whatever's on your mind about banking.

To celebrate the launch of Your Bank, this week we're asking the nation five key questions to help us get some answers on how we can make your banking better.

Before we put the questions to the nation, we also got 20 Mumsnetters together to have a think about how we can make everyday banking better for everyone - you can see what they had to say now".

View the Mumsnet Ideation session here

But they also want to make sure your voice is heard on all the other aspects of your banking, so once you've answered the questions (here) please also let us know (on this thread) if you could wave a magic wand, how you would improve your banking experience?

Everyone who adds a comment below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 John Lewis voucher.

thanks and good luck
MNHQ
PS closing date for prize draw: 16 Sept at noon

[VivaLeBeaver]

Loads of stuff.

Having the out of town Barclays open on a Saturday. It isn't, the city centre one is open on a Saturday morning but I don't want the hassle of having to go into town at a weekend, traffic, parking, etc.

I need to pay a cheque in. I live next door to a post office but I've run out of those blue envelopes for paying in at the post office. The post office don't have them, neither do Barclays branches. It was a nightmare ringing various deptmaents last time to get some. this time I've hit a brick wall, people I've spoken to on the phone deny such a thing exists!

Paying someone online is a pain in the arse. I struggled so much a few weeks ago the computer blocked my online banking access and I had to ring to sort it. All because I hadn't put the account number in the reference line, but its not clear that's what you have to do. In fact I don't think it says anywhere to do that. I find the online banking very non user friendly full stop. It was better before they rejigged it a year or so ago.

[samonly]

• saturday opening
• used to have an interest free overdraft (small limit ~200) but taken away by RBS - £9 flat charge or something like that on every step over limit. Cross but reluctant to change to other (poss worse) options. 25 year customer too.
• don't like the "customers will have to get used to being charged for having a bank account" talk I hear on Moneybox etc - my bank has had the use of substantial amounts of my money over the years, I am / have never been majorly in debt. I want to keep 'free' banking.
• Security systems labyrinthine - I was happy with telephone banking - but there are too many teenage children on and off my home computer to be happy with digital banking. And the two weeks I did try it, the updating meant that it was no more real time than going to a cashpoint to get a mini-statement.

[rootypig]

Real time updates on transactions yy.

Payments not taking three days to clear, this makes me really cross

Being able to do all account admin by secure message online - I hate calling any of my banks, it takes sooooooo long to get to the right department and clear security.

[Andcake]

Being able to tell my bank that I am going abroad on my online banking not have to phone up.
Simple online banking security.
To stop trying to sell me current accounts you have to pay for

But i don't bank with Barclay but my egg card turned into a Barclay card and I tried to cancel it as I don't like them as a bank but they begged me not to despite me trying to close it - even offered me money and still seem to have it open and send me 0 balance statements - i haven't got the energy to have a third conversation with them. but they also wrote to me for 20 years reminding me I was no longer under 18 and what would I like to do with the 13p left in my super saver child account. The only reason there was 13p left was I wasn't allowed to close the whole account in branch.

Barclay's and general banking bureaucracy rant over...

[missinglalaland]

This is timely; we were just thinking of moving banks...after over 40 years!
I am looking for a bank where

1. My husband and I can handle our banking online
2. We want to each have an individual account, a joint account and a savings account; all linked together where we can move money back and forth and pay bills online
3. We want to be able to use our debit cards abroad without incurring exorbitant fees. Fees on foreign currency transactions on credit cards/debit cards have just rocketed, and we have noticed.
4. We hate paying for any sort of "premier" status to do all this because the "free" travel insurance, roadside assistance, etc. which is "thrown in" is redundant for us and therefore, no savings.
5. We want a timely text alert if any of these accounts is in danger of going over drawn.

Our bank, Lloyds, would say it does all these things. It has spectacularly failed on 3 and 5.

[MadMonkeys]

In the branch I'd like a bit more room to get the buggy round- it's a bit of a mission to get round to the tellers. Branches by us just don't seem big enough to get everything and everyone in.

Online I'd like less advertising - I don't want a personal loan, so stop asking me everytime I log in. It just wastes my time having to navigate off a page of advertising to get to my account information. Other than that I'm happy!

[IncaAztec]

If you could wave a magic wand, how you would improve your banking experience?

I would improve online passwords for internet banking by adding a fingerprint machine/Voice recognition/DNA/CSI type machine to computers to make sure that it's you. That would be my wand waving moment.

Currently ludicrous numbers of passwords and numbers that don't seem to protect anyone from fraud.

[GingerBeerAndTinnedPeaches]

I would like for banks to not charge so much for silly mistakes. I didn't realise I had gone overdrawn and did three debit card payments for a total of about 12£. I got billed for 90£ unauthorised overdraft, 30£ for each transaction. It was excessive and I read them the riot act and got them to reduce it to 30£. It's hard to trust banks when they hit the little customers so hard but don't worry about contributing to the economic problems.

[Maggietess]

A personalised service - a named contact for you with an actual email address or number you can contact 9-5, not a call centre/automated address only. It makes SUCH a difference. And I wouldn't plague this person, I'm happy using online or call centre most of the time, just for major things I'd like to speak to someone who knows a little about my account/circumstances, in my town.

And yy to the doing away with the little credit cards with numbers or machines you put your card in. Banking on the go only works if I can do it on my phone or computer without having to have extra kit with me. Make my username 10 digits I choose, not something random I have no chance of remembering.

Finally, I would have an app or programme (i'd be happy to pay something for this) which downloads my transactions and balances enabling me to match them against a budget, categorise my expenditure etc so I can monitor my spending against budget easily. In today's supposedly ethical banking times surely encouraging your customers to budget and live within their means makes lots of sense!!! There are apps in the US that do this already!!!

[Iwaswatchingthat]

My wish would be for the cashiers to not ask about what deposits/withdrawals are for.

I withdrew large sums of money to pay workmen, buy building materials etc.

Every time I did so I was asked "Are you going on a shopping spree?" Or told
"You must be going Christmas shopping"
Or worse still just outright asked "What are you using all this cash for?"

I did not like it and it put me off going into the branch.

[MikeLitoris]

Agree with pp that said about having someone to talk to direct that knows more about you.

My bank seems to have a computer say no mentality. For example we applied for a loan that we could afford 3 times over. All the advisor in branch can do is put our details into the computer. No different to us applying online at home.

No personal touch at all.

[flamingtoaster]

The magic wand would:

Improve interest rates.
Install free coin counting machines.
Reduce junk mail (perhaps use money saved to increase interest rates?)
Local call rates when I need to phone the bank.

[ninjasquirrel]

I moved away from Barclays because I wanted somewhere with an ethical investment policy. My least favourite thing about online banking is faffing with that calculator thing.

[aristocat]

Stop the calls/ letters that offer a review of your account. Waste of time and money!

[slug]

Have thought of more...

1. Can you please stop the endless marketing letters? They go straight in the bin. There is a vast difference between what I as a customer considers important i.e. changes to terms and conditions or notifications of possibly dodgy transactions and the bank's idea of important information which always seems to consist of another new and exciting way to hand your money over. As I said, they go straight in the bin. I'm sure I've missed important information in the past simply because I've seen the letter and binned it assuming it to be yet another sales pitch.

1. A little logic would be appreciated. If, during the summer months, a time when people typically go on holiday, a customer buys airline tickets online and then immediately books a hotel online chances are the person is going on holiday. It then beggars belief why their accounts are blocked. Not only the account the payments were made from mind you, but both accounts. And why is it, if a joint account is blocked, the second card holder can merrily withdraw money on their card while one card is stopped. It took 3 days and 4 phone calls for us to sort that fiasco out.

[AnnMumsnet]

Hello - thanks for all the detailed and interesting posts. The team at Barclays asked me to pass on this message to you:

"Many thanks for all your ideas so far, they are really insightful. All your thoughts are being reviewed and we will keep you posted on their progression. We will do a round up at the end of the week but in the meantime if you want to see all the other suggestions we have had and what we are doing about them, please go to www.barclays.co.uk/yourbank"

[tinypumpkin]

Having the personal touch when calling. This means phones being answered by real bank staff, no automated phone systems.

[nemno]

Can I just say that Barclays do already have the thing where you can tell them online that you are going abroad. Unless it has stopped recently.

[Jamdoughnutfiend]

Sort out your mortgage arm - I can't wait for my fixed term to expire and never have to deal with your rude call centre again - no rate would be low enough to tempt me to stay with Barclays!

[YourHandInMyHand]

In my bank when I go in there will be a massive queue at customer service desk, massive queue at the cashier counters, and a member of staff (sometimes even 2) asking people why they are queueing!

Personally I'd like to wave a magic wand and get the queue botherers behind counters actually serving and getting the queues down. It drives me crazy every single time I go in.

Firstly because it's just silly as they could be actually serving people, and secondly because I don't want to loudly discuss why I am in the banking queue. Usually I am drawing out money!! (And no I can't use the machines as it's always a daft specific amount with pennies as it's expenses related).

[SleepyCatOnTheMat]

Using online banking would only involve entering a username and a password rather than answering half a dozen security questions (but still be secure!).

All banks would be ethical and never invest in arms or anything so I wouldn't have to worry about that.

All my bank statements would be sent to me by email.

I would only be charged for going overdrawn unauthorised as a last resort (e.g. if it happened for the third time in 12 months or something).

[BlackeyedSusan]

reduce the queues in banks.

[Nojustalurker]

I recently cancelled my Barclays account as I had to make an appointment with a personal banker for another day to change my account to my married name. I did not want to waste my time coming back and it was easier to close the account. Halifax was able to update my name at their regular account.

[LindaMcCartneySausage]

No Indian call centres.
Saturday branch opening.
The ability to call the call centre, or better still your branch direct, on a standard land line number - no 0845 etc numbers.
Shorter queues in branch.
Ditch the junk mail - goes straight in the bin anyway. If I need a loan or mortgage I'll let you know.
Stop trying to sell me products in branch (disguised as an "account review")



I'm not sure you do want to listen to your customers Barclays - most of the comments on here from your customers are grumbles that have been going on about for years. It's not rocket science to address them, but the bottom line takes precedence over customer satisfaction.

[CheeryCherry]

Saturday opening.
Not needing appointments to open accounts, close accounts, change names etc.
Less junk mail, phone calls advertising products I don't need.
And...
Really really high interest rates!