Do Not Answer phone.

Very poor customer service tried numerous times to get through, also get cut off after waiting for 45 minutes. They say the are very busy at any time that you ring them, i say that they do not have enough staff available. This is very frustrating and i Read more

Very poor customer service tried numerous times to get through, also get cut off after waiting for 45 minutes.
They say the are very busy at any time that you ring them, i say that they do not have enough staff available.
This is very frustrating and i can not recomend Charter Savings Bank to anyone that expects any kind of customer service.

Reviewed on 9th June 2022

John S

Look Elsewhere for a bank that cares

Do not use this bank. It took six days for them to return my funds. In This day of fast payments this is totally unaceptable and in no way fair for the customers of this bank. This seems to be an ongoing problem looking at other reviews of this bank. Th Read more

Do not use this bank.
It took six days for them to return my funds. In This day of fast payments this is totally unaceptable and in no way fair for the customers of this bank. This seems to be an ongoing problem looking at other reviews of this bank. They do not seem interested in changing the way in how they choose to do things. I guess they just pocket the additional interest which is totally unjust.

Reviewed on 8th June 2022

Gray

Very slow to return your Funds

Would not recomend this bank as they hold on to your money for days when closing the account, in this day of fast payments this is totally unaceptable. would deffinatley look elswhere if you wish to be treadted as a valued customer.

Reviewed on 1st June 2022

Unhappy

Terrible service

I applied to remove my money 90 days ago on 95 day account they won’t give us our money until August - another 94 days!! Nobody answers the phone. Tried for 2 hours. This is a disgusting company.

Reviewed on 26th April 2022

S Rob

Very very slow transfer on money back

They hang on to your money 1 2 days after the click date to earn themselves interest whilst you loose out.. Beware

Reviewed on 21st March 2022

tommy fry

They hang on to your money

They delay payment of funds to your account from matured account. one / email - they ignore. Need your money quickly - Good luck with that!

Reviewed on 1st March 2022

C Sargent

Very poor service

I tried to open a two year bond, they needed proof of my Current Account this was sent via email as per phone call, I was told if Charter savings was late in opening my account the 14 day period would be extended, they took over the 14 day period will not Read more

I tried to open a two year bond, they needed proof of my Current Account this was sent via email as per phone call, I was told if Charter savings was late in opening my account the 14 day period would be extended, they took over the 14 day period will not honour the extension and will not send a welcome pack but they will accept a cheque but won't give me any sort code or account number they want me to pay them directly and just add my ref: number sounds a right mess, But to be fair they had a good excuse Christmas? I did say did she realise it's now February?

Reviewed on 10th February 2022

The Fox

Top class sevice

Been with Charter for about 18 Months with no problems ,first class sevice.

Reviewed on 27th November 2021

Des Heard

A Fair Return on Your Funds

We're all well aware that interest levels on savings are not what we would like on our savings and we search for the best deal around with a bank or building society we know and feel we can trust. Well I've dealt with Charter Saving Bank over a good numbe Read more

We're all well aware that interest levels on savings are not what we would like on our savings and we search for the best deal around with a bank or building society we know and feel we can trust. Well I've dealt with Charter Saving Bank over a good number of years and have been impressed with the interest rates offered and also the quality service experienced as an account holder.
Give Charter Saving Bank a look before entrusting your hard earned cash to just another bank. They've done well for me!

Reviewed on 11th September 2019

Hughie Shaw

Outstanding

Very good would highly recommend

Reviewed on 2nd June 2019

Demi Italian

Never a problem

I have saved with Charter for a few years and have never had a problem, it seems that reading through the reviews that some customers do not read the small print and Ts & Cs and are not fully aware of the contract they are entering in to.

Reviewed on 30th May 2019

Clive Wilton

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

OPENED A FIXED RATE ISA, HAD HEARD HOW THEY GIVE YOU A LOWER RATE AFTER YOU'VE PUT YOUR MONEY IN, AND NONE OF THIER PAPERWORK STATES THE RATE I OPENED IT AT, SO HAVE WRITTEN TO THEM TWICE TO CONFIRM THE RATE IN WRITING BUT NO RESPONSES IN A WEEK BY EMAIL. Read more

OPENED A FIXED RATE ISA, HAD HEARD HOW THEY GIVE YOU A LOWER RATE AFTER YOU'VE PUT YOUR MONEY IN, AND NONE OF THIER PAPERWORK STATES THE RATE I OPENED IT AT, SO HAVE WRITTEN TO THEM TWICE TO CONFIRM THE RATE IN WRITING BUT NO RESPONSES IN A WEEK BY EMAIL. MY BANKS FRAUD SQUAD HAD CONTACTED ME TOO ABOUT OPENING THIS ACCOUNT WHICH THEY DONT NORMALLY DO WHEN OPENING NEW ONES, SO DECIDED TO GO ELSEWHERE AS GUT FEELING DOESNT FEEL RIGHT

Reviewed on 1st May 2019

justwannahelp

Take your money not happy to give back

As with a number of reviews I have read here on fixed or notice accounts, should your circumstances change the bank expect you to prostrate yourself before them with a begging bowl to access even a small part of your funds. As with others I offered to pay Read more

As with a number of reviews I have read here on fixed or notice accounts, should your circumstances change the bank expect you to prostrate yourself before them with a begging bowl to access even a small part of your funds. As with others I offered to pay any penalties they required but they were completely intransigent. I had to call down on some of my pension with a considerable financial penalty to cover a set of circumstances totally beyond our control. DO NOT USE THIS BANK

Reviewed on 30th April 2019

downunderkelly

Tried to open a one year bond.

Tried twice to open a one year bond. Completed the online application and posted off proof of identification (not freepost like others). Emailed to query why I heard nothing. They replied saying could not discuss via email. Rang twice to find out what was Read more

Tried twice to open a one year bond. Completed the online application and posted off proof of identification (not freepost like others). Emailed to query why I heard nothing. They replied saying could not discuss via email. Rang twice to find out what was happening and was told that that they were still checking id (after two weeks!) You're required to make deposit within 14 days??! Three weeks later still not heard from them. I've now given up! Their loss.

Reviewed on 25th January 2019

Sarah

Very simple to open and a great interest rate

I found it very easy to open my account. It was all online and I completed it very quickly. One time I forgot my password and phoned up, they were lovely people and couldn't do enough for me and helped me set up a new password. I went to Charter as they Read more

I found it very easy to open my account. It was all online and I completed it very quickly. One time I forgot my password and phoned up, they were lovely people and couldn't do enough for me and helped me set up a new password.
I went to Charter as they had the best interest rate, and I'm so glad I did - they've made everything very simple.

Reviewed on 21st January 2019

Kathryn Rucastle

Good Honest SAVINGS WITH BEST RATES OFFERED.

Excellent service online, safe. with constantly best rates offered.

Reviewed on 7th November 2018

John Aris

Appalling

Horrific customer service. Hard to get hold off and attitude issues if you ever even get hold of them.

Reviewed on 19th August 2018

Emma

Very disappointed

I experienced difficulty in timely encashing my matured bond, not least of all because of what I regarded as the bank's inadequate on-line system. I made a formal complaint which I consider was not thoroughly investigated. Needless to say I will not in th Read more

I experienced difficulty in timely encashing my matured bond, not least of all because of what I regarded as the bank's inadequate on-line system. I made a formal complaint which I consider was not thoroughly investigated. Needless to say I will not in the future be investing with this bank again.

Reviewed on 28th January 2018

Terence Jenks

Consider carefully before making commitment

With the prevalence of banking fraud and identity theft, nothing about opening an account with Charter Savings gave me confidence that my money or personal data would be safe. They appear to have a hole in their FCSC coverage and are unable to provide ass Read more

With the prevalence of banking fraud and identity theft, nothing about opening an account with Charter Savings gave me confidence that my money or personal data would be safe. They appear to have a hole in their FCSC coverage and are unable to provide assurance that private and personal data is purged from their system when an account application is cancelled.

On applying for an account I received an email describing how to make an initial payment, and how they would send a User ID by post to allow online access to the account. There was however a little rider tucked neatly into the middle of the email advising that funds sent to the bank wouldn't be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) until the account was opened; this caught my attention.

A couple of days later another email arrived stating the bank would be in contact in due course to confirm the next steps; which I assumed would be a letter through the post containing the User ID mentioned in the previous email. This I further assumed would allow me to confirm that, before making a deposit, the new account was active and covered under FSCS. I also wanted to confirm the account interest rate and maturity date before proceeding.

Three weeks later I received an email, containing no reference ID, asking me to call an 0800 number so they could have a "quick word regarding [my] recent enquiry". On calling the number, customer services had some difficulty tracing my application as I couldn't give them a reference indicator from the email. I was also troubled by one of their security check questions asking me to provide the account number of the bank from which I would be transferring funds; which I refused!

It was then explained to me that my application had been processed and required an initial deposit to open the account. This raised an issue as I was not comfortable transferring funds to an unknown entity until I had confirmed (online) that the account was open and active. I was unable to do this, however, as the account firstly required a deposit before they could provide online access!

The issue I have with the above is that it creates a transaction hole where funds are not covered by FSCS. This FSCS hole seems irregular as haven't experienced a similar difficulty with other financial institutions. Having no desire to deposit my money into an online entity with lapses in its FCSC coverage - I chose not to proceed.

Having decided to cancel my application I asked for written assurance that all my private and personal information, submitted as a prerequisite for opening an account, would be purged from their records and database. They were unable to provide this assurance, and couldn't even put me in contact with an individual or department that could.

Reviewed on 24th October 2017

Mark

Bad maturity experience

I fell in to the trap of pre-selecting a maturity option several weeks before the maturity date. I was then caught out by a rate rise in the selected bond 3 days before the maturity date. Guess what, I now have the matured bond reinvested in the older l Read more

I fell in to the trap of pre-selecting a maturity option several weeks before the maturity date.
I was then caught out by a rate rise in the selected bond 3 days before the maturity date.
Guess what, I now have the matured bond reinvested in the older lower rate, and the bank say that is fine as I indicated that I wanted to invest in a 2 Year fixed rate, so I have the rate at the date I indicated my re-investement options. But I should not expect a rate rise to be applied to my new fixed rate account that was not opened until 3 days after they increased there rate.
I should have ignored their maturity options and opened a 2 year bond a few days before maturity at the old rate, then after maturity check the current tare and if it is better, open a second bond at the higher rate and manually transfer the matured funds into the higher rate account.
So it is all my fault!!!

Reviewed on 17th September 2017

anonymous 1234