Citibank (Shitti-bank) - Beware of false promises!

The offer is still there for a 1000 deposit ......

So sue them. As Americans, they'll be used to it.

Funny you should say this because I've had them do this!

I think they have a "bot" answering incoming emails which looks for "key words" and finds a stock answer which best fits those key words.

Cheaper than having to pay wages to human beings I guess.

I have withdrawn the whole balance via debit card and am closing the account.

Bloody cowboys do not deserve my business. And they would have got substantial business had they:-

(a) honoured the deal; and

(b) had an adequate / existent customer service.

Citibank have neither. Fuck them.

Will keep the card as they will have the expense of sending statements etc. But it will go into a box in the loft, cut in half.

I've generally been happy with them for the 6 years since I joined, as not may banks give you an interest free automatic 500 overdraft, but their customer service seems to have gone downhill in the past couple of years, i guess due to cost cutting.

I don't blame you. I opened an account with Citibank years ago, mainly because they were one of the first in the UK to offer internet banking.

I once needed to urgently transfer some money overseas, and the person on their phonebanking service told me there was no way she could do that unless I was able to quote the SWIFT code of the destination bank. SWIFT codes are not something that can easily be looked up by an ordinary member of the public, but any decent bank should be able to determine it for themselves. The overseas bank was closed at the time, so I was not able to ask them and Citibank flatly refused to look up the code for me and refused to initiate the transfer unless I could quote it. In the end I rang my local HSBC, who gave me the information I needed in a couple of minutes, which enabled me to get the transfer done.

I closed my account with Citibank soon after that, and now HSBC get all my business.

HSBC has for many years been the best organised UK bank for anything involving foreign transactions.

The "new" banks which have come onto the scene in the last 10 years have cut a lot of corners when it comes to record keeping, and it is always a pleasant little suprise to see that the £X I sent to some supplier in the Far East has actually got there in one piece... but these banks are a lot cheaper to bank with, if you have a business which doesn't need a overdraft.

I concur 100%. Actually they started offering a £10k O/D. They were the only bank, and possibly still are, which offered this while paying more than derisory interest on a current a/c.

One has to watch their O/D though - they have a habit of withdrawing it automatically every 3 years, bouncing any cheques or direct debits when they do that. They say they are entitled to do that because they review their consumer credit agreement or whatever every 3 years.

I agree about HSBC. My main bank is First Direct and will stay that way! In fact they will get more business now.