Credit Agricole -worth the hassle?

[Bob T]

For the umpteenth time I have had problems with Credit Agricole. This time I ordered a new bank card as the old one had cracked, that was about 6 weeks ago. I ordered it in Monignac and asked for it to be collected there. They sent me the PIN (same as old one) a few weeks ago. I went into Montignac on Wednesday to collect the new card, only to be told that it was at Rouffignac. Due to the 2 days a week opening at Rouffignac, I was told to collect it this morning (Friday). Went into the bank only to be told that the card is not there, no explanation of where it might be.

The last time I had to get cards, they sent mine in the post, but told me that they could not send the wifes card in the post as it had to be collected, and denied that they send any cards in the post. It took weeks to resolve.

The one thing that I would change on moving to France, if I were to do it all over again, is that I would not go near Credit Agricole!

[gyn_paul]

I don't believe there is a single bank in France with an unblemished customer service record. For every ringing endorsement there are a dozen people with horror stories for every one.

It does seem to be a general observation (both from this Forum, others, and perosnal contacts) that French banking is less customer-facing, less customer-friendly than UK banks,  and they - god knows are bad enough.  My personal experience has been that it's like dealing with a UK bank in the '60's: one should feel grateful that they lower themselves to take your money and deal with your piddling affairs, as opposed to being aware that our custom and our money is the only reason they are there at all.

The web sites are a particular bugbear of mine; with one where I took particular trouble to set up a password which I could remember only to be told the first time I accessed it that it needed changing (CA) : another where the security for setting up a virement was increased overnight without bothering to tell the customers that the default piece of information to access this new improved layer was in fact the date of birth (B Pop) !

I now have a dongle for B. Pop. in which you put your bank card and enter the pin number and it provides a 8- digit code to enter onto the website for certain sensitive operations (e.g. virement to accounts in non-B. Pop. banks) I know this operation to be time sensitive because it is the same technology which the BBC was experimenting with for staff to use to access the BBC network from a non-BBC site (or 'home' as we liked to call it!). This was back in the steam-driven days before ADSL, and by the time a dial-up had done all the ringing and hand-shaking, the device had timed-out. I will be interested to see if this version is any more successful for people without ADSL here in France !

Oh, they also charge 22c for a electronic transaction. How is that an incentive to move people away from cheques which the banks are always saying is their most expensive operation ?

And don't get me started on statements which don't have a line -by-line balance .... for a banking system so hysterical about its client going into the red (which I'm all for really), this strikes me as just plain ludicrous.

And then....

Oh. I seem to be banging on. I'll stop now until the red mist clears.

 

[ericd]

Fully agree with you....Our UK bank (Barclays) has always been exemplary in their customer service attitude. Our French bank Credit Agricole is less so.

[Chancer]

I am laughing all the way to my bank, on the rare occasions that I use it.

A chequebook that rarely gets used, no debit card but no charges either, it gets used soley for the necessity of paying my telephone/television/internet abonnement and for remboursments from the C.P.A.M..

Once or twice a year I withdraw €uros from their distributor and then pay them over the counter into my account  to ensure sufficient funds.

I did in the past have loads of problems with them and the snotty attitude of the endless procession of ado's that announce that they are my new advisor and want me to make an appointment with them to discuss my finances, one particular vache told me that she had been far too busy to bother with a trifling matter like refunding the money that they had debitted for a card I didnt have, "do you know how many customers I look after?".

Another was insistent that I did not and had indeed never lived at my address in France after they unilaterally decided to start sending statements to my UK address, he was at a loss to explain why my cheque book was printed with my French address, - ordinateur says Non!

I have the last laugh though as they now send a statement by airmail every month to the UK. 

Someone somewhere must be paying for my free banking

[velcorin]

We've now got accounts in UK, Spain, Germany and 2 in France. Guess which ones course 99.9% of the problems[:D] But, it's the attitude to their mistakes which I find weird. Pay in EUR 500.00 over the counter, get a receipt. EUR 500.00 never credited to the account. Wave the recipt under the manager's nose, after missus has spent 5 minutes calling the teller a thief. Manager backs up the teller, produces the Terms & Conditions. The receipt is not proof of the value of the deposit, merely proof that "something" was deposited, bank is not legally bound by the value on the receipt. So, tough luck. What happened to the EUR 500.00? Dunno, we changed banks for the umpteenth time. Interesting legal concept to a British person. The receipt that is proof of absolutly sweet FA.[:@]

To be fair Chancer we've got a nephew and a neice who have worked as "Advisors" in banks. It's Interim work, SMIC, and zero prospects. Cami and Ronan are nice kids, BAC, etc, but because there nothing else, they do it. Meanwhile the CDI staff nick your EUR 500.00 and holiday for nowt in Guadalope, paid for by the CE, which is paid for in turn by the customers. Bet you thought PPT jobs were cushy[:D]

PS We (currently[:D]) have both our accounts at Banque Pop.

[misplacedperson]

"missus has spent 5 minutes calling the teller a thief"

Might explain the 'attitude' from bank staff, perchance?

Have to say I've never had any problems whatsoever - possibly you should all move to CA Sud Rhone Alps instead.

[Keni]

On this thread - has anyone had dealings with La Poste and can they say what their problems are?

[velcorin]

To be fair to my dearly bewildered little Frog missus, the teller did call her a liar first, (and very, very loudly), in a bank full of customers. (She's lived in the UK long enough to know that being aggressive and belligerant rarely achieves the result you want.)

[sunnyprovence]

After endless problems with the CA, including them refusing to renew my debit card 'because I didn't use it enough' (odd when you think about it - not replacing it means you have to use it less!) and bouncing cheques when I had more than sufficent funds due to a computer error, I opened an account in my local La Poste.

The CA were rude, unfriendly and although I bought a sizeable house for cash in Provence and had no contact with them that could have caused any friction, they seemed not to want my account.

I now have a Banque Postale cheque book, online banking with the ability to make virements, and a debit card. Friendly staff, and everything I need.

Forget the Credit Agricole if they give you hassle, or forever want you to make a rendez-vous with your advisor just so they can get you to move your car insurance.

For some reason us Brits seem drawn to the CA, but there are plenty of other banks. My firm banks with the Soc Gen and they are marvellous.

[NickP]

[quote user="Chris"]On this thread - has anyone had dealings with La Poste and can they say what their problems are?[/quote]

 

We have an account with La Poste, and have so for about six years. As far as we are concerned they are excellent, and we've had no problems at all. They pay all our standing orders, issue us with cheque books etc. Only thing we don't have is a credit card with them, we use Nationwide. Oh and we have a Livret A but like the UK the interest rate is pretty grim so we just keep it open hoping that in the future it will get better, it's just somewhere to put a little spare cash in case we need anything for the house. The best thing is of course, is their charges they are about 4 or 5 Euros a year. Overall we think they are first class.

[mint]

Same banks as NickP's:  la Poste in France and Nationwide in the UK.

Not perfect, but better than anyone else we know.  We began French life with Credit Mutual, then moved to CA at English neighbours' recommendation (should have known better, I know), then after innumerable problems with CA (just like others have described, even on one occasion, denying that I took a letter personally into the bank), we changed to la Poste.

If nothing else, they at least are open on a Monday and do not restrict you to using only your own branch for paying in money, etc. 

[Judith]

[quote user="sunnyprovence"]

For some reason us Brits seem drawn to the CA, [/quote]

Perhaps because you can find a CA branch in all those little places the Brits are drawn to ....  sometimes it is the only bank for miles (or even kilometers) around.

[Chancer]

I am with Credit Lyonnaise.

I had forgotten about the banks being shut on Mondays, the whole of the local town shuts down that day so why should the bank be any different.

I dont know how those of you that work normal hours manage to get by in this country, I made the mistake of going to Super U on Saturday lunch time, in the week it is like a ghost town but on Saturdays all the worker ants have the same strategy as me to avoid the queues.

Anyway it was fairly crowded but when I got to the tills (there are about 15 not that they will ever all be used) there was just one checkout girl on one till, I counted 60 customers waiting but as there were 4 queues snaking back from her besieged till and along the aisles there must have been more, in the time I waited all the others in the shop would have joinedthem in any case.

The girl was chatting on her cordless phone, whether it was to acll reinforcements or with her petit ami I dont know but no-one came, there was unfortunately a security guard standing by to apprehend anyone who ran out of patience, having been bounced onto the pavement once before by one of his colleaugues I had no choice but to sit it out.

I eventually got out just before 14.00 and could see most of the other staff chatting smoking etc under their shelter in the car park, I went into the Gifi next door and got back to the car a couple of minutes after 14.00 only to realise that I had forgotten something, when I went back into the shop there were 7 tills operating.

[gyn_paul]

That's another point in favour of La Poste Banque.... they're open on Mondays.

p

[Bob T]

I like the bit where Credit Agricole have small banks in villages. Ours is in our local town, but is no good to anyone as it is only open for about 15 minutes two days a week, and the locals tend to form a long queue to use it. The staff sometimes turn up 20 minutes late!

[Pickles]

Societe Generale is also open on Mondays. We have just opened an account with Boursorama - the web-based subsidiary of SocGen - which provides free debit cards (and free everything else) so long as you have some savings lodged with them (or regular income paid in).

Regards

Pickles

[NormanH]

I am much happier with CA than I  was with any of the banks I had in the UK.

I originally opened an account with them in London which made things easier when I arrived in France.

They are far from perfect, but I haven't had major problems.

La Poste in town is a different animal from a village branch.

I have waited up to 45 minutes to get served, especially on and just after the 5th of the month when everybody' touche' les allocs..

Even at other times the queues of people waiting to send  cash home by Western Union or 'mandat' blocks the system.

The staff are stressed and aggressive, and the system close to buckling under.

[Doodle]

LBP is not open in Lassay les Chateaux on Mondays. If we need a post office on a Monday we have to drive to Ambrieres Les Vallees.

Whilst we haven't had any problems with CA on the banking side, we put our car insurance with them. This year we have saved 500 euros on the two cars by moving to another insurer. When we told our french neighbours they shook their heads and said never insure through a bank as banks are there to make money. Good advice!

Chris

[Judith]

[quote user="knee gel"]When we told our french neighbours they shook their heads and said never insure through a bank as banks are there to make money. Good advice!

Chris[/quote]

But so are insurance companies!!!!!

[Doodle]

[quote user="Judith"][quote user="knee gel"]When we told our french neighbours they shook their heads and said never insure through a bank as banks are there to make money. Good advice!

Chris[/quote]

But so are insurance companies!!!!!

[/quote]

Agreed, but 500 euros is one hell of saving every year, and we've just moved our health top up from CA - only 10 euros a month saving but much better cover including dentist and optician which we didn't have before.

Chris

[Bob T]

To continue the original thread:

I spoke to an English speaking chap last Friday who works in CAs English section. He made some phone calls and told me that someone from CA Montignac would phone me on Saturday or Tuesday - they never bothered phoning. Have just spoken to him again and he has made further enquiries and no one knows where my new card is!

Does CA not track important things like cards?

A great lesson in how not to run a bank.

[josid]

When we lived in the Uk, I worked for one of the big banks for almost 30 years. When we decided to move to France, I opened an account with Britline, the CA branch for UK expats. I was told that if you don't live in the Normandy area then there could be problems as it could be seen as 'suspicious', especially as we now live in the SW near the Spanish border. On the contrary I have never encountered any problems and I've never had a cheque refused. The only problem was that when we first arrived we exceeded our debit card weekly limit. It was rather annoying, however one phone call is all it took to explain that we were buying all the necessary items needed when you move home. The limit was immediately increased and from then on we have had no other problems. In fact we are contacted by phone if there is any query or if there are services that they consider useful to us. The only downside is that I have to send any cheques that i wish to pay in by post. The French banking system is comparable to the uk system 30 years ago, and as I thought that most UK expats came here because France is like the UK 30 years ago then I cannot see what the problem is. You can't have your cake and eat it!

[josid]

As a follow on to my last posting, In fact we have had far more problems with our UK bank (where I used to work) in the last 6 years since we have been in France, than with our French bank.

I do agree though that the banks, and insurance brokers for that matter, rip us off when it comes to insurance. We were very happy with our car insurances with a Generali broker until we recently went online and were offered comparable policies at a third of the price and which are underwritten by a large well known Insurance company. And we also have an English speaking personal insurance advisor so we know that we have exactly what we asked for.

[gyn_paul]

[quote user="josid"]When we lived in the Uk, I worked for one of the big banks for almost 30 years. When we decided to move to France, I opened an account with Britline, the CA branch for UK expats. I was told that if you don't live in the Normandy area then there could be problems as it could be seen as 'suspicious', especially as we now live in the SW near the Spanish border. On the contrary I have never encountered any problems and I've never had a cheque refused. The only problem was that when we first arrived we exceeded our debit card weekly limit. It was rather annoying, however one phone call is all it took to explain that we were buying all the necessary items needed when you move home. The limit was immediately increased and from then on we have had no other problems. In fact we are contacted by phone if there is any query or if there are services that they consider useful to us. The only downside is that I have to send any cheques that i wish to pay in by post. The French banking system is comparable to the uk system 30 years ago, and as I thought that most UK expats came here because France is like the UK 30 years ago then I cannot see what the problem is. You can't have your cake and eat it![/quote]

That's exactly the point: 'customer' and 'service' are two words not in the average bank employee's vocabulary.

Actually that's not quite true... I'm sure there are many bank employees who individually, and left to their own devices, would be every bit as 'customer facing' as we would wish, but it's the whole French banking culture: the working practices handed down from on high; the way they view their customers as a whole, let alone how they treat us as individuals, which remind me of UK banking in the '60s.

One of our local banks was held up a few weeks ago, which frankly astonished me as the one thing they don't do is have any dealing with anything as sordid as cash!

I love France, and I love my life in France, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to its faults, and its antideluvian banking system is certainly one of them.

p

 

[josid]

Customer service doesn't exist in France, I'm sure you'll agree. In fact I don't think that there's even a translation!

I took pride in my own customer service when working at the UK bank, but unfortunately that wasn't enough, unless I was selling or promoting insurance or some stock market based investment then I wasn't doing a good enough job and it didn't matter if the customer was upset or annoyed as long as he was persuaded to buy something! So at the end of the day I decided enough is enough and handed in my notice.

Getting back to the French system though, I believe that, as in the Uk, it all depends which branch you have an account with. We all rant and rave when we've had a bad experience, but no one seems to say when they've had good service. Bad news always travels faster than good!