UBS terrible service!

Complaints Corner
1
So our local Branch, with local managers we know and trust, and can talk to face to face, has closed. Been trying to make an appointment to go and top up our mortgage, and just wait for ages with automatic reply, several times for 10+ minutes. Then on Friday early afternoon, after waiting on the phone for ages, I get a message saying they are busy and would I like to be called back as soon as someone is free, and press on 'YES?. Waited all afternoon . nothing.

Then I got on line to make an appointment for someone to call me today between 16.00-17.00. Get an e-mail confirming that someone would call at the arranged time, but as they are busy, it might be a bit later. So I rush back, nnd wait. 19.40 now, and not a peep.

Furious- terrible service. Do I have to drive 45 mins and 45 mins return, just to go and make an appointment (and then do that again at the appointed time).

2
No experience of that. If I ask for a call back it normally comes within 10 minutes.

Why don‘t you give them your cell phone number or contact UBS through your online banking tool?

3
....maybe the UBS aren't too interested ?

Retail banking isn't their strongest area of expertise.

4
That is not the point, surely.

5
No? It works very well for me that way and I have no complaint.

6
If the bank closes local branches, and force customers to go to a Branch a long way away to get to talk to some, least they can do is a) to wo/man their phones properly with appropriate staff, and b) if they can't or won't, and ask the customer to make an appointment on line, for someone to call the customer at an appointed date and time, confirm said by e-mail, actually respect this.

THAT is the point.

7
I haven‘t visited the branch for years. I do meet up once a year with my contact.

Anything else is through online banking and I get a call from UBS within 10 minutes. Why not try that?

My contact person and I chat on a regular basis.

8
Well yes, good advice.

But again, that is not the point. See last reply. Not everyone has a contact, not everyone is an existing customer, and some of us are used to dealing with real people. A branch should be reachable- and if they make an appointment for a call, confirmed by e-mail, then it should be respected. end of.

9
Interesting opinion piece on UBS on closing branches in Switzerland:

https://www.finews.com/news/english-...orona-neobanks

It seems the idea of staying at home to minimize contagion had some unintended consequences after 2 years. It's probable that local managers customers trust were rotting in the solitude of their branches during the covid19 times. All while income kept coming. No surprise higher management decided to end their jobs.

10
Yes, get that, thanks.

But this is not the point.

11
Yes. As said, I contact my contact person online, get a phone call and meet him in person when I want to.

If you are not a customer and just reaching out for a new mortgage, contact your local bank and other banks. But then you‘ll have to wait. You want something from them so I guess you will have to do some legwork

12
I guess that's the point. The way of banks to operate was severely disrupted by covid19 lockdowns. Branches are closed and the transition to remote services either online or phone is far from flawless. At some point things will improve, but during this period of branch closure I'd expect problems.

Anyway, over the last 10 years I've called to UBS once and the wait was less than 1 minute. It helped a lot that it's a call that costs some cents (or francs?) per minute, but I got the answer to my problem in 5 min. Of course, I've never met the person that solved my problem. What else should I expect? A hug from bank teller?

13
I am so glad it works for you. We are existing customers, with existing accounts and existing mortgage, have been for a long time. Not investment portfolios, etc.

We had great personal contact, with the local Manager and his successor. But the branch was closed and we now have to go quite a long way away. Surely, if you make an appointment for them to call you, and they confirm date and time by e-mail, they should respect this and do it. What you do, and how it works for you is wonderful, and totally irrelevant here!

You should expect to be able to get through on the phone. And failing that, you should expect that they respect date and time of appointment! Not asking for a hug from anyone.

14
Metoo

The nearest UBS branch has not closed but for some years they do not handle cash anymore, for cash I have to use one of their automats.

15

The branch we use closed down last year, but I haven’t tried contacting our guy there. Far as I know I can just e-mail him to arrange to meet up. Will probably need to do that re what happens mortgage-wise with the house when we move back to the UK as well as the bank accounts.

16
What is cash?

17

Something very useful to have when your card payment system breaks down and cash is the only thing you can accept from people buying your goods. And don’t try to tell me it can’t happen because it already did. When we were in the UK a few weeks ago The Works had their system break/get hacked (not sure exactly what the problem was) and it took a week to get it fixed. Think of all that lost revenue if cash wasn’t around to be used.

18
NickAtBasel only uses exchange of goods and services.

19
Weren’t you assigned a personal contact when your local branch closed down?

That’s usually how it works and people just contact that person directly when they need to.

20

Jackie, just face it, unfortunately you are really not interesting at all for UBS, no big revenue, no big fortune and whilst you are an exisiting client, ya di da di da, your business makes zero profit for them.

UBS is a BIG bank

Try a smaller bank if you want personalised service, this is what the cantonal banks excel at, be it BCN or BCV or another