Smile Internet Banking www.smile.co.uk

I have had a DD for repayment of a loan. In the last few months the loan company have reported that Smile have refused to pay the agreed amount "because I have cancelled the DD". This is not true and my reputation is being affected.

Also my Debit Card is often refused. I have never been overdrawn and never failed to pay any amount in my lifetime - I am 82.

I have banked with Co-op since age 16 when I worked for the Co-op Insurance Society.

Smile was the first online bank and was a real asset.

They make the claim that I have cancelled the DD yet on my account it is shown as having been paid and on what date.

I really fail to understand what is going on.

If they say I have cancelled the DD why can't they show me evidence. They blame it on the loan company so I am being patted back and forth between the two like a ping pong ball.

After being with Smile Bank since its inception I have now had to give up. Trying to contact the bank via secure email or telephone gets no action after very long delays.Money transfers that used to take place within a couple of hours are now taking days, even when money is being transfered to reputable banks in my own name. Is this bank holding on to my money because its about to bust?

I have banked with Smile since its inception in 1999 but will be switching accounts next week due to its absolutely dreadful service. Smile can no longer do international transfers online, if you use the phone option I guarantee you will not speak to anyone for at least 45 minutes, it took me over an hour last week. Their website is riddled with out of date information and dead links, the mobile app is only suitable to check your balance and a non-international bank transfers. They have not moved with times, their digital offering looks like it did 10 years ago, they look like a bank on the way out.

Smile used to be an excellent bank and I've been a customer for 14 years but not only have their services deteriorated but they act as if they are no longer bothered if I'm a customer or not. Incredibly, and to both my amazement and the astonishment of others I have told, smile recently decided to cease telephone banking. This means that if you have a problem it is impossible to speak to anyone. The only way to contact is via secure messaging which takes up to 24 hours - can you imagine having a conversation where the reply doesn't come back for hours and hours? When I complained I received a letter that did not in any way address the issue stated in the complaint and then the complaint file was promptly closed. And the online link is the only avenue for complaint. When I said I'm going to leave I received a thanks for my business but no attempt to keep my business. Smile is the last thing you do with this bank.

We chose this bank for internet use although we both had high street bank accounts. we liked the ethics and the customer service from the word go. Over 14 years we are still pleased with the bank. Customer care efficient and helpful.

I have been a customer of Smile for many years now. It used to be the easiest thing to just pop online to check my current account's balance. Since the new website has been implemented it is just awful. The layout is dreadful, very confusing, too much information is required, having to use the card reader is a ball ache. I wish they could revert back to the old site. I absolutely hate it. Such a shame as I have never had any problems with the bank itself.

20-10-16 1130

Smile Bank BAD

Is anyone else still have their computer intact after trying to deal with Smile's "new" Website. I have felt like throwing it out the window, though I know it is the fault of Smile, not the computer. They must have had all the flunked out Geeks to do up the old one. It is impossible.

I continue to read the refrain, similar to mine: "I have been with them for years..." It is supposed to be easy to switch banks, Current Accounts... but when Smile can screw things up this badly, you don't want to try anything even simple, as it will mess you up tremendously.

NEVER AGAIN WITH SMILE BANK

SIGNED:

ML

The old website was crude, poorly designed and not kept upto date but the new one is practically impossible to use. I have tried two PC's and both Internet Explorer and Firefox but it simply does not work due to pages hanging when logging in. How on earth did this get through beta user testing? The Co-op group has been troubled with poor senior management but the muppets who let this website have unwittingly done their best to put what was a decent bank out of business. What is most annoying is that there are clearly problems, given other reviews on the internet, but Smile has done nothing to admit the problem and contact users by email to explain what they are doing about it apart from vague references to a major downtime for planned maintenance - if that does not work I will have no option but to take my business elsewhere.

I've been waiting a couple of years for Smile to upgrade their very out of date online banking offering. And now they have I wished they hadn't. It's very slow, it takes ages to be able to select your pin number from the dropdowns and half the time when you log in it just takes you straight back to the first page with no explanation whatsoever where you have to enter your details all over again. (I've now given up and am writing this review instead) And once you do get in the new interface is so confusing my wife couldn't even work out how to transfer money. Added to that there is nothing like the functionality that other banks offer.

I am with Smile because it's an ethical cooperative.... or was. Now it's owned by venture capitalists whose sole aim is profit there's no reason to stay, so I'm off. Bye bye Smile. Shame though as the staff in their northern call centre were always very good. It's just that I wish I didn't have to call them so often.

Their web site seems OK - I have been a customer for many years and things are generally OK until something goes wrong --> premium phone number to call them - I was paying 25p per minute --> waiting on the phone for 30 mins before anyone answers --> incompetent staff who stopped my card for no reason at all --> fraud team who will stop your card but not even bother to let you know.

Nobody rings you back or gives up as soon as the line is engaged - they don't seem to care at all ....

The only plus is they do have a high street presence so I could have gone to a co-op branch to sort things out (possibly)

I'm moving to another bank!