Misery goes on as NS&I customers still left waiting

THE customer service fiasco at National Savings & Insurance rumbles on – seven weeks since we reported it was in meltdown.

Phone waiting times at the Government-backed savings organisation are still breaching 40 minutes and customers are waiting weeks for complaints to be resolved.

NS&I’s rating on consumer review website Trust pilot has plunged to just one out of five stars. As many as 83 per cent of reviews rate its customer service ‘bad’. More than five weeks since NS&I boss Ian Ackerley apologised to customers on these pages and promised NS&I was working to resolve its problems, many customers remain unconvinced.

Tom Dunn, from Exeter, is still waiting for a response to his complaint filed more than a month ago. The 78-year-old says: ‘The NS&I fiasco still goes on! What is the matter with them? It’s extremely frustrating dealing with such an inept organisation, but with interest rates at such an appallingly low level, Premium Bonds remain the only riskfree option as a home for savings.’

Nigel Barnes, 66, from Kent, has repeatedly tried to get through to the organisation by phone, but has given up after having to wait more than 45 minutes. He accuses NS&I of insufficient customer service staff to cope.

As we report above, NS&I is slashing savings rates from November 24 to as little as 0.01 per cent on some of its most popular accounts. A spokesperson for NS&I says: ‘We are sorry that some of our customers are continuing to have difficulty contacting us. We have brought in more staff and added new office space.

‘We encourage customers to manage their savings online at nsandi. com where they can.’

NS&I says it aims to resolve all complaints within 40 days, but will write to customers where it cannot answer a complaint in that time. rachel.rickard@mailonsunday.co.uk

NS & I plunges into melt down hitting savers with delays just as rates tumble REVEALED: Our report in September