Dearie me, don’t give your money to Postbank

Herman Lategan tells a tale of frustation after he opened a bank account with the Post Office.

Ihave noticed people complaining about the inept Post Office. Let me, however, tell you about Postbank. Some years back I had a fallout with my bank and decided, in a moment of what I can now diagnose as insanity, to open an account with Postbank.

I had some vague nostalgic memories of my granny and some little book she took to the Post Office once a month, to have it stamped. I thought if it was good enough for her, it will work for me.

Little did I realise that they have no internet banking, although it has been promised for years. I work for myself, my money comes from different people.

To find out who has paid me is a nightmare. The phone often rings forever. Once you get hold of someone you have to plead to find out wh0 has paid you.

Often this information is not given to you, for security reasons. You are told to go to the Post Office to get a printout. For that you have to pay, and regularly they run out of paper. So, then it is back to the phone to beg.

Do not bother sending an SMS to check your balance, it works when the fancy takes it.

In addition, many of the call centre workers cannot get their head around the fact that I work for myself and get my salary from different people. It takes another 10 minutes to explain that.

Often the line is so bad, we can not understand each other, or the call is dropped after you have already spent 30 minutes waiting, explaining, talking and begging. Bah!