Looking at moving from ASB Bank to Westpac

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Looking at moving from ASB Bank to Westpac

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#1089250 15-Jul-2014 13:30

I wouldn't recommend that you change bank unless the benefit is significant ie getting credit (loan/overdraft/mortgage) approval. A lower rate credit card is simply not enough reason. I say that even though I'm happy with Westpac.

Philosophically, I'd like everyone to change banks for the best services or products then we'd quickly get better service from all the banks. In practice, it is usually more of an issue to change banks than it is to put up with some issues.

ajobbins

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#1089254 15-Jul-2014 13:32

My sister moved her backing from ASB over to Westpac. That lasted about a year. They were so bad she quickly moved back to ASB.

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jtan

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#1089261 15-Jul-2014 13:42

Me and my partner just moved to Westpac a few months ago - They offered the most competitive rate for a home loan but I found their service to be quite hit and miss. Had an issue with my debit/eftpos card shortly after we switched and their card team had no idea or could offer any explanation for the issue; one of the first things I noticed was their internet banking is VERY old/mobile banking follows a similar vein/style and lacks many of the new features of other banks (though they are working on a new version of internet banking, and can give customers beta access, although some features are missing/still underway).

I had a recent issue when I opened a savings account - they required me to send back a signature on a letter they sent via post (never had this before, in the past I've done this over the phone or in person and all is done as the funds are mine, there is no credit facility). It took me a while to get around to doing this (to be honest I forgot about it) - When I tried to withdraw some funds from the account I had found they put a lock on my account as they had not received my signature so my funds were stuck - I had to make an urgent trip down to the bank to hand in the signed form. I was particularly peeved that they hadn't given any prior warning or courtesy call to advise of the funds lock down, but ironically about half a week later (and about a week after the due date) I finally received this 'warning letter'...

As we are 'stuck' with Westpac for a new few years, we are going to continue to monitor their products and service in the meantime, and will be thinking long and hard when the mortgage comes up for renewal...

FYI previous banks I have been with have been ANZ and BNZ, to which I had no problem with service or products.

Good luck with your choice.

networkn

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#1089265 15-Jul-2014 13:45

I was with ASB for 13+ years, but I went travelling in the US and my stuff was stolen and they were SO difficult about getting replacements when we were overseas, worse when we got back and wanted reimbursement, we ended up out of pocket by hundreds of dollars. They also didn't cancel my wifes copy of our credit cards so the thieves did my card, then hers which they then had to issue another card for.
BNZ (Amex) was very difficult initially but a manager on duty saw the issue and got across it, arranged for us to get cash from a local western union, and arranged a person to person courier for new cards, refreshed our balances, and told us to stay a couple of extra days for the hassle, and they paid for it. When we got back we got a MASSIVE gift basket (Two people carried it) with an apology.

The last 2 years I was with ASB they were much more difficult to deal with that previously. Being a long term customer doesn't usually mean much to banks these days.

We went to Kiwibank who are also relatively difficult but do good deals on mortgages etc.

Kyanar

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#1089342 15-Jul-2014 15:40

jtan: Me and my partner just moved to Westpac a few months ago - They offered the most competitive rate for a home loan but I found their service to be quite hit and miss. Had an issue with my debit/eftpos card shortly after we switched and their card team had no idea or could offer any explanation for the issue; one of the first things I noticed was their internet banking is VERY old/mobile banking follows a similar vein/style and lacks many of the new features of other banks (though they are working on a new version of internet banking, and can give customers beta access, although some features are missing/still underway).

If you thought Westpac NZ's internet banking was old, you'd find Westpac Australia's to be positively prehistoric.

mattwnz

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#1089346 15-Jul-2014 15:48

Westpacs online banking has no secure way to email the bank, and communicating with them can be difficult I have found. I couldn't recommend them. If you want a bank with good customer service, you can't go past the TSB and it is also NZ owned. Although I don't think they have secure email either, but you can fax them.

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Kyanar

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#1089347 15-Jul-2014 15:50

mattwnz: Westpacs online banking has no secure way to email the bank, and communicating with them can be difficult I have found. I couldn't recommend them. If you want a bank with good customer service, you can't go past the TSB and it is also NZ owned. Although I don't think they have secure email either, but you can fax them.

Then again, TSB still thinks it's OK to charge 25 cents for an online banking payment. It's 2014, aint nobody got time for that.

mattwnz

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#1089352 15-Jul-2014 15:54

Kyanar:
mattwnz: Westpacs online banking has no secure way to email the bank, and communicating with them can be difficult I have found. I couldn't recommend them. If you want a bank with good customer service, you can't go past the TSB and it is also NZ owned. Although I don't think they have secure email either, but you can fax them.

Then again, TSB still thinks it's OK to charge 25 cents for an online banking payment. It's 2014, aint nobody got time for that.

Yes that isn't good, and I have pulled them up on it, but their front line staff can't do anything.I fax them instead, and ironically that is free, even though it must be costing them a lot more in human time to manually do it. Faxing doesn't take me any more time than doing a direct credit, as I have prefilled in letter which I fax from my PC.

daunjan

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#1089574 15-Jul-2014 21:11

TSB has some of the cheapest fees and you can secure msg through their app...

Kyanar

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#1089578 15-Jul-2014 21:24

Cheapest fees? I pay $0 with Westpac, and they don't bill me $0.25 per online banking payment. TSB does. Hardly "cheapest fees".

khull

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#1089581 15-Jul-2014 21:30

mattwnz: Westpacs online banking has no secure way to email the bank, and communicating with them can be difficult I have found. I couldn't recommend them. If you want a bank with good customer service, you can't go past the TSB and it is also NZ owned. Although I don't think they have secure email either, but you can fax them.

This exactly - Nothing more frustrating than not having paper trail on your account and having to explain the same problem multiple times to different people.

Every single issue I've ever had with Westpac ended up with 'come visit a branch'. If this was like in the 70's yeah I could relate. No one wants to go into a branch unless you've won a million dollars.

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matisyahu

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#1089675 16-Jul-2014 06:00

Apologies to everyone else - I'll just reply to a couple but thank you for the feedback. I've gone ahead and made the move.

scheduler: If you exclude balance transfer special rates there does not seem to a lot of difference between ASB low rate Visa and Westpac low rate MasterCard. ASB are quoting rates of 13.5% on purchases, 21.95% on cash advances and $40.00 annual fee. Westpac are quoting rates of 12.95% on purchases, 22.45 % on cash advances and $65.00 annual fee.

The big problem is that I've got 9 grand sitting on a card at 19.95% interest rate (2 grand of it due to my scooter breaking down and having to get some form of transportation asap) - for every payment I make I feel I'm taking 5 steps forward and 1.5 steps back when a massive whack of interest comes through at the end of the month. Before even considering moving to Westpac I asked whether I could move my balance to the low interest VISA at ASB Bank - I didn't want any specials but just the normal lower interest rate but the person at ASB said that you cannot transfer the balance to the Low interest VISA (if they did transfer it would be treated as a cash advance and I'd be pinged with an even higher interest rate). I'm keeping up with the payments but to be completely honest the progress is disheartening because there is always a massive chunk of interest I'm being pinged with each month that makes any progress akin to treading water.

josephhinvest: Last year we changed all our banking from ASB to Westpac.
Despite earning more than ever before as a couple, because I had not been in my job more than 2 years, ASB would not consider any changes to our mortgage, so we changed to Westpac. This was despite being with ASB since primary school and never having any financial problems. We were introduced to an amazing personal banker at Westpac New Lynn (unfortunately she has now left the branch). The overall experience was very very good, and we are quite happy with the decision.
It was not taken lightly however! We moved joint accounts, savings, credit card, mortgage, home and contents insurance, life and mortgage protection insurance, two adults kiwisavers, three kids accounts and their kiwisavers too!
The process was pretty painless, lots of paperwork but no problems. Transferring kiwisaver to a new bank takes months to go through the system, but eventually it all worked.
Overall I am happy with the decision, the customer care at Westpac has always been very good.

Cheers,
Joseph

I guess it comes down to the branch as well - I've had good experiences with ASB Bank and bad experiences but it all depends on the branch, the people there, their experience etc. so in a large organisation the ideal is that everyone is trained up to the same level and able to provide the same level of care but in reality that isn't always possible hence you get the mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly. As for my experience, no problems at the Lower Hutt branch but then again I'm a pretty simple customer; two accounts, a credit card, kiwisaver etc. nothing particularly fancy.

Someone raised the online banking - it is pretty rudimentary right now but seeing how they have a beta version of the next one (had a quick look at it) from what I understand it is part of an ongoing project.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

graemeh

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#1089753 16-Jul-2014 09:26

kawaii: Apologies to everyone else - I'll just reply to a couple but thank you for the feedback. I've gone ahead and made the move.

scheduler: If you exclude balance transfer special rates there does not seem to a lot of difference between ASB low rate Visa and Westpac low rate MasterCard. ASB are quoting rates of 13.5% on purchases, 21.95% on cash advances and $40.00 annual fee. Westpac are quoting rates of 12.95% on purchases, 22.45 % on cash advances and $65.00 annual fee.

The big problem is that I've got 9 grand sitting on a card at 19.95% interest rate (2 grand of it due to my scooter breaking down and having to get some form of transportation asap) - for every payment I make I feel I'm taking 5 steps forward and 1.5 steps back when a massive whack of interest comes through at the end of the month. Before even considering moving to Westpac I asked whether I could move my balance to the low interest VISA at ASB Bank - I didn't want any specials but just the normal lower interest rate but the person at ASB said that you cannot transfer the balance to the Low interest VISA (if they did transfer it would be treated as a cash advance and I'd be pinged with an even higher interest rate). I'm keeping up with the payments but to be completely honest the progress is disheartening because there is always a massive chunk of interest I'm being pinged with each month that makes any progress akin to treading water.

...........

I guess it comes down to the branch as well - I've had good experiences with ASB Bank and bad experiences but it all depends on the branch, the people there, their experience etc. so in a large organisation the ideal is that everyone is trained up to the same level and able to provide the same level of care but in reality that isn't always possible hence you get the mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly. As for my experience, no problems at the Lower Hutt branch but then again I'm a pretty simple customer; two accounts, a credit card, kiwisaver etc. nothing particularly fancy.

Someone raised the online banking - it is pretty rudimentary right now but seeing how they have a beta version of the next one (had a quick look at it) from what I understand it is part of an ongoing project.

Is it an option to just move your credit card balance? If you leave the transactional banking with ASB it will be an easier move.

Just make sure with whichever bank you move to you do not use the credit card for anything else as they apply payments to the lowest interest debt first.

Shock

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#1089877 16-Jul-2014 12:19

Best move we ever made was away from ASB for banking. We are now with Westpac and they do the basics & the complex well. We had a countless number of issues related to our mortgage, loans & credit cards with ASB which totally took things away from their slick exterior and engagement. Their customer service, apologies etc ultimately turned out to be lip service and they never managed to fix the systematic issues that led to the issues we experienced.

I can recommend moving away from ASB.

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lapimate

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#1090173 16-Jul-2014 18:00

Kyanar: ... I guess Westpac NZ uses the old TrustBank banking platform rather than the Westpac banking platform). ...

Don't think so - at the time when Westpac took over TrustBank Wellington, online banking then regressed from "real time" to "overnight" in my experience as a customer.

Westpac's online banking was markedly inferior to KiwiBank's until quite recently.

After a long relationship with Westpac we were considerably put out when Westpac point-blank refused to let us break a term deposit when an unexpected requirement arose. We were quite prepared to lose all the interest. Westpac were eventually saved by our Westpac Branch Manager's intervention.

However Westpac have also provided us with unintended entertainment, such as when it took 4 staff (including a senior manager) crammed into one small office to provide us with a Bank Cheque(admittedly it was a Saturday, but it was Lambton Quay main Wellington office).

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