Looking at moving from ASB Bank to Westpac

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matisyahu

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#150201 15-Jul-2014 02:16

Looking at moving my credit card balance to Westpac primarily to take advantage of their 'low interest' Mastercard but whilst I'm doing it I'm wondering whether I should just push my banking over to them as well. Anyone here a Westpac customer? what is their service like? what are their fees like when it comes to Kiwisaver? I'm looking at moving my insurance to State so on that front it is a non issue but when it comes to every day banking I'm tempted to just plonk everything in the same place rather than having it scattered around.

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

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#1088983 15-Jul-2014 06:50

My Uncle ran a small business with a co-partner using Westpac with a joint business account. The restriction on the account was both partners had to sign to take money out, however the co-partner went into the local Westpac branch and withdrew all the money and did a runner.

So no I don't recommend Westpac.

scuwp

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#1088988 15-Jul-2014 07:49

It's a while ago now, but after regular stuff-ups on our accounts we did the opposite and quit Westpac for ASB. Never looked back, they were awfully painful to deal with. Just my 2 cents....

Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then always be the Batman

johnr

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#1088998 15-Jul-2014 08:07

I would not touch Westpac

Inphinity

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#1089017 15-Jul-2014 08:36

It has been a few years since I had any accounts with Westpac, but it would have to be some serious incentive to move me back (like an interest-free mortgage or something). Just all sorts of niggly little issues (like being charged higher fees than expected etc) that seemed to take forever to get addressed. ASB and BNZ, on the other hand, have been much better to deal with (though someone might want to tell BNZ it's not 1997 anymore).

geek4me

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#1089046 15-Jul-2014 09:13

Just getting an address changed at Westpac has taken several attempts. We're hoping it's done now as Term Deposit renewals letters still went to the old address even though we had changed our address with them. My experience with ANZ has not been much better. Have requested for years now that internet banking allows payments (especially for tax) to be made up to 1 year in advance (as e.g. Kiwibank do) instead of only three months. ANZ system support have done nothing to implement this despite promises that it would be looked at.

An important factor in choosing which bank to switch to is how good is their customer support. e.g. how long do you wait on the phone for them to answer? Do you get an answer phone that gives you to another number to call and that also has an answer phone that redirects you and so on? Does the bank call you back within a few hours if you request a call back?

Kyanar

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#1089103 15-Jul-2014 09:57

You know, I must be the only person ever to have a good experience with Westpac (NZ) then. Customer support is prompt and helpful (phones are answered in 30 seconds or less when I rarely call), I don't pay fees on my accounts, they're even quite snappy at picking up on potentially dodgy credit card transactions and calling me - within minutes even. Internet banking feels a bit clunky (but then again, I have Westpac Australia accounts too and their internet banking feels like it's still 1992 - I guess Westpac NZ uses the old TrustBank banking platform rather than the Westpac banking platform).

In terms of Kiwisaver, I wouldn't bother - there's no real need for that to be near your banking anyway, so may as well just choose the best provider. I'm currently with Kiwi Wealth, but Mercer is looking pretty solid lately so might change.

Bee

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#1089120 15-Jul-2014 10:11

My two cents - by all means move the credit card over to take advantage of the low interest etc, but stay with ASB. I have accounts with ANZ, ASB and Westpac, and ASB is my favourite.

We are supposed to get preferential treatment from Westpac because of a deal with my employer and still their service and general experience has been pretty poor for me.

josephhinvest

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#1089151 15-Jul-2014 10:56

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

nate

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#1089157 15-Jul-2014 11:11

This pretty much sums up ALL the banks (NSFW language)

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#1089168 15-Jul-2014 11:41

kawaii: Looking at moving my credit card balance to Westpac primarily to take advantage of their 'low interest' Mastercard but whilst I'm doing it I'm wondering whether I should just push my banking over to them as well.

"Out of the frying pan into the fire"
Don't do it

I moved from Westpac to ASB 10 years ago, and have never regretted it.

Sideface

scheduler

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#1089182 15-Jul-2014 12:01

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.

maxeon

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#1089188 15-Jul-2014 12:08

I had some very bad experiences and few good experiences with Westpac.
It really depends what services you are going to use with them and how you are approaching them.

I found some branches have very poor customer service team with complete lack of knowledge on their own products and services that are on offer and struggle to help you. In contrast, there are some branches and people who go out of their way to assist.

I am with ANZ and do most of my banking Online including contacting them using bank mail and depositing money in their automated self deposit ATM's without the need for branch visit.

Westpac's online banking is not that great compared to ANZ or ASB

graemeh

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#1089208 15-Jul-2014 12:27

I have had no problems with Westpac, all banks make mistakes and most do a reasonable job of correcting them most of the time.

The ASB phone app is light years ahead of Westpac so if you like using the app then don't move.

There is no real reason to have your credit card and other banking in the same place.

meesham

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#1089241 15-Jul-2014 13:07

josephhinvest:
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.

I had the opposite problem a couple of years ago. I'm self employed so when I went to get my first mortgage I knew I was going to have a little bit of difficulty. I decided to go with Westpac - I'd done a bit of shopping around and explained my employment situation and that I had a 20% deposit and they said it wasn't going to be a problem. In between then and going in for pre-approval we found a house we liked and put an offer on it. I then went into Westpac to get the mortgage, and was told that because all of my income comes from overseas (which I'd told her previously, all my clients are in Australia and I get paid in $AUD) I would need a 25% deposit and she followed this up with "this won't be a problem, will it?". I said that I could but it would seriously eat into our savings - I don't have an overdraft so this can be a bit of a problem if my clients did't pay on time. She then proceeded to string us along for 4 working days saying that she's working on it and promising to call me back in a couple of hours, but never doing it. I had enough and walked into the National Bank to see what they'd offer, they beat the rate Westpac was offering and approved me later that day with a 20% deposit.

The National Bank were pretty good but I left them for BNZ once they became ANZ.

trig42

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#1089244 15-Jul-2014 13:20

Back in the day, we left the ASB for TrustBank, because the ASB basically laughed at us when we asked for a home loan. (easily 15 years now).

Trust Bank were great, friendly and accurate.

Trust Bank was absorbed in Westpac, so we became Westpac customers. No Problems, and we got a new loan with them when we sold our first house and bought our second (mainly because we had built up about $150k equity through property values increasing).
When we moved again about 4 years ago, we decided to keep and rent the house we had, and but another. The figures all stacked up, but Westpac didn't want to know.
Went to Kiwibank, all done in a week, accounts transferred, Wetspac account closed, and couldn't be happier with Kiwibank.

I'd go back to ASB if they offered me a sweet enough deal, as I like the fact that they are instant, and they are doing good things online with apps and smart services (and I know more are coming from them). Kiwibank's app is OK though, much better than Westpacs.

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