The Royal Bank of Scotland Reviews 

Like trying to contact the dead. On hols and they've stopped my credit card and I notified them and my accounts are all in credit. Dreadful service.

I took a mortgage out 21 years ago with The Royal Bank of Scotland. I paid it off early this year, 4 years early as I made overpayment for years.
When mortgage was over I received nothing in writing from them at all because they didn't have an email for me 21 years ago. I phoned and phoned, them complained. Only to be lied to again saying they send it out in post.
Still nothing from them. I've no proof my mortgage has finished.
Shady as hell.

I have banked with RBS for many years, but over that time their service has detriorated and is no longer acceptable.
Digital banking not working properly, advisors not calling for scheduled appointments, terrible interest rates, awful customer support service, poor communication with zero call back. They hold your bank transactions in 'security accounts' for fraud checks without telling you so you have go chasing them wondering what is happening.
When calling to complain it is like talking to complete morons who have no idea about service, and I say that as somebody who they tell me is apparently a 'premier customer'.

I wish there were no stars to choose from. This bank is the worst ever. My 72 year old mother in law was scammed out of her life savings leaving her with nothing in her bank. And all this bank said was hard lines we cannot help you. How do you sleep at night you absolute SCUMBAGS.

Online banking is not working on Google since the recent interface update. I appreciate that Google is an obscure seldom-used browser that very few people use. But come on, RBS how about a little QA on your updates!! The review asks for a date, so I have put today's date on here, but the issue has persisted for a couple of weeks so far. There has been no help from customer service who keep saying either clear browsing history or use a different browser. both of these work - BUT I don't want to have to change my browser or clear my browsing data every single time login I which is what it takes. This is very poor service and no-one is even trying to resolve the issue.

Have been with this bank for over 30 years and will now be switching. Had unrecognised, regular payments on my card. Phone but got this very unhelpful "computer says no" response from customer service who said all I could do was cancel my card and re-order one. I said reluctantly that will have to do and was told the new card would arrive within a couple of days. After four or five days it was still not here and when I called it turned out it was never ordered in the first place. So I have to go away for the weekend with no card. What made it worse was that I made a complaint about the customer service man before I knew about this, but the RBS make it almost impossible to complain other than using their CORA digital bot. I did this and never heard anything back. So I complained again when I found out about my card, again I got to the end of the complaint process but this time was just kicked out of the chat, which I then couldn't find anywhere. So twice I have tried to complain and each time nothing has happened. I don't have the time to try for a third time. Awful service. They have lost a lifelong customer for good. Apparently Nationwide are very good so I'll probably go there.

I was in Toyal Bank of Scotlaan east gate centre Inverness. Was lucky to go a lady called Jane, she was so incredibly kind, helpful and made it as super experience. Have bank wit RBS all my life, customer service has been consistent ie very helpful. Jane was a bit more special.

Oh my goodness, where do I start?
I have been with the RBS for almost 40 years. In the beginning, they were a great bank, helpful, and efficient, you could phone your actual branch or go in and speak to a real human being-yes, really!
Oh, but how things have changed! In 2023-2024, I invested in an ISA but mistakenly transferred it a couple of weeks prior to its maturity, so I got clobbered with an exorbitant early redemption fee. When I complained, I was told that the maturity date 'would have been somewhere in the literature'. Whereas the institution that I transferred it to clearly states the maturity date at the top of the statement. I may be wrong, but could this be intentional so that customers make the mistake that I did in order for the bank to profit from the fee?
Next up are cards. Previously my debit card depicted a beach hut, whilst the credit card was changed from gold to blue. I misplaced my wallet recently, so I requested new cards, which are now identical, which makes it impossible to differentiate between the two should you have less than perfect vision. I would need my glasses to see the long number or the tiny words 'debit' or 'credit' written on the cards. What idiot thought that issuing identical cards was a good idea?
Next, interest rates-utterly dreadful. I moved one of my savings accounts to Monzo and got 4x that which the RBS are paying!
Need help? Good luck with that! Cora is absolutely useless for anything other than a straightforward question. I needed to access a statement from 8 months ago, apparently these are not available on the mobile phone app so attempted to log in to my online account. I entered the correct personal number but was told that it didn't recognise my details, so I tried again, this time using my card (which was auto-filled, so it was definitely correct), but no, it still wasn't recognised, so I am now locked out. I attempted to resolve the issue via Cora and was just taken around in circles; I asked to speak to a 'human', but of course, there was a wait, and when you are busy with things to do, holding on for 30+ minutes isn't an option.
Unfortunately, closed branches, the lack of telephone support, dreadful interest rates, identical cards are no doubt all cost cutting strategies to please the shareholders at the expense of customer satisfaction. Do yourself a favour and find an alternative, don't stick with this dreadful institution out of loyalty or lethargy, they are most definitely, not being loyal to you.

I can certainly see why there are so many poor reviews. I needed an executor account, not many available from banks, RBS do one but honestly I wish I'd never started to open one. As a Company they seem very disjointed, poor communications, and slow at getting anything done. This was also the case when going through the bereavement process and getting access to the deceased's accounts, slow, disjointed and overall very frustrating.

I have been on the telephone for over an hour and a half. Peolpe hang up, give me wrong information and the last call had a child shouting in the backgound. All I want to do is set up a card on my morrisons account. No help whatsoever

I took out a small loan at the end of September to be paid back over 12 months. I signed an agreement to that online. I then get a notification in my phone app to say first payment will be taken in 3 months at a far higher rate. I complained after numerous phone calls and was told it was a computer glitch which they were sorting and they credited £75 into my account for the distress caused. 29 days later and the loan account is showing that the first payment will be February next year and at a higher amount than I signed for on the agreement, and I will be paying more interest. Apparently the call centre you phone has no phone number for the loan team, neither does their manager. She even has an issue getting through to the complaints department. I've been with RBS for 41 years. The personal touch has gone. What bank doesn't have contact numbers for different departments? My RBS where I live doesn't even have a manager anymore. Royal Bank of Scotland you are an absolute disgrace.

Shouldn't have to delete then reinstall an app to unlock banking. Spent hours going around in circles then eventually spoke to someone who was friendly but telling me to repeat the process I had gone through 10 plus times already. Eventually after reading of similar issues on here I deleted the App and it then allowed me to open it properly. The Artifical Idiocy (Cora) is useless and wasted more time telling me to repeat the steps I'd already completed.
"Get it sorted RBS"

I hate this bank account - I swtiched one of my Halifax accounts and regrets it everyday.

- £750 limit max transfer in the app.

-The app is irritating.

- Can't simply set up a standing order to someone I already had a standing order for before.

- I refuse for you to have my voice or my face when I want to spend my own money, or transfer it to myself.

- I am leaving this account empty, until I can switch away.
Bye!

Used to be a decent bank but there customer service is awful can’t get hold of any one just a stupid chat with out a real person that has not got a clue. Be closing my account and getting one with some one else

Could not access the RBS app as RBS said it needed to be updated. I uploaded latest version. Went back into app and it again told me it had to be updated so went back but app store told me I had the most recent version. Went round in circles, a total waste of time.
Tried to access my account on my PC but RBS sent the access code to the app which of course I couldn't access. Totally locked out of my accounts.
Had to uninstall and reinstall the app, which took ages, complete waste of a morning.
Other people complaining of the same issue so RBS need to get it sorted immediately.
Very unhappy with RBS.

I lost £75 from a bank machine operated by RBS not dispensing my cash. It took 2 months for them to refund my money. Good job I was not relying on that money to feed my family.
Appalling service from the bank.

The most unhelpful bank I have ever come across I have spent days trying to cancel my sons bank card which he has lost. My son has mental health issues therefore does not and cannot use a computer so does not have online banking therefore he cannot cancel the card online. I have tried ringing and speaking to someone with my son, but they need to know his bank sort code and account number which is printed on the card which he lost therefore he does not have this! so obviously he cannot tell them! so he went into the bank and took utility bills to prove where he lives but this was not good enough they need a passport with photo or a driving licence with photo due to my sons illness he can neither drive or fly therefore does not have either one so cannot get his money or cancel his card. So he has now got to buy a passport which he will never use in order to get into his account and be able to cancel card and in the mean time someone can access his card and spend £30 a day until such time as this is sorted out the minute it is if there is any money left he will be closing this account and going to another bank this is disgusting so this bank does not help people who are disabled or have learning problems the sooner it closes altogether the better!

terrible bank they shouldnt be trading customer service are rude had a account for a while then all of a sudden i get a email to say your account has had to be closed nothing has changed since opening it

I have banked with RBS for 35 years. In that time, every penny of my earnings and savings have been invested with the bank, despite some literally prehistoric services and interest rates.
I now find I have no choice but to change bank following repeated frustrations trying to deposit cash into Fixed Rate ISAs, being forced to deal with Cora AI (Artificial Idiocy) . I have spent literally hours going around in circles between Cora (which doesn't actually allow you to ask any questions but tells you what you can ask), App based and online banking; and of course trying to get to speak to a human being on telephone banking is I think, just a bridge too far, with 99 out of 100 'tell me what you'd like to do today' options, referring you bank online...
After hours of being fobbed-off by digital assistants, I finally got through to a human-being (this species is now virtually extinct in RBS with even the UKs Second City no longer even having a high-street branch); when I complained that the App and Digital Banking refused any way of actually depositing into Fixed Rate ISAs, I received commiserations and direction to do it on telephone banking... and when I say direction, that is it; no actual detail.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (under NATWEST) has now become probably Britain's least 'Personal' Bank; a very sad end to one of Britain's oldest banks.