Portman Takeover Staffordshire
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Staffordshire Staff Leave Portman Empire
When I took out a mortgage in 2000 I chose the Staffordshire because they were small, local and friendly. Sadly, they sold out to Portman, a huge conglomerate whose MD is one of the top paid Fat Cats in the country. Portman delight in telling you how successful they are as profits increase hugely every year – but where is this money coming from?
Me. And other suckers who have bought into Portman.
Hidden charges, stealth increases, false information and withheld information (or to put it bluntly, lying and incompetence) seem to be the hallmarks of the Portman empire.
Certainly there is no doubting the unhappiness of Staffordshire staff who are leaving Portman because they feel they can no longer work within this system. I admire such people and will be leaving them completely out of this story, despite the fact that they have been having to “Do things the Portman Way”, as one staff member told me.
My personal experience is that when trying to find out when my mortgage was up for renewal I was told on four occasions (two of which were by the mortgage adviser herself) that Portman would be in touch. Even when I started a course of chemotherapy for a progressive liver disease in February and wanted to see if I could sort out my mortgage beforehand as I was told by the consultant that I should have no stress on chemotherapy, I was told “Don`t worry Mr Wilcox, we will be in touch”
Amazingly, I discovered in MAY this year that my mortgage was up in August last year and that I had been on the highest interest rate unnecessarily for NINE MONTHS. So either by lying or incompetence or a mixture of both they have just made £500 out of me. Multiply that by all the lenders and you are probably looking at £250,000,000. Just for NOT sending out a letter.
Nice one Fat Cat!!
The mortgage adviser was repentant when my wife and I confronted her in her office A FULL HOUR AND A HALF OF STRESS I DID NOT NEED. She knew I was on Chemotherapy and I was obviously not well. After consulting all our records she eventually admitted liability for the mistakes and said she would be looking for a new deal or a reimbursement of the extra cash Portman had made by their ERROR.
Ah, but once we were out of the office we were informed the matter would have to go through the complaints procedure. I would hear in two to five working days acknowledging this process.
NINE DAYS OF WAITING. NOTHING!!
After further contact with the local branch the mortgage adviser is at a complete loss to explain why Head Office are taking no notice of her and can only refer me back to them.
Well, if Portman isn`t listening to its own people why on earth should they listen to me??? And, more disturbingly, why have a local office at all.
In true corporate tradition it would be “A prudent measure” to save money to get rid of expensive local buildings and staffing and just centralise everything. That way, as well as saving money by axing excess staff you don`t get irritating personal callers. Just more money made because of having to make phone calls to faceless minions trained to be as unhelpful as possible.
When you phone Portman you are paying for an expensive 0870 number for which Portman rakes off extra cash for every minute they keep you waiting. So not surprisingly there is little incentive for staff to give quick, clear concise advice.
The only thing they want is for you to borrow more money, an offer I get every time I go into the local branch. I went in for information which I did not receive, not to hear how I can be tied in to these bloodsuckers for a lifetime.
Frustrated, I emailed Donna Smith, Team Manager, Mortgage Processing for Portman and received a form letter showing that she hadn`t even bothered looking into the case but assured me of her best intentions at all times.
I love these meaningless phrases especially when they are in a communication that patently screams I don`t give a damn.
Needless to say my consultant nurse is none too pleased at all this unecassary stress at this critical stage in my life and is preparing a letter of complaint.
So. I`m still waiting. I won’t be holding my breath.
The serious implications of this disturbing trend in big business both for the public and society at large will be explored in my next post.
All facts here are recorded on tape or letter or email and are freely available.
Originally published as part of a blog written by Paul Wilcox and available on the World Wide Web at http://journojunky.blogspot.com/
ENDS.
Staffordshire Staff Leave Portman Empire
When I took out a mortgage in 2000 I chose the Staffordshire because they were small, local and friendly. Sadly, they sold out to Portman, a huge conglomerate whose MD is one of the top paid Fat Cats in the country. Portman delight in telling you how successful they are as profits increase hugely every year – but where is this money coming from?
Me. And other suckers who have bought into Portman.
Hidden charges, stealth increases, false information and withheld information (or to put it bluntly, lying and incompetence) seem to be the hallmarks of the Portman empire.
Certainly there is no doubting the unhappiness of Staffordshire staff who are leaving Portman because they feel they can no longer work within this system. I admire such people and will be leaving them completely out of this story, despite the fact that they have been having to “Do things the Portman Way”, as one staff member told me.
My personal experience is that when trying to find out when my mortgage was up for renewal I was told on four occasions (two of which were by the mortgage adviser herself) that Portman would be in touch. Even when I started a course of chemotherapy for a progressive liver disease in February and wanted to see if I could sort out my mortgage beforehand as I was told by the consultant that I should have no stress on chemotherapy, I was told “Don`t worry Mr Wilcox, we will be in touch”
Amazingly, I discovered in MAY this year that my mortgage was up in August last year and that I had been on the highest interest rate unnecessarily for NINE MONTHS. So either by lying or incompetence or a mixture of both they have just made £500 out of me. Multiply that by all the lenders and you are probably looking at £250,000,000. Just for NOT sending out a letter.
Nice one Fat Cat!!
The mortgage adviser was repentant when my wife and I confronted her in her office A FULL HOUR AND A HALF OF STRESS I DID NOT NEED. She knew I was on Chemotherapy and I was obviously not well. After consulting all our records she eventually admitted liability for the mistakes and said she would be looking for a new deal or a reimbursement of the extra cash Portman had made by their ERROR.
Ah, but once we were out of the office we were informed the matter would have to go through the complaints procedure. I would hear in two to five working days acknowledging this process.
NINE DAYS OF WAITING. NOTHING!!
After further contact with the local branch the mortgage adviser is at a complete loss to explain why Head Office are taking no notice of her and can only refer me back to them.
Well, if Portman isn`t listening to its own people why on earth should they listen to me??? And, more disturbingly, why have a local office at all.
In true corporate tradition it would be “A prudent measure” to save money to get rid of expensive local buildings and staffing and just centralise everything. That way, as well as saving money by axing excess staff you don`t get irritating personal callers. Just more money made because of having to make phone calls to faceless minions trained to be as unhelpful as possible.
When you phone Portman you are paying for an expensive 0870 number for which Portman rakes off extra cash for every minute they keep you waiting. So not surprisingly there is little incentive for staff to give quick, clear concise advice.
The only thing they want is for you to borrow more money, an offer I get every time I go into the local branch. I went in for information which I did not receive, not to hear how I can be tied in to these bloodsuckers for a lifetime.
Frustrated, I emailed Donna Smith, Team Manager, Mortgage Processing for Portman and received a form letter showing that she hadn`t even bothered looking into the case but assured me of her best intentions at all times.
I love these meaningless phrases especially when they are in a communication that patently screams I don`t give a damn.
Needless to say my consultant nurse is none too pleased at all this unecassary stress at this critical stage in my life and is preparing a letter of complaint.
So. I`m still waiting. I won’t be holding my breath.
The serious implications of this disturbing trend in big business both for the public and society at large will be explored in my next post.
All facts here are recorded on tape or letter or email and are freely available.
Originally published as part of a blog written by Paul Wilcox and available on the World Wide Web at http://journojunky.blogspot.com/
ENDS.
posted by Paul | 5:48 AM
1 Comments:
Genius. Utter genius. Let the world see it as it really is. Keep at it Dad.
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