Bank of Scotland Reviews 

1,112
•
TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.5

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 193 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Customers frequently complain about enduring extremely long waiting times on the phone and dealing with unhelpful or unresponsive customer service representatives who quickly disconnect calls. Consumers also experience immense frustration with unexpectedly blocked payments, persistent technical issues, and poorly designed automated systems that completely fail to resolve basic queries. Some reviewers were happy with the exceptionally helpful and polite staff they encountered during their rare in-person branch visits. A few people also noted that certain dedicated employees provided brilliant support when setting up new accounts or handling specific urgent banking tasks.

What people talk about most

Customer service

Reviewers express profound dissatisfaction regarding customer service, highlighting long telephone wait... See more

Staff

Customers felt widespread frustration with staff, reporting that employees on the phones and in specialist... See more

Service

Users describe negative interactions with service, highlighting long wait times, closed branches, and... See more

Payment

Customers consistently note negative experiences with payment, reporting frustration over blocked online... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Using their chat system is like pulling teeth, I was on it for over 5 hours and still nothing resolved, im not getting text messages when theres a new message although ive set my phone to receive... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Go in to branch to perform any kind of transaction that isn't basic banking, and they sit you down at a table with a telephone and ask you to speak to someone in a call centre somewhere and leave you... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The Bank of Scotland virtual Agent is absolutely rubbish, where has customers service gone? No idea how I am going to sort my account as they have also recently closed down our local branch. Been wit... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Waited for 45 minutes online to resolve a declined card with no response.....tried the phone service and after completing the security details was told the line was now closed and promptly hung up on... See more


Company details

  1. Bank
  2. also in
  3. Financial Institution
  4. Non-bank financial service

Information provided by various external sources

As part of the Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of Scotland offers its customers a wide range of financial products and help.


Contact info

1.5

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1k reviews

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1.5

All reviews

(1,112)

184 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Trying to reset my password was…

Trying to reset my password was ridiculous. To enter my date of birth, I have to click the calender backwards, month by month, year by year....as I was born in 1945, that's an awful lot of clicks!!! Why can't I just enter the details via the keypad???

13 October 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Time to Leave: The last 12 months has been a Customer Experience nightmare.

In the last 12 months they have went off the deep end in terms of horrendous customer experience. Notable highlights: Declining bank payments on 2 separate final Amazon Prime days (with hours to spare and multiple approved payments to amazon in the weeks leading up to it). Their "24/7" human web chat availability which is clearly not performance managed (it claims it has a "15 minutes" Average Speed of Answer, on many occasion I've waiting multiple hours for a response). When you do get through on Web Chat, on multiple occasions their handler has reply times of 5+ minutes (lord knows what sort of concurrency they're on, it's clear nobody is tracking non-mutual communication though!). Notifying them that you wish to complain and seek resolution for a number of items, to be met with an web chat message where they say they have unilaterally resolved them (so no complaint handler, still the abysmal outsourced human services, ignoring the fact it's the customer who agrees things being resolved). Removal of named accounts online, where it works on their new app but not via website (which is a riot if you use sink accounts for various savings).

After 40 years I'm done with this bank. If they don't care then I don't; it's time to go to Monzo or one of the other modern banks that do at least try to have decent customer service.

8 October 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Very horrible and disorganised

Very horrible and disorganised, I wonder how the staff sleep at night being a waste of resources even as the country slips into poverty, they mess up people’s credit record without taking responsibility.
They also won’t offer good loans if you ever need one and talk of some £30 compensation when they own up to messing up….Tasteless

5 October 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Worst customer service ever experienced…

Worst customer service ever experienced - the fraud team and the power of attorney team are absolutely useless. Terrible waiting times on the phone, on hold for hour and then no solution at the end of it.
Any other bank would be better, but looking at these reviews they obviously don't care

2 October 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Utter incompetence.

Utter incompetence.
Customer service is dreadful.
They lost my credit card, god knows where they sent it. They cancelled my old one as in their hubris they believe they were able to send the new one to the right address. It is 5 days customer service is a show of adsurdity and incompetence tothe point of being openly impertinent and harassing. What's the point to ask if. I am home owner or renting when the issue is yhey failedto send me the new credit card?

1 October 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Why is their 'help' chatbot so hellish to use??

Writing this review specifically about their 'help' chatbot.
I've been trying to dispute a transaction via their live chat option for two full days now. I've given every possible detail more than once, but STILL I'm going round in circles.
The transaction was for an item I'd ordered a few weeks ago. It eventually arrived last week, but the item was nothing like the website photos of the item. Despite using the merchant's contact page (as well as the only email available online or in correspondence) I have heard nothing back from the seller. Their email address was flagged when my email was bounced back to me. The message from my email provider said that the email address I'd used was 'inactive.'
I have spent much of the last two days in a repetitive cycle, having to provide the same details over and over again. Still, no resolution.
At one point I did actually chat with a human, and they advised that my dispute would be sent to a supervisor for review.
Anyone who's used this supposed 'service' will know that each response takes a while to receive. But after chatting to the helpful human, the back and forth basically broke down. I'd receive a message back, so get a notification on my phone. I'd go back into the chat to answer, and the chatbot is responding like we've never chatted about the issue before. So my responses are treated like a new issue every time I go back into chat!
I'm going to end up bald due to the amount of hair I've ripped out with frustration!
Alas, we all know that visiting a branch of BOS doesn't help in the slightest. The staff do not deal with your enquiry, but instead provide you access to a phone to talk to a call centre. So...a complete and utter waste of time and effort.
If the transaction had been for, say, £20 or less, I'd probably have given up by now. But given that the item cost £80+, I can't just write that off out of frustration!
So, here I sit, yet again waiting for another of their human advisors to answer my last message. They will no doubt ask all the same questions that I've answered in detail at least twice before. I hate banks...particularly BOS.

30 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Unable to take money out of my own account!

A few weeks ago I tried to pay a supplier invoice of around £6,000 online and was blocked and told to call the bank. After much questioning I eventually was then told I'd need to attend a branch with the invoices to proceed. I don't live near a branch (they closed the local branch a few years ago), and I asked for a way to verify myself remotely.

The block to the supplier has since become a hold on my whole account. I can't make any payments, and I can't even transfer money to my own account at another bank (which had been set up for many years).
I haven't been given a clear explanation of what triggered the hold or a straightforward way to lift it without travelling. At present I am incapacitated and could not go if I wanted to.

After more than 50 years with Bank of Scotland, I'll be leaving. Loyal customers with legitimate payments deserve better than this.

30 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

It is a pity you have to give one star…

It is a pity you have to give one star the customer service is absolute rubbish now no extra support for vulnerable customers even though they say there is because I had a stroke it can take me over 20 minutes just to get past the automated part ask for credit card dispute team wait 40 minutes to be told that they will pass me over then you are put in another long queue I have asked and asked why the automated assistant asks what department you want for then to just be put through to general enquiries they close most of the branches then there is no one to answer the phones it is a nightmare when you are phoning for the answer to one question and it can take over an hour tried going to the branch but as they have closed all the branches down except one the queue was all the way to the outside door I think there was over 20 people queuing with one person serving

26 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Livingston

Livingston, went to visit to get cash to pay workmen in house. SHUT!!!!!!!!! No advanced warning despite being in shopping centre weekly - no details on hoarding where nearest Bank of Scotland is - probably because it is about 50 miles away!!!!!!!!!!
2 Branches of Bank of Scotland closed in Livingston.
Time to change to Royal Bank of Scotland - they were open and asked if I could get cash - but only to limit on Bank Card - now trying to up my limit - what a job!!!!!
Despicable service to it loyal customers!!!!!!!
No staff at Branch to discuss.

24 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Report Lost Card

I have a Bank of Scotland (B of S) credit card.
I lost the card so using the number printed on the back of my monthly statement called to report card lost.
Answering machine asked a few questions about me then asked reason for my call. I said 'lost card'. The voice then asked for card number which I gave.
Then asked me for security code from the back of my card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder how much B of S paid to have a telephone answering machine that asks a question that can not be answered?
This is the second time I've brought this issue to B of S but nothing has been done to rectify this issue.
If B of S replies to this posting please explain why you are still using a system that does not work?

23 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No response to declined credit card

Waited for 45 minutes online to resolve a declined card with no response.....tried the phone service and after completing the security details was told the line was now closed and promptly hung up on me! Terrible customer service! Perhaps the Bank of Scotland should invest in some paper cups and string as it would be an improvement on their current systems.

22 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

DISGRACEFUL SERVICE

What has happened to thd bank of Scotland service? It is utterly diabolical. I use telephone banking and I phoned to set up a bank transfer. I was kept waiting for almost 30 min and the phone was answered by some man I could barely understand that sounded like he was outside. He took all the details and then said he would now have to pass me to a different dept as he could not do it. I explained I had waited half an hour to speak to him and asked how long this would take and he then cut me off. Really shocking service, I am just disgusted with them. Time to look at moving to a different bank after 41 years.

18 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

bad customer service

tried a bank switch from nationwide to bank of scotland,received my new account number & sort code,waited & waited for my debit card to arrive,finally told my account was declined!! no explanation(apparently they don't have to) but why give me a account number & sort code in the 1st place?,the switch (thankfully) never happened staying with nationwide who are great at communication,only wanted to switch for the £150 bonus,better the devil you know.!

20 July 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bank of Scotland virtual Agent is rubbish…

The Bank of Scotland virtual Agent is absolutely rubbish, where has customers service gone? No idea how I am going to sort my account as they have also recently closed down our local branch. Been with this bank for over 30 years but will definitely be looking at banks now which have good reviews for customer service as Bank of Scotland is so bad now.

14 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bank of Scotland imposed a £3,600 limit on transfers...

The Bank of Scotland imposed a £3600 limit on transfers from our current account without telling us.
My wife has upcoming surgery next week and we had to transfer £12,000 from this account to cover the cost.
The web link to how you could manage this limit didn't work (forbidden 403) using Chrome although we did eventually found that the web page did work on Edge.
The help desk person said he to do this for us, but before he did he cleverley passed us on to the IT help desk.
I don't know why my browser did what it did did but I didn't want to go down the road of clearing my cache to try and sort it.
The problem was not one of IT but how we were treated as loyal customers by imposing this restriction on our account and not initially helping us,
This left us both stressed thinking that the surgery wouldn't take place.
We were informed later that we did receive an email telling us to check a PDF in our online archives regarding the new limit - so they are covered.
Why not just send the PDF in an email to start with, this would at least better ensure that you read it!
All I want to do now, is withdraw all the money we have in accounts with BOS and put it under the bed!
BOS have closed our local branch in Dingwall, and this morning we might as well been talking to an AI chat bot.

I would change banks, but what good would that do, as you'll get treated in a similar manner by all of them.
We've been on the phone for over an hour & 20 minutes trying to raise a complaint.
At the moment the phone is just beeping at me.

Apparently we have been awarded £40 for our inconvenience.

Poor customer service...
Wait 20 minutes to get through...
Why don't they just offer a customer call back service like Amazon do/

14 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Preet

Preet: I went to argyle street branch today and met with preet she is so helpful and supportive she helped me to set up online banking and applied for personal loan thank you so much preet.

14 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

It was bad enough being interrogated…

It was bad enough being interrogated when withdrawing money, even separating me from my wife to see if we gave the same answers.
They’re basically working for the government to bring in a cashless society, which we hate.
Now they’ve closed our branch. Nearest branch 35 minutes drive and we’re both disabled!
I’ve been with them since 1978. I despise them now.

13 September 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Preet

Preet
I visited in branch today and met with preet she is very supportive and friendly she gave me excellent customer service.

12 September 2026
Unprompted review

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