Principality Building Society Reviews 248

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

3.3

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 49 reviews, most reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many customers consistently praise the staff for being friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, often highlighting excellent customer service experiences. People appreciate the ease of opening and accessing accounts online, with some finding the website secure, easy to navigate, and providing clear information. The service is often described as first-rate, with prompt responses and efficient handling of queries, including quick transfers of funds. However, some people were dissatisfied with the customer service, citing non-existent support, rudeness, and a lack of proper explanation for issues. There are also concerns about the website being hard to use, incomplete, or misleading, and issues with online banking statements not being accepted. A few other people also felt that the company was disorganised and unprofessional, leading to unexpected issues with fund transfers or mortgage processes.

What people talk about most

Staff

Reviewers highlight positive aspects of staff, consistently praising their helpfulness, professionalism, and... See more

Customer service

Users describe ambiguous interactions with customer service, with many reporting positive experiences.... See more

Service

People report ambiguous experiences with service, with many customers praising the excellent and quick... See more

Payment

Consumers find payment to be ambiguous, with some expressing frustration over the inability to pay off... See more

Website

Customers consistently note ambiguous experiences with the website, with some finding it secure, easy to... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Only one thing needs to change for me; Security. They need to move away from text login access as this is totally vulnerable to sim swap fraud. They need either a biometric app and or authenticator... See more

Company replied

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I’ve really enjoyed using Principality’s savings products, especially their 6-month regular savers. As someone new to saving, I’ve found their approach very beginner-friendly, clear terms, helpf... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Always excellent to deal with; had my mortgage with them & agreed additional borrowing at one point too. Friendly call centre based in Wales, people always friendly & helpful. First rate service. Don'... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I have been taking advantage of the interest rates on the regular savings accounts for a few years now. All on line, never needed to contact anyone. I made a mistake yesterday with a reference nu... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Building Society

Written by the company

A mutual building society of 500000 members. Helping members with savings and mortgages for over 150 years.


Contact info

3.3

Average

TrustScore 3.5 out of 5

248 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

Replied to 93% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 week

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Poor customer service at times

Poor customer service at times. Some staff don't seem to appreciate customers and find it difficult to give a sincere apology. I shall transfer my account which is a shame as the interest rate is ok. Remember - the Financial Ombudsman may be able to help you if you receive a poor service.

16 May 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello
Thank you so much for your review. Sorry to read you have come accross this and I hope you did manage to resoved your problem. It is a real shame we will loose you as a valued cusotmer.
Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Problem with online banking

I have had numerous accounts with Principality over the years and no problem until recently. However, for several weeks now I have been having problems logging in as I am not receiving passcodes. I have never experienced this problem with any other bank or building society and though I reported the problem some weeks back things have not improved and I am becoming increasingly exasperated. As I do not live locally this is proving a major inconvenience.

16 May 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Alwyn
Thank you for your review. Sorry you have been experiencing issues with receiving our passcodes. If you contact us we might be able to look into this for you.
Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Had a problem with a bank transfer…

Had a problem with a bank transfer ,spoke to Claire in the Monmouth branch and was really impressed with her assistance .She sorted everything out for me ,was really helpful and kept me fully informed .Cant praise her enough ,a real asset to the company

13 May 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Deb
I have passed your 5* Review on to Claire she was aboslutely delighted she could help you and you took the time to write this.
Kind Regards
Claire and Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Completed Mortgage

Been with this company 14 years.
When I have had to contact them, rarely, as it ran smoothly, I have had excellent Customer Service, I last spoke to Sabina, she was more than helpful.
Thank you

2 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Trish

I will be sure to pass on your 5* review
Thanks very much
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Really poor website an online service

Really poor website an online service. tried to open an ISA, keep going round in circles. Even though Ive had the letter confirming the acct was open I couldnt access it online. I will now look elsewehere.

9 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Tony
Thanks very much for your review
Regards. Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

KEEP WELL AWAY GO TO HODGE BANK

Absolute shambles of a company well behind competitors,not in todays world,working in the 60s with their systems.
They don't even answer the phone what chance have potential customers got.
JUST CLOSED MY NEW ACCOUNT

9 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi
Thanks for your review we take your feedback on board
Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I received excellent customer service…

I received excellent customer service today with a person called Renate
As well as being polite and knowledgeable she went the extra mile to sort out my query with an ISA
It's people like Renata that make the difference in moving a building society from being good to excellent
Principality building society as well as being the largest in Wales is definitely the best
I'd recommend this building society to anybody

7 April 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Mervyn
Thank you for your great review, I will pass this on to Renata
Kind Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Experience In Opening A Savings Account

I have opened many on-line savings accounts with banks and building societies over the years and the Principality BS proved to be the simplest, quickest and best communicated I have experienced. I am pleased I ignored the negative reviews.

13 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello
Thank you so much for your 5* review we really appreciate it. So glad you have received a great service
Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Take so long time to complete because…

Take so long time to complete because you ve to go with the system it is joke we are doing with them they are too slow .........
I sent them third time mortgage deed by post because they don't like witness signs every time do this or do that :-(

5 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello
Thank you for your feedback, if you need to speak to someone please call our enquiry line to support you with this. 0330 333 4000
Best Wishes
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Staff are incapable of using a phone…

Staff are incapable of using a phone and/or cannot afford working phones. Attempting a phone call and they struggle to hear you claiming it is your phone. Strange that when I have plenty of signal and point out is it obviously a fault their end and then they can suddenly understand that accusation.
Communication is not their strong point as they sent out maturity instructions with incorrect account information which is why I had to call in the first place to ensure I was receiving the money.

3 March 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Mr Marett
Thank you for this feedback, I hope you were able to sort out your maturity instuctions. Unfortuniately we have little control on a call coming in it could have been the signal on the day not coming through.
Kind Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awfull service

My mortgage was ending within a month. Principality is the institution that I have mortgaged for a long time. I called and asking a fix rate and deduct it from my year. The interest rate given was 4.70, the highest interest rate in the market. They said that they could not change my mortgage rate even though the interest rates are currently decreasing. I haven't received my contract yet but I dont understand why they cannot reduce it the rate.It was clear that they did not want to help me at all.
I definitely do not recommend anyone to get a mortgage from here. I most likely to switch to another mortgage company as soon as possible.

7 February 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

HI Zihniye
Thank you for your review, I hope you have been able to speak to someone in regards to this.
Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I regularly visit Caernarfon and…

I regularly visit Caernarfon and Pwllheli branches. The staff are fantastic. They're savings are great and they tell you if there is a better rate to be had. I have 3 accounts and an ISA with them. Interest rates are good as well. And they're open every day.

6 February 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Meirwen
thank you so much for your 5* Review I will pass this on to the relevant Branch.
Kind Regards
Julie

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Somewhat painful experience

My wife and I are trying to open Cash ISAs. Their website and procedures are an absolute pain. I eventually managed to open my account to find that, in order to transfer funds from another provider, I had to print out a form then fill it in and post it - in 2025! Haven't they heard of digital signatures? After I'd spent an hour doing mine my wife tried to do hers. The website allowed her to enter my mobile number in error and then told her that she couldn't do this but gave no option to change it. We tried to call them but of course they close at 5. Not impressed.
Update: My wife called to update her mobile number and received very prompt and helpful service so upgraded from 1 to 3 stars.

5 February 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Barry
Thank you for your review, I hope you managed to get through to us so we support you in this.
Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Helpful

Resolved the issue I had the next day

31 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Sarah
Thank you for your review, if we had more information I could follow this up for you. If you want to either message on this platform or ring us to discuss this matter.
Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Website a nightmare to use

Website a nightmare to use, locks account after only 3 attempts! Tried to call them to unlock-they are CLOSED FOR TRAINING!? Who does that in 2025! Their authentication process is beyond painful also.

30 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello
Thanks for your review, I hope you managed to get through and able to get onto your accounts.
Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful in hospital Major treatment…

Classed as Vulnerable disabled treated Awful in hospital Major treatment needed some help Matthew took 2 weeks to tell me he could not help - just awful - I would not recommend anyone to this company and by the looks of it I'm not on my own feeding information back to the CEO through linekin
Also contacted the BSA as Principality are not following the Mortgage Charter and looking at complaint against customers with Dissability

01.02.2025
Thank you Julie Principality have now put this right after emailing Joshua

17/02/25
Julie can you help me I'm having same problem again I'm in a d out of hospital and need to correspond by email but just received email to say I need to phone - this is very stressful at a time when you don't need it.

27 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Carolyn
Thank you for your review, I hope someone is dealing with your feedback if not please contact me so through this media and I will see if I can help.
Regards
Julie
thank you for the update Carolyn, so glad we were able to resolve this for you

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend (PBS) Principality Building Society.

I cannot understand how or why others have had bad experiences with PBS.
I have been with PBS for 2 years and had 3 Savings Accounts that have matured - no problem with the Savings and Interest being paid to my nominated account on the date I requested.
Have since opened 4 more Savings accounts with Fixed interest rates of 5.15%, 5.5%, 7% and 8% which although limited by Maximum Amounts are much better that anywhere else.
Also have a Flexible Cash ISA with PBS, which I can move money from and back to with no problem and very quickly.

26 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello Jeak
Big thank you for such a great review, so glad you are happy with the service you recieved from us and opened more accounts with us.
Kind Regards
Julie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Yet again fabulous service

Yet again fabulous service from Principality. Opened a new ISA and wanted to transfer internally into it, called up the phone was answered really quickly and dealt with by Sarah who openly admitted she wasn't sure how to process the transaction but agreed to find out and ring me back. She did exactly that and my account was funded there and then. Service was friendly and completed with ease.
I really don't understand why there's such a disparity in opinion as both Sarah and Molly who dealt with me last time were both exceptional. I also don't have any issues getting into my account online, the process is far less onerous than some other building societies I have accounts with.
Keep up the good work 👍

24 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi Kate
Thank you so much for your Review, and lovely to read such great feedback about our team members.
Regards
Julie

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

They answer the phone quicker than…

They answer the phone quicker than most. They answer secure messages normally within 24 hrs. Their savings rates are up in the top 5 on most accounts. In the branch very friendly but not very helpful on internet accounts if there is a problem. Website was terrible , slow sometimes couldn't get a OTPC, so unable to withdraw money. I think that has improved now.

24 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hi David
Thank you for your review, and good to hear we are quick to answer our phone to you. It would be good to know which Branch you attend so I can pass on your feedback.
Regards
Julie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Never answer the phone

Never answer the phone. The call times are so long. I am leaving Principality and its not like they are willing to offer you any kind of incentive to stay.

16 January 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Principality Building Society

Hello
Thank you for your review, it would be interesting to know if you have rung our Branch or enquiry line sometimes our Branches do not pick up as we have customers in front of us but our call centre number is 0330 333 4000
Regards
Julie

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