Bank of Scotland Reviews 

1,089
TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1.4

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 182 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Customers frequently complained about abysmal customer service, experiencing excessively long telephone hold times, unresponsive support channels, and unhelpful automated chat systems that failed to resolve issues. Consumers frequently experienced severe payment processing delays, unexpected technical glitches, and extremely frustrating difficulties reaching anyone capable of lifting restricted account statuses. Some reviewers were happy with specific branch staff who provided polite and knowledgeable assistance during rare face-to-face visits. A few other people also felt that certain dedicated representatives offered genuinely excellent service and efficient support when handling complex international transactions or daily account queries.

What people talk about most

Customer service

Customers had negative experiences with customer service, reporting long wait times and unhelpful... See more

Staff

People report negative experiences with staff, highlighting instances of unhelpful service and a lack of... See more

Service

Consumers find service to be negative, with many reviewers reporting frustrating experiences and poor support... See more

Payment

Users describe negative interactions with payment, frequently encountering sudden account blocks and rejected... See more

Customer communications

Clients share negative opinions on contact, citing extreme frustration when trying to reach support.... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

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

Trying to report stolen or lost cards is arduous, made worse by a lack of humans available to help. Automated service is slow, and particularly bad at recognising a Scottish accent! Trying to re... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Making a small payment online i received an error message. Restriction placed on your account. Two calls and one hour later I am informed that it's an issue with the recipients account... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful company. Try to contact them and you’ll spend at least twenty minutes talking to automated system/waiting on someone to answer. Only open a couple of days a week now and at times that are c... See more


Company details

  1. Bank
  2. Financial Institution
  3. 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

1.4

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

1K reviews

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No history of asking for reviews

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1.4

All reviews

(1,089)

177 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Guarantee of 3.8% for fixed cash ISA

Guarantee of 3.8% for fixed cash ISA. Updated in time by myself. Bank paid 3.35%. Multiple calls including being on hold for over an hour at a time to a chaotic call centre when I realised incorrect rate being paid. Passed from one department to another. Spoke to multiple call handlers. Was told it was resolved. It was not resolved over several months. Call handlers including supervisors did not resolve the issue. The system to communicate with Bank of Scotland appears to be broken. Many of the online staff seem to want to pass the call like a hot potato. Others reassure that the issue is resolved but it turns out it is far from it. They make a bad situation worse.
I have banked with Bank of Scotland for 35 years. I have had a mortgage in the past. I have had loans. I have in my early years been charged obscene overdraft charges amounting to thousands of pounds.
The first opportunity I get I am switching banks, taking my ISA business elsewhere and hopefully never having to have anything to do with this dreadful bank ever again.

February 3, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Clueless Bank

Been with this bank my whole life, have a good credit rating, never had any debt and have no overdraft. My card was suddenly blocked I phoned up the fraud team who refused to unblock it saying I was getting black mailed because I was trying to send a payment through paypal and said I had to go into a branch with ID to unlock it even though it was a company I’ve made payments to for years. I then switched banks because my experience was so poor they denied my switch and refused to give the new bank a reason. I tried to contact them through their online chat and they kept asking the same questions over and over with no help. Phoned their switch team who said they didn’t have a clue why it’s been denied and put me through to the fraud team who said they had no idea why it had been denied. I also had to explain to the fraud team what a switch was as she was telling me that I was doing it wrong and you have to switch from them to the new bank through the Bank Of Scotland app I said that doesn’t make sense as I’m switching into the new bank not them. As of today the switch still hasn’t happened and no one on their end has a clue why.

January 29, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Only bank I bank with.

Been with BOS for years. Never had an issue at all. Good savings rates, good rates on loans, credit card has a very high limit too. Obviously this depends on your own personal credit score but I’ve honestly never had an issue. I have used other banks but I always end up back with BOS. Customer service is great also (both in my local store and online)

January 28, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible bank

Terrible bank. Has closed all my local branches and make it difficult to go into any branch without an appointment. Also its cumbersome security procedures defeat many online transactions and cause customer delay and frustration I will probably leave this bank soon and will take funds to my financial adviser elsewhere.

January 27, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Never had any problem with BoS

Never had any problem with BoS. Recently lost my wallet on holiday. Stopped my 3 cards immediately. After search for wallet I cancelled the cards. Within two minutes I had a replacement credit card in Google wallet. 4 hours later the other two debit cards were replaced on Google wallet too. Holiday progressed without a problem. The physical replacement cards should be with me on my return to UK.

January 23, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Used the self service to deposit £600…

Used the self service to deposit £600 and the machine broke down .. it took a while for them to fix it but they shorted me £100 said I only deposited £500 ,, I’ll never use the self service again they have stolen £100 and I’ve no recourse as the machine broke down.

January 20, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful service

Awful service as simple as that. Recently had my intelligent finance mortgage transferred to these clowns. I’ve lost access to internet banking for my mortgage, I can’t change payments without speaking to call centre staff who don’t understand what I’m asking but can only comment that lots of ex intelligent finance customers are in the same boat. For 16 years I had daily access to my mortgage account, could change payments instantly, decide if my offsetting was shortening my mortgage term or reducing payments. All access lost and the stupid parties both companies are part of the Lloyd’s group so how you can screw up the system so much I don’t know. They just waste postage and paper sending me monthly mortgage payment notifications instead it’s like my mortgage products has gone back in time 30 years.

January 21, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Useless

Have had money coming out my account for months it’s been passed between fraud and other departments, still no closer to getting solved, even accused me of taking the money myself. Customer service is shocking and they are useless at taking care of your money

January 12, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely terrible only giving one…

Absolutely terrible the one star is for the polite beleaguered staff on the front line of this sorry mess

I had to transfer to BofS from Intelligent Finance as they were taken over.

Intelligent Finance were bad enough but BofS are a whole new level.

The process to access online banking was atrocious and took me nearly a month with back and forwards communication for passwords id numbers that didn't seem to work.

Poor wait times can't view mortgage transactions or interest payments online as there is an ongoing 'issue'.

Also Intelligent Finance used to take interest payments same time as regular payments but BofS do it at end of month 2 weeks after your mortgage payment. Absolutely hopeless AVOID!

The fact they have a longest winded finger wagging 'treat our staff with respect 'recorded message tells you something. People are so frustrated and angry with this joke of a bank, bring back Intelligent Finance all is forgiven!

They really need reporting to the Banking Ombudsman

January 15, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Poor customer service

Absolutely impossible to get hold of them if you need to speak to someone but cannot use the telephone. No email address, live chat is unresponsive, no way to send a message about your account, nothing. I tried reaching out via Facebook in the end, and was told to make a formal complaint....which I can't as there is no way to contact them!

January 9, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Hi don't move to this bank

Hi don't move to this bank
Money and any cash advance, borrowing money and they responsibility catastrophic
Staying in 15 years, just use low overdraft balance,fee cosmic and strategy only for them way

January 8, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No compassion

Aberdeen Upper Kirkgate Branch Manager refused to help a disabled elderly customer get back to her bus stop through unusual wintry conditions, cited some insurance nonsense. The poor woman had no food and had to go to the branch to get money, where she lives she'd get robbed at a cashpoint, no compassion!

January 8, 2026
Unprompted review
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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disabled customer but probably not for much longer.

As I am a disabled customer, I explained to the "Fraud Team" member that I was incapable of coming into their local office, as I am housebound, and need an Ambulance to leave my home. He ignored me, and repeated that I would have to come in. I asked if they would arrange the necessary Ambulance transport AS I AM HOUSEBOUND, and indeed, bedbound for much of the time. He kept insisting that I could only sort things out IN THE BRANCH, and I repeated that I was incapable of travelling to the branch without an ambulance that they would need to supply! Eventually he terminated the call, and I contacted them AGAIN, requesting to speak to their Disability Compliance team. I was put through to the Fraud team again, but this time spoke to someone else, who recognised the impossibility of my visiting a branch, and tried to work things out. My card was freed - no fraud attempted - but I'm VERY DISSATISFIED WITH THE TREATMENT OF DISABLED CUSTOMERS!

January 5, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Been with this Bank for som 14years

Been with this Bank for som 14years, my primery acount and savings account. treat me as if am a bad creditor, new credit card 49% apr credit report low,but everybody expedien and all very good?

got cards 24% apr, never got to speak with someone in athority, sad as am a Loyal Scot with about 30k plus in my accounts.

December 31, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Attrocious no confidence in this bank get your money out while you can

Atrocious experience of being migrated from intelligence finance to Bank of Scotland, who cant display an accurate balance, have got my contact details wrong (so I had to await request paper letter to get access to online banking as they couldn't send the relevant codes to my mobile as they had the number details wrong) and now cant even give me access online instead constantly asking me to update my phone number even though I corrected this for them earlier today.

December 12, 2025
Unprompted review
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Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Hugely Disappointed

Visited Penicuik branch today and had to leave after waiting 10 minutes!! Went back later and no queue but teller somewhat abruptly told me he would be 2 minutes - no apology! When ready he was continually slurping coffee from a paper cup - put your card in The machine! No please and again no apology for my wait!
Press the green button! No please again followed by further slurping of coffee.
Not a good image for the Bank and not one I have experienced during the 60+ years I have been a customer.
Manners cost nothing and Ps and Ts were severely lacking.

December 5, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Appalling Customer Service

Yet again, Halifax has FAILED to help with my online banking. The VA is absolutely rubbish, and when the frustration starts to kick in because that was a total waste of your time, it informs you that a 'human' agent will get in touch "usually within 30 minutes", increasing your frustration. When a 'human' agent finally sent a message, all he did was apologise for the wait and then promptly ignored my subsequent messages and left me hanging for so long I ended up logging out, because we don't all have the time to stay logged in waiting for your CRAP customer support. It was exactly the same when I've tried ringing, 30+ minutes before anyone answers the phone! To the bosses of Halifax who allow this appalling level of customer service to continue, you are a disgrace and should be ashamed of yourselves.

December 4, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Completely Insensitive and Incompetent

-5 Stars. They have my savings and my mortgage! I am locked out of my account and they will not do anything about it. I spent a full day on the phone to various departments who were supposed to update my personal information (which was updated already).I have repeatedly passed their security questions and made a complaint over 10 days ago. This morning I called explaining I was still locked out of my account and I really need to transfer some money. I was told that my information hadn't been updated again but would be done straight away. I then got passed around again and I have now been told by online banking that my information can't be updated because I can't pass a high enough security check even though I can answer anything. The manager would not come to the phone and the poor lady I spoke to had to keep going back to the manager who just reiterated that they can't even send me a pin number in the post, they can't update anything so basically I have no access to my offset savings or my house mortgage. This is incredible stuff. It was suggested I could send my personal details in the post to them! Laughable how utterly incompetent the staff are here. I have spoken to probably around 15-20 people and I would say 90% are incompetent and the other 10% have their hands tied. One guy was yawning on the phone and three people sounded like they were working from home. My complaint hasn't been looked at in 12 days and there are no plans for them to give access to my account. I have just been on Linked in to see Mr Stan Stevenson the MD of Bank of Scotland and there is not much on that account profile. I am not surprised he must be in hiding. Maybe he has some shame after all because very few of the staff do! It is now off to the Ombudsman.

December 2, 2025
Unprompted review

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