Hi everyone!
Please find my honest review of my fresh (and brief) experience with Number26 or N26.
Let's be honest, the website is attractive, the services look cool and the black card very sexy. So, I decided to get one for 5,90 euros/month. In addition, they provide express delivery for 25 euros, that's perfect because I have a plane to take soon!
"It felt like a crush in the beginning and deception at the end."
1. Registration:
About the signup process, N26 advertises the following: "Your bank account in 8 minutes. Open a new N26 bank account from your phone or computer in an easy, paperless signup process".
Okay, I was almost there! Verifying my identity was surprisingly fast with a real agent. But... there is always a but.
Issue #1: I wasn't receiving their SMS messages.
In order to complete the process, you must synchronize your phone. In order to synchronize your phone, you must receive a SMS message. I wasn't receiving them... Well, a phone call to the support and I got the code.
Phone call time: 3m35s
2. Delivery:
About express delivery, N26 says the following: "it will usually be delivered on the next business day. If you haven't received your express order after two business days, please contact Customer Service."
Issue #2: I haven't got any email about my card order/delivery.
Issue #3: I haven't got any tracking number.
Day 5th.
Still no emails, that's bad. I contacted the support and asked:
- The status of the delivery;
- The UPS tracking number;
I have got an answer from Benjamin that my card was indeed ordered, and will receive it next week (we'll see later that was not true).
Reply time: 1day
Day 8th.
Remembering my previous email, Benjamin did not mention about the tracking number. It smelled fishy, right? So I sent another email. He said he will check and come back to me quickly.
Reply time: the same day
Day 10th.
I sent another email. God knows, he might have forgotten me...
No reply
Day 13th.
I was kinda worried about Benji. I sent another email asking if he was alive... You never know, they might have been attacked by zombies...
No reply
Issue #4: The card wasn't sent at all.
This time, I picked up the phone and called twice. I've got Alice that finally admitted my card was never given to UPS (that explains the missing tracking number). She even promised to open an internal investigation.
That's 13 days later thus I asked for not paying the express delivery ( that was not "express" neither "a delivery" at all). She agreed. Everything is awesome.
1st phone call time: ~10m
2nd phone call time: 10m37s
Alice's reply time: the same day
Benji's reply time: 7 days (after surviving the zombies)
Day 14th.
Alice asked by email to conclude by a phone call. I called, got a new lady (must be the intern). I explicitly asked to summarize the reimbursement options. Surprise, no reimbursement (somehow it made sense for them as "they can't reimburse all customer that don't get their cards").
Phone call time: ~10min
Issue #5: No refund and no proper customer service
I decided to use email (with the history of my case). After clarifying, it turns out the new deal was that N26 won't charge the card that was never sent. I'll either order a new card in express at my own fees... OR... offers me the already free of charge basic delivery for free. WOW!
I usually love magic tricks and optical illusions, but at this time, I felt heartbroken.
Reply time: 1day
I expressed my disappointment and decided to discontinue my relationship with N26. I did not like the service, I'll be looking for the next competitor!
N26 has made everything possible for stopping me to try their product. For a business, they should be chasing conversion rates!
The end?
I'm currently in the process of cancelling my account. So far, I've noticed that N26 already charged the monthly fees (after 17 days)... Let's see how it goes. I'll keep you updated!
Summarizing
The good:
- Fast replies
The bad:
- Express delivery: 15 days of waiting, the card was never send
- Bad customer service: playing tricks, no refund
- Broken service: 4 problems right at the beginning
Statistics:
- Phone calls: 4
- Emails: 12
- Phone call time: ~8m55s (average)
- Email reply time*: ~1.8d (average)
*Replying can take longer than the express delivery itself
Seb.