Appalling customer service and practices
I have been a client of Pireaus bank for about 20 years, mostly due to lack of alternative options in Greece and because my family holds accounts in the same bank as well. I live abroad and I always face trouble getting in contact with the bank because apparently they need a phone number to be registered in my file, and they can't use my foreign number.
This is where all the trouble starts, as I'm not able to do anything without a Greek mobile number (not able to obtain one as you need to constantly pay for it to stay active). I am not able to access their e-banking service (winbank) because they need to update my contact details (but they can't, because my phone number doesn't register in their systems).
Calls at the branch in order to book an appointment never get through and the only way to book an appointment is to use the e-banking service, which I can't use.
And when I call the generic customer service line they have implemented an identification policy which, beyond utmost stupidity, needs your:
Name, Address, Phone Number, ID number, TAX ID number, Date of birth. Not some of these details but ALL of these details, in order to even talk to an advisor. And in my case it fails because they can't recognise my phone number, and I frankly don't remember what phone number I used when I registered to the bank decades ago.
It's beyond useless and a shame of customer service system, I'm sorry for the representatives because I'm sure many people lose their temper when having to deal with them. I understand Greece has mandated banks to implement GDPR processes however the way Pireaus bank has implemented this is really bad, inefficient, rushed and overall a huge failure.
December 15, 2023
Unprompted review