Joe’s story
The names shown have been changed, but the case study is an example of a real customer experience. Any options we may suggest will be based on your individual circumstances.
Joe and his wife Di are regular visitors to their local West Brom branch. On a recent visit, Joe was having trouble providing a signature which matched that in his passbook. When he was asked to sign again, Joe was a little embarrassed to say that he was having issues with his eyes. Our colleague Jas could see that this was a sensitive matter and came from behind the counter and took Joe and Di into a meeting room for more privacy.
What we did
Jas settled Joe and Di into the meeting room and asked Joe to tell her a little bit more about the situation. Joe told Jas that he was waiting for surgery on his eyes and he could be in this position for six months.
Jas explained to the couple the various ways the West Brom could help during this difficult time. This included adding a note on the account so Joe’s needs would be known by our staff regardless of which branch he went to along with putting in place an alternative process regarding his signature. Jas also took the time to explain that, as this was a joint account, if Joe could not make it to the branch then his wife could pop in and carry out the relevant transactions.
Even though Joe’s condition was temporary, it had been causing the couple a great deal of anxiety and they were grateful for the care and support provide by Jas and the West Brom team during such a difficult time.
Help is always at hand
If you need additional support to make dealing with us easier, simply complete our online form. Alternatively, you can contact us or pop into any of our branches. We can work with you and will do everything we can to help.
Are you in a similar situation to Joe, or do you know someone who is?
Whether you’re having problems yourself or know someone who is, here are some of the ways we aim to meet the broad needs of those with visual impairments:
- We have different ways to help people fill in a form or sign their name such as signature template cards.
- Every branch welcomes guide dogs and assistance dogs.
- We have meeting rooms in our branches if you need a little more time to fill in forms for example.
- If you let us know in advance, we can book extended appointments in our branches and you are very welcome to bring a friend or family member with you.
- Braille, audio and large print versions of most items are available upon request (and are sent directly through the post).
- You can access your account information 24 hours a day via our automated telephone service. This service provides information regarding your balance, interest rate and your last transaction amount and date. You can also request a statement of interest or balance letter without waiting in any queues. For more information or to register for this service please call 0345 241 3784.
- It’s also easy to change the size of the text and the colour of the pages of our website to make things more clear. You can also change the text size with your web browser settings.
If you are looking for advice or support on visual impairment and sight loss, the following organisations may be able to help:
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
The UK's leading charity for people with vision loss and has useful information about coming to terms with sight loss.
Phone: 0303 123 9999
The Partially Sighted Society
Provides services and support to anyone with any type of visual impairment.
Phone: 01302 965195
Other national charities that specialise in vision loss include:
The Macular Society – phone: 0300 3030 111
International Glaucoma Association – phone: 01233 64 8170
Retina UK – phone: 0300 111 4000
Diabetes UK – phone: 0345 123 2399
Blind Veterans UK – phone: 020 7723 5021
SeeAbility – phone: 01372 755 000
Get in touch with us
If you would like to speak to someone in person you can request an appointment in branch.
To discuss everything over the phone you can speak to us directly by giving us a call.
Send us a secure message and someone from our support team will get back to you.