Britline Reviews 270

We have been customers with CA Britline for 20 years. They have super friendly and helpful staff and having an English speaking customer service helpline is excellent as we live mainly in the UK

I wanted to take out car insurance and got in touch with Britline adviser. I could not have had a better experience. So efficient, friendly and helpful. The insurance was sorted out very quickly and enabled me to pick up the car I had bought just 2 days later.

I sent these people numerous messages on social media, and then emailed them, and every attempt to reach out to them was met with plain ignorance. They clearly have contempt for potential customers, and do not have the basic courtesy to respond professionally. It's quite shocking actually. In the end I found an alternative solution for my requirements so thankfully I did not need these clowns.

The service I received from Sophie was absolutely outstanding, not only did she effectively deal with my transfer she also provided valuable information on how I could manage my account via the app. She is a total credit to Credit Agricole. Thanks again Sophie.

The Britline team all speak perfect English and for an English person dealing with the very different and sometimes difficult French systems, they are an amazing team to have on your side! I recommend them to anyone who needs an account in France. My sister lives in Paris and is also with them! They are what ALL banks should be like! It has been a pleasure dealing with them over the last 15years!

Really thoughtful account managers and a great service - I wouldnt trust anyone else with my money

Jehan who is the lady i always contact is so helpful and responds to all my emails in a very friendly way

Britline are simply superb... very helpful navigating the technical issues of living in france. i can certainly recommend the legal insurance policy its saved me so many times...

⚠️ WARNING… Do not trust your money with Britline Credit Agricole Normandie.

June 2024: My aunt recently passed away just under two years after opening her account with “Britline’ Credit Agricole Normandie. We opened it as it offered English speaking customer service agents and as she was elderly and felt more comfortable speaking on the telephone rather than doing anything online. Four months to the day after she passed away, I signed her succession documents in the Notaires office. I noticed while going through the paperwork that the balance transferred to the Notaire’s account by CA Normandie ‘Britline’ was different to the balance on the paperwork they had sent over for the balance on the date of her death. €629.15c euros was missing. I asked her if the bank had sent a statement of transactions (debts) and interest accrued (credit) since my aunts death and she replied no. Over a three week period I rang the bank enquiring about this matter as a family member holding power of attorney and acting on behalf of the next of kin. The bank said they would only deal with the Notaire (French State Solicitor). I feel this was inreasonable. However when requesting three times over three separate phone calls that the bank send a full statement to the Notaire, they repeatedly failed to do this. I checked with the Notaire twice and she said she had received nothing in the form of a statement (debts/interest) originally from CA Normandie when they first sent my aunts bank date of death statement and nothing since explaining the charges. On contacting the bank the third time, they decided they would speak to me. I was able to find out where the €629.15c went. €9.15c was on a special ‘direct debit’ (no explanation for what it was… it just stated ‘special direct debit’). The remaining €620.00c was for ‘Succession Documents’ (Inheritance bank statement). These consisted of two A4 pages ‘Britline’ had sent to the Notaire. These two pages listed the sole account number and ‘balance on date of death’ on one page and a 9 line paragraph on the other page with the Notaires address and customers name and details. The nine lines was ‘standard phraseology’ required information that would be expected on anyone’s bank statement. There were no special circumstances or further paperwork or explanations. When speaking to the same bank manager who opened the account two years earlier he talked for two minutes about “all the reasons” for this €620 charge. It was a lot of over inflated hot air. He even went as far as to state that “decisions about who the inheritors were..had to be made”. I had to point out that this was complete rubbish because one, that was the Notaire’s and State of France’s responsibility and two that had been established before the bank was even aware their client had died. He was just making rubbish up on the spot to try and justify a €620 euro charge for sending out two A4 pages. In contrast, the accounts held by my aunt with Allied Irish bank, Bank of Scotland, The Halifax and La Poste, all sent out the same two A4 pages and… their letters started with their condolences and some (even if fake) respect considering my aunts death. All those financial institutions didn’t charge a penny, not one penny to send out those same letters and the banks statement for each account. When speaking to the manager, there was a distinct air of contempt as he ate food while talking on the phone and one could really sense the ‘I don’t give sh**’ attitude hidden under the pretence of professionalism. Every time I pointed out something relèvent he simply replied ‘uhmmm…’. Complete contempt for the situation. It made me completely aware that Britline saw opportunity for ‘easy money’ …someone else’s money as they rub their hands.

Banks are banks…I’m no fool. They are just there to make money no matter how beautiful the Black horse advert is (Lloyd’s) or how the nice the individual person is you speak to in the moment. However a good judge of the quality of a bank is how they act when things are going wrong or you have a problem… not when things are going well and you don’t need their help. I strongly advise potential customers to clearly understand what ‘hidden’ charges their bank has and ask direct straight questions when opening any bank account so you understand how you will be treated when you wish to close that account or transfer money.

🔴 I cannot recommend ‘Britline’ CA NORMANDIE as a bank to trust your money with. They failed to divulge to the Notaire what the charges were for. They failed to list any interest accrued even if it was zero (€0) and treated family members with contempt and the deceased’s bank account with opportunism.

My wife and I own a mobile home in the mid Western France region. We changed our mobile home insurance from another well known company to CA Britline. The whole experience was seamless and efficient. It was a pleasure dealing with the insurance team of Debra and Clive in English too which was very helpful. We now feel more in control of the nitty gritty elements as they were explained and able to read them ourselves. Special mention to Michelle too who actually spoke with our old insurance company in person too. We now have our insurance policy within our own document folder within our Britline account which we can access anytime and share with our mobile home site owners. We fully recommend Credit Agricole Britline for a professional efficient service. Our UK bank could learn from their customer service.

Have been with Britline for over 20 years without issue and our advisor, Michelle, is lovely. However, the new app is a nightmare. It is a joint account but when I sign in, the app keeps reverting to my husband's name meaning I can't access my accounts or payees. Also means the app signs me in as my husband, so I can access his accounts - so much for GDPR! This needs fixing urgently as the only current resolution is to keep deleting the app and reinstalling from scratch. Please sort this out.

We have used Britline for the whole of our renovation project in France which took us 13 years.We have never had a problem and their staff have always been extremely satisfied.We are happy to recommend them .
Michael and Wendy Brightwell

We've lived in France now for 5 months and have always found Britline to be very quick to respond and very helpful. I don't know how we would have managed without them.

I'd recommend them to anyone starting a new life in France

Have been a Credit Agricole Britline Customer for a number of years. I have always found them to be helpful, efficient and good value. Frankly, as an ex-pat I don't know how I would have managed without them. Love the service.

Very efficient and friendly service. Excellent at advising on French banking processes and practices. Help always easily accessible if answers to specific questions not available online. Very good value and very easy to manage accounts online.

Just called Britline to set up ApplePay and Internet payment- no waiting, straight through, intelligent and charming advisor, all sorted within minutes…so very, very different from using a British Bank, they’re amazing

I recently needed to close all my Britline accounts, having less need for them now following Brexit. Although there was an initial hiccup that delayed the process communication to and from Britline was excellent throughout. The accounts are now closed, but I would have no hesitation to come back should the opportunity arise.

Had an account with Britline for over twenty years and have had nothing but good service. The phone lines are staffed by pleasant and helpful operators who speak excellent English.
All good.

An utter indifference to the customer experience. Typical French banking bureaucracy and complexity with added arrogance because they speak English to you as they do it so you should be extra grateful. Finally, with the amount of alternatives appearing, people can vote with their feet and maybe one day things will improve. I am leaving for sure. Possibly the worst customer service experience I have ever had. Except Orange but they are so bad it's almost entertaining. Use literally anyone else.

If only all banks were like Britline. In every way Britline scores and as British with interests in France we're extremely lucky to have such a service. Superb.