I saw an advert for a way to pay bills and send money using my iPhone. As I was already using Apple Pay and other apps, I thought I'd give it a try.

I duly downloaded the app named PingIt and proceeded to register. At the very last step I was told there was an error and I should call a certain support number and give them a particular error code.

This is when the irritation began.

Having gone through the options, including one which noted I was not a Barclays customer, a nicely spoken, albeit clearly foreign, lady answered the phone and the downhill slide accelerated.

Several questions asked, including whether I was a Barclays customer (again...), then to be told I didn't exist on the system. I also had to explain a few times what had happened and what the problem was as she didn't seem to be able to grasp what I was saying.

I immediately thought it must be the address, as the process of entering address details on the PingIt app is probably the most cack-handed I have ever come across. I speak an an ex IT professional and know what I am talking about. So, I painstakingly went through my address details to make sure they were correct. It was painful, as she mispronounced my name (it's not Clampell...), called the Postcode the Sort Code, etc. Painful.

I still did not exist on the system - incidentally the manager I subsequently spoke to said the problem was that I was actually on their system twice - and yet she insisted I wasn't there.

She went away twice to consult with colleagues but finally came up with no answer as to why there was a problem but said that I would need to visit a Barclays branch to resolve.

Having insisted to speak to a manager I got through to a gentleman who immediately did find me on the system, and was able to tell me what the error code meant and why I was requested to visit a Barclays branch to resolve.

Although the manager was calm and professional, I was left seething at the very poor customer service delivered by Barclays Bank using an Indian (sounding) call centre.

Not good enough. This has rather made up my mind to avoid Barclays Bank and their subsidiaries in the future.