Joined up with FD quite a few years ago now and use them only via telephone, not online. They always used to answer the phone almost immediately, but in recent months, it’s like a trapdoor has opened and their customer service has fallen through it. 15 minutes on hold today to make a simple BACS transfer (the Fleetwood Mac and Soul2Soul didn’t help).

Seems like this is just normal now there though

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.firstdirect.com

So which banks are worth considering, or are they all much of a muchness? Some changeover cash for shiny would of course be appreciated, but not essential…

Running contact centres is expensive. Online is much cheaper.

Suggest you alleviate your frustrations by going online or, if FD offer it (don’t bank with them myself), cut straight to mobile banking.

Not a fan of online banking, despite the convenience. And when you can’t log in, you still have to get a real person to answer the phone. Might have to go back to bricks and mortar.

I bank with them and have never had a complaint, I was a serial switcher until I got a bank an account with fd now I’m reluctant to switch.

Their online banking is probably the best one I’ve used, looking at the way banks are going more and more will go to the online side of things.

Time to embrace change…..

Next you’ll want me to trade in my 26″ bike with 3×9 drivetrain…

I think I’m just shocked at how they seem to have flicked a switch and gone from amazing service to terrible service overnight. Previously you’d be unlucky if the phone rang more than five times.

I have been a customer for over 20 years and as others have said their phone service used to be goody, which compensated for their totally rubbish online service. Now the phone service has gone down the tubes there is no reason to stay.

I have noticed this too. Try emailing them with a complaint, that’s the only way they will build up a picture of unhappiness and MIGHT do something about it.

It’s almost like they don’t want to be a telephone bank any more – as noted above, that’s a pricey way to run a retail bank. I guess they’ll find out how many of their core customers will hang around.

I have emailed a complaint, and offered some rather more restrained feedback to the poor woman who eventually answered the phone to me.

phone service used to be goody, which compensated for their totally rubbish online service.

I’ve been with FD for 20+ years, was an early adopter after i left University in 1990 and needed to move bank from a local branch there, so I don’t know anything else. Hence I’ve nothing to compare their ‘rubbish’ online service which i find completely functional to.

Is it bad? Compared to who, and why?

Is this something you’ve noticed quite recently? Like in the last month?

Last couple of months. Maybe three.

Commented to one of their guys way back then that it was unusual it had taken him a whole minute to answer. Oh, for those halcyon days.

I phone them up once in a blue moon. However I did notice that the last time I phoned them it took a while to get through. This was on a Friday at around 4pm though so could be a blip.

However once you get through to someone they are always really helpful and friendly.

I’d maybe give it a month or so longer before doing anything rash.

*taps nose*

Thanks for the nod nod wink wink. But a month is a long time in retail banking. Just like 10 minutes is a long time listening to Fleetwood Mac.

It’s almost like they don’t want to be a telephone bank any more – as noted above, that’s a pricey way to run a retail bank. I guess they’ll find out how many of their core customers will hang around.

I’ve been with them for 15 or 20 yrs. Agree the phones are slower to answer. Once through it’s the best phone service of any company I deal with.
Not sure it is pricey compared to retail banks with buildings in every town. I phone them once or twice a month and the call takes about 2 minutes max. How expensive can that be? More than online but if I wanted online banking I could go anywhere. The fast efficient phone banking is the USP for me. So far it’s still good enough.

I’ve had the same experience. Been with them almost since they were formed and hadn’t heard the recorded “Your call is important to us…” voice until about 3 months ago and now i get to hear it half a dozen times each time I call. Once I’m through normal friendly efficient service is resumed but waiting times have definitely got a lot worse. I asked the operators about this and was told that they are currently recruiting.

want crap, rang HSBC the other night, was in a queue for 70mins before i got to speak to someone.

Hence I’ve nothing to compare their ‘rubbish’ online service which i find completely functional to.

Is it bad? Compared to who, and why?

For example, you can’t search for transactions by date or by any other criteria. Data is only retained for a limited time (IIRC). Downloading statements requires endless clicking. You can’t make an international transfer.

All I can say is I am a long term FD customer (since 1998). My personal current account is with them.

Yes in the last few years it can sometimes take up to 5-10 minutes to speak to a human. UK based if that matters to you.

However. In that time I have had joint current accounts with t’missus for the household stuff and mortgage with HSBC, Barclays/Woolwich, and Halifax.

HSBC is alright online (same backend as First Direct). Call centre is not UK based but they are proficient and get stuff done.

Woolwich and Halifax online was rubbish.

The bits you say you can’t get on FD online. You ain’t gonna get with the competitors.

All IMHO. If someone does find someone better let me know but I think right now FD are the best of a bad job.

You can get past statements (I’ve got 6 years on mine) and sort them by date or payee / payer directly on the website, or from the main page you can see the last 2-3 months of transactions which usually gives me enough history to track. I can see that being able to just search the database itself for a payee / payer might be useful, just not something I’ve ever had and therefore don’t miss.

You can download transactions as a csv or other file and then sort, not sure why they only limit it to 90 days though.

Never tried an international transfer…… again, don’t miss what you never had.

The bits I do use, I find very functional and easy, but I guess after umpteen years I’m converted already.

the three UK banks that are rated top for service (consistently higher than all the rest) are First Direct, Nationwide and the Cooperative Bank (Yes I know nationwide is technically a BSoc but it operates all the primary retail banking functions)

The bits you say you can’t get on FD online. You ain’t gonna get with the competitors.

I don’t know about that – you can make international transfers from other banks, and the search functions and retention of more data are commonplace using the online banking I’ve experienced in Holland and Denmark.

I totally agree with OP. I joined in mid 1990s and for 20 years couldn’t speak highly enough of FD but last year I moved house and had no BB for 6 weeks and a lot of people to pay (removals, builders etc) and was horrified at how slow it was. Same now. The little code generator card is a total faff as well so try to use mobile but not always ideal and so you phone, and wait and wait.

I suspect that Metro Bank is a good bet if a branch near to you. I don’t really like the whole ‘have a nice day’ cack but yanks do tend to understand service better than most.

I’ve always found FD service very good.
It’s very easy to switch these days though…

The banks are having a far more difficult time of it than is widely publicised – superlow interest rates are making it very hard for them to make any money – charging interest on lending is a massive part of their income, hence throwing out so much in mortgages and BLT at the moment – one of the few places they can make some income.

A lot of job cuts to come in the retail businesses – branch networks will go, and probably call centres too as we all continue to go online and mobile

I use NatWest. Customer service has always been pretty good, website is fine (surely all banks allow online international transfers in this day and age?). They seem very good at fraud detection (sometimes overly so). Possibly a bit expensive though.

I don’t use it via my mobile, because I don’t trust my phone and I don’t get why anyone using Android would do so.

Smile are VERY good on the phone. Online and app are no good thogh

I’ve been with Natwest since Barclays screwed me over on a grad load quite some time ago.

The app & online banking work fine, and I’m able to do everything I need to do.

Have had occasion to speak to somebody a couple of times in the last year or so. Both times, I don’t recall a significant delay in actually getting to speak to a human.

Sad to say I’ve been with Lloyds as my personal bank since a child and they’ve always been OK even during my forays of living abroad.
Recently needed to take a large sum out in another city and they had arranged the cash in the branch when I arrived.

(surely all banks allow online international transfers in this day and age?)

You’d have thought so, wouldn’t you? But no … you have to phone someone and repeat a long IBAN, with the attendant risk of making a mistake.

A technical point I know, but you can’t make a mistake with an IBAN as there’s validation built into it.

I think the international transfer thing is a question of volume versus cost. The number of people who use them regularly for retail Internet banking is pretty low, so the cost saving of allowing customers to self service is clearly less than the cost of developing the functionality.

Besides, Transferwise makes the whole thing irrelevant…

I think the international transfer thing is a question of volume versus cost. The number of people who use them regularly for retail Internet banking is pretty low, so the cost saving of allowing customers to self service is clearly less than the cost of developing the functionality.

Could well be, with the result as we see it, that FD only allows you to do what a majority of customers want to do, so you get a crippled service. If they went the other way, and offered everything a customer could reasonably imagine, then they’d have a tool that would attract customers, or keep them.

Small example – I had a dispute with TfL about what auto-topups they’d taken for my Oyster card (exciting, I know). I wanted to correlate their list of autotopups with withdrawals from my bank account. I wanted to search my transactions for the last year for TfL. I couldn’t because a) you can’t search, and b) they don’t keep a year’s data live.

Another FD stupidity – it’s such a pain to download statements from their site that I receive paper statements and scan them at the end of the year.

A technical point I know, but you can’t make a mistake with an IBAN as there’s validation built into it.

That assumes the software your bank uses checks every test.

I know ours doesn’t – it just checks you’ve got the right format for the country. We don’t pay for the full directory as it’s not worth it.