OK so I know they’re all probably much of the same money-grabbing, profit hungry, unethical sh*ts but what are your thoughts on the ones which are slightly better? Coop appears to be getting mixed views at the moment amongst the people I’ve asked, and a few have suggested using a building society instead. I’m currently with Halifax and words cannot express how much they annoy me. Santander been getting a bad rap lately too. I need it for all my banking needs – current account, possible loan and possible savings account. Educate me! 🙂

i was suggested to go to first direct when i asked the same thing

how ever i do like my nationwide. Answer phones quick when i have issues , solve problems proactivly rather than excuses.

really wish id got my mortgage with them instead of the shower of shite that is RBS.

Co op are great from my experience. UK call center and great service. I think their branch network will be getting boosted soon too after some acquisitions.

Cant fault them.

Nationwide are good. The service you get tends to reflect that they’re a mutual, and therefore not run by lower-than-a-snakes-belly scumbags who would bend you over and go in dry, as soon as look at you

id like to add that when i told my solicitor i was using RBs for my mortgage he sighed and said good luck ….

thats how good reputation they have. unfortunantly i already had initiated it at the time

All the banks are much of a muchness to be fair. You’ll hear stories of massive problems with all of them.

I’ve no idea what criteria I’d use if I was choosing a new bank.

I’ve been with LloydsTSB since 1997. Not a single negative experience in all that time (current acc, mortgage, loans, credit cards).

My parents have been with NatWest since what seems like the dawn of time. Not a single negative experience either.

First Direct for me. Almost 20 years without a hint of a problem, telephone banking is friendly and efficient and there’s plenty of HSBC high street branches to use. I’m sure other banks are great too but I’ve never had a reason to consider changing.

Co-op. Can pay into any Post Office. Ethical investment of your monies.

OK – thanks. This is useful stuff. First direct – I’d barely even heard of so thanks for the tip. I’m currently researching FD and the others…

Have been very happy with Nationwide. Good current account and mortgage approved within a week. Only whinge is that they don’t offer contactless payment cards.

Does the Co-Op use the same business model for their banking as they do for their groceries?

If so, banking with them must be the most expensive on the high street.

Much like buying food from them is more expensive than anywhere else (at least, it is where I live).

I use both Co-op and Nationwide (co-op banking / nationwide mortgage) and they are both very good. Co-op win an disproportionate number of customer service awards given their size so must be doing something right and have an ethical investment policy going back nearly 20 years. They are also acquiring a big chunk of Lloyds so again must be well placed. They are both genuine UK businesses where as First direct is HSBC but without any branches.

first direct.
end of thread !!!

First Direct. Been with them 12 years or so. Have a current account with the Nationwide and a Credit Card with the Co-Op.

I know from an ethical point of view I should be using either the Co-op or Nationwide, but find dealing with FD so easy that I’m reluctant to move…..

@trail_rat – RBS (like Halifax/HBOS and Northern Rock) used to lend to just about anyone with no checks. They are now trying to sort out that mess hence its more troublesome to work with them now.

@OP – HSBC, best all round and have money to lend.

need it for all my banking needs – current account, possible loan and possible savings account.

You’ll never get the best rates for loans and savings if you only go to whoever provides your current account.

IMO, choose your current account on customer service / benefits* and your savings / loans on the best rate, from whoever that maybe.

*phone insurance, breakdown cover etc.

Banks vary though from branch to branch though don’t they?

I’ve had an RBS account since I was about 17 I think. It was in my home town (still is) and I think that matters. I tried to move it to closer where I worked, once; then got made redundant and the manager there (Blackhall, Edinburgh) got very shirty and asked for my cheque book, bank card, the lot. I refused!

Account remained resolutely 200 miles away and they couldn’t have been more helpful – all down to personal service though. Knew (and still know) a good deal of the staff and that matters. Stuff would get sorted out by telephone and then the paperwork would follow ‘later’ – overdrafts, loans,the lot – even through house purchases that went awry, emergency loans to buy a car, sorting out accounts when my dad first fell ill and then when he eventually died.

So don’t write off the big names IME.

We use the Co-op. Been with them for years, they’re good, I’d recommend them. UK staff on the end of the phone if you have a problem, they sorted out my wife’s card-cloning issues quickly and satisfactorily last year, we’ve not been hit with any stupid charges for anything in the time we’ve used them which has to be getting on for a decade now.

Another happy First Direct customer here. Been very impressed – must be at least 10 years by now. Had Barclays and Lloyds before and both dropped the ball. FD have been flawless – can’t fault them.

they are a necessary evil , so Co-op for banking and have you considered joining a local Credit Union– old skool mutuals– helping those who really need it, and you as safe as any other ?

I’ve been with RBS since I worked for them when I was 19, which is now, ahem, some years ago.

To be honest, I’ve never had a problem but I’m now, reluctantly, moving my accounts away as I don’t want to go over to Santander.

I’m off to the Co-Op, and so far it seems to be going swimmingly. Plus I get worldwide travel insurance from AXA inc. winter sports for me and her and personal Britain and European RAC cover for the pair of us, with Home Start, Recovery, Onward Travel, the lot, for £150 a year. Plus we get to use airport lounges for free 🙂

Rudeboy, I take issue with credit unions. Great in principle but they have some significant issues i.e. my local credit union set up shop once a weak in the local library, they turn up (usually two ladies) with a box full of cash in the back of their car. Cash is paid out / handed in over a couple of hours and then off they go. Serious security failings IMO, I would not be comfortable doing it, I am not even that happy being in the library with them while they do it.

First Direct. Ten years, and they’ve never put a foot wrong. Amazing staff, which is probably the reason why they have such a good rep.

Nationwide are good. The service you get tends to reflect that they’re a mutual, and therefore not run by lower-than-a-snakes-belly scumbags who would bend you over and go in dry, as soon as look at you

Alas my Nationwide was run by people who thought it was fine to all go out for lunch – you know the time most people only have to visit a bank during their working day. The slowest counter service I’ve ever encountered.

For purely greed basis Halifax still offering a fiver a month in your account if you use them.

I’ve never had any problems with my Lloyds branch to be honest and I’m a little annoyed it’s just been announced I’m one of the random people who are being transferred out of Lloyds without any consent or anything.

I have had extremely good luck with HSBC all ’round.

Co op are great from my experience. UK call center and great service. I think their branch network will be getting boosted soon too after some acquisitions.

Cant fault them.

+1

looks like coop, nationwide or first direct are looking like frontrunners if looking to avoid the bog standard high street banks. The horror stories of some of the others make me shudder. I’ve found Halifax/BOS to be very greedy on the charges for overdrafts and other fees. Plus – although I’ve banked with them for my current account for 11 years, they seem reluctant to seriously consider me for a loan despite having a good credit rating, good income and two other banks saying I’d be a favourable prospect. No idea how they figure these things out though! Thanks for the input gang!

I’ve just joined Nationwide after 2 years of being with Barclays. They were the worst bank I’ve ever been with. Adding charges to my account with out telling me. Would never put a direct debit through even when there was money in the account then charging me for the privilige. Hated going into branch because they’d jump on you as soon as you walk in trying to sell products (i’ll go to disney for that). Every phone call they tried to sell me something. Locked me out of my online banking when they decided you could ONLY log in with that stupid card reader crap. Then wouldn’t unlock it for me. Won’t transfer money over the phone as I don’t have a telephone banking passcode and never sent me a new one when requested. Only saving grace was the breakdown cover and gadget insurance. They didn’t pay out on that when my tablet got water damage. Worst bunch of sharks I’ve ever met.

They are also acquiring a big chunk of Lloyds so again must be well placed

Well placed? 😯

The Co-Op are migrating all their accounts onto the Lloyds system, then Lloyds are running the Co-Op part of the Bank on their systems for the next 10 years because Co-Op didn’t actually have the money to purchase the divested customers & provide a banking system to run the accounts on …

Been with HSBC (previously in its Midland guise) for over 30 years and in all that time I don’t think I’ve paid them a penny in fees or charges, and I can’t remember having a single problem with them either. Now it must be said that I’ve been in the lucky position not to have ever needed an overdraft, I’ve been with the same employer for many years and I haven’t moved house in a while either, so my banking needs and account management have been pretty straightforward, but even so they’ve been good as gold.

(Garrrrrgh! Long post got eaten by the mobile network fairies!)

Summary: Mutuals are good for lots of reasons… Nationwide have been fine for me over many years. Top exec’s pay is in the order of fractions of a million per year which seems sensible (ish) & your money won’t be used for anything overly nefarious.

I’ve been impressed with the Yorkshire Building Society in a professional and personal capacity in the last year.

The Co-op deal with Lloyds is massively staked in favour of the co-op, Lloyds got their pants pulled down but that was inevitable as there are very few organisations in the UK that could afford to buy a sizable chunk of the UK retail banking market let alone gain the support of the government and FSA to do it.

As the size of the operation they are taking on is in some instances bigger than the existing co-op business they are taking the IT systems and the key staff as well.

At the same time they have just built a massive 300,000sq ft office in Manchester.

If no one minds me hijacking this thread just a little bit, seeing as it seems the OP has got an answer or two:

Does anyone here use a credit union? If so, what is the difference between a CU and a building society?

DONT GO TO THE NAT WEST.

Another vote for Nationwide here, been with them since I was a student, no silly banking charges yet all the major banking facilities. I have my current account with them, they still provide cheque books….how quaint!….also have a savings account and credit card, then discovered their buildings and contents insurance is very cheap so went with them for that too.

Mrs Deviant is with Halifax and seems to have no end of problems.

Not Nationwide. The products are relatively decent, but the lack of security is absolutely shocking.

Around 6 weeks ago, bank statement got stolen from my post, and someone rang up and requested a new PIN, Cashcard and applied for a credit card, all of which also got stolen from the post. It turns out a nicked bank statement is enough to convince Nationwide that you’re a legit customer.

The first I hear of it is when my cashcard stops working almost a month later. So I ring up and jump through all the hoops and after 3 or 4 phone calls my cash is refunded and a new card and pin is issued out to a branch for me to collect. And there’ll be a special flag put on the account so that they’ll be extra careful in future.

Today I come home and find a letter telling me about my new credit card application. Which of course I didn’t make.

Bear in mind that a cash card and PIN with a customer number will get you into Nationwide’s internet banking, and it’s pretty bloody bonkers. I can’t believe that they’re still taking credit card applications without doing some serious checking after I’ve reported fraud. It’s not even difficult for them to do – someone rings up claiming to be me, they ring me back on the number they have on file. Dead easy if they wanted to do it. Security questions like “tell me one of your direct debits” are pretty useless when a) they rarely change, so nicking one statement can get you in years later and b) a lot of people will have a direct debit going to SKY/Virgin/a utility company so a fraudster has a fair chance of guessing their way in.

I’ve previously experienced fraud on a Lloyd’s account and they sorted it absolutely no problem.

wrong

the transition period won’t last 10 years and the coop did have systems to migrate the Lloyds customers onto but the alternative migration plan was agreed by the joint boards and the regulator on a risk mitigation basis

I have been with smile the co ops internet bank for over ten years and have never had cause to complain.

.