[Closed] Recommend me a decent bank..

First Direct.

smile

Need a branch to pay cash into on a regular basis.

smile

The coop bank or any Post office to pay into

Podium, First Direct users can use any HSBC branch for counter banking.

Ahh...nice one!

Nationwide for me. Used many, they top the satisfaction chart for me.

HSBC are crap. Had internal fraud on my account everything taken down to the last penny of my overdraft facility. I kept the account open and have had nothing but problems. Rude staff if you use the counter service, incorrect bank charges and thier inability to understand I have moved house. I'm looking for a new bank also, wouldn't trust anything in the HSBC group.

Coutts

Well that's HSBC off the list then.Hard to believe any of the alternatives could be as bad as Santander,mind.
Shame as plenty of local HSBC branches,unlike co op for smile.

God I hate banks.

Don't you have to be well off to be with Coutts?

Costs £600 a year to run a Coutts current account...

Frankly all banks are as awful as each other. Pick one that's financially the best deal. Even then there's only a fag paper between them. May as well pick the one with nicest card design!

Ha ha Damo that's the best advice,

firstdirect. They win all the comparison tests. I've been with them since they opened - never an issue, always helpful.

+1 for First Direct. Been with them about 15 years now and they're like a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the bunch.

First Direct might be part of HSBC, but their customer service is a polar opposite, I am an ex HSBC customer who moved to First Direct, I must have been with them now for about 15 years.

Had a phone call the other week, an independent customer satisfaction survey, who do you bank with? "First Direct", ah, we don't need anymore responses from their customers. Doesn't mean good service, but as the surveys consistently place them high on the lists of customer satisfaction tehn they most be doing something right.

Co-op. As stated above, you can use any Post Office for withdrawals or deposits.

smile - They have been absolutely fantastic with me.

Rachel

First Direct brilliant bank great service.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Bank

Coutt's, Hoare's or Fleming's.

😉

Tesco. Or Metro. The banks of the near future...

Smile have a shocking website.On that basis *I'm Out*

I may give First Direct a try although I think they have a high monthly deposit requirement.I prefer to pay in as much as I want to,not what they stipulate.

Cheers for now.

*Open a 1st Account and transfer[b] your monthly salary/income of at least £1,500[/b] within three months and we will add £100 to your account. This offer is only available for people who haven't previously experienced the delights of banking with first direct.

A bank for the wealthy!

FD can Eff off as my income is variable and i'm going to open another account elsewhere.

Also did it say £12 pm for the privilege,minimum contract 1 year.i don't think so.

Next...

They make gazillions utilising our money on the markets.I should charge them £12 pm!

God I hate banks.

First Direct, great service, simple products, cheap mortgage interest

🙂

Don't forget to vote on the Smile website -

"who's the king of the pirates?"

Is it a bank account for 7 year olds who don't get any older?

Sorry Penrod FD are a double fail.

I've been with Barclays for ages and can't fault their service.

I can recommend First Direct and Cater Allen. Owned by HSBC and Santander respectively, but very different operations.

Not touching with a barge poll if they are owned by Santander.Just seeing the S logo makes my blood boil.

£20 notes under the mattress methinks.

First direct - they treat you like an adult, their staff are intelligent and are actually allowed to do things outside the usual call-centre script.

First Direct is part of Natwest, not HSBC, I thought?
I'm a Nationwide customer, and I really can't recommend them any more, as they're moving more and more to a profit-making setup (low interest rates on savings, even compared to the high street; high charges for being overdrawn and now for using the card abroad).

Cahoot wasn't bad for me, in a kind of inoffensive, just works kinda way. NatWest, interestingly, hasn't been too terrible in the last year or so. To be honest, my advice with any bank would be to spend as little time as possible in there, talking to them or in any way overlapping with them.

Banks in North America charge you for the privilege of giving them your money, but at least the customer service is decent.

Co-Op. Ethical as well as 100% faultless since we've been with them (+10 years). I've worked for two of the other biggest banks in the UK and wouldn't bank with them if they paid me (which technically, they did).

FD is part of HSBC

I've been with cahoot almost since they started, but gradually falling out with them, mostly due to some strange credit card balance/payment conditions. The products they offer have been gradually reducing as they are subsumed into the Santander alliance.....

Off to look at Smile...

First Direct is definitely part of HSBC.

If you take a second product from them, like a credit card, then there is no monthly charge for the current account.

It's always a person on the end of the phone and they've always answered within 3 rings, even at 5, morning or afternoon. The online banking is excellent too.

Was referring to Cater Allen being an S subsidiary.

I don't want or need another CC but if that gets me free banking.

Some months I don't pay in anything others several thousands. All those banks that want money each month to have an account are off my list too. The money they make on intrest should be enough. I know FD is sepertate to HSBC but after my experience I don't want the HSBC group as a whole to have my business. I straying towards co-op

Quite,seeing as they make shed loads out of utilising our money it does grate that they want to charge a monthly fee.
Especially naughty of First Direct as they have much lower overheads not having a bricks and mortat high street presence/staffing levels.

Just applied for A/C plus CC.

Any hints of a monthly charge I'll be quite ticked off and will go elsewhere in a nano second plus report back here and such.

If only we could organise a global Santander exodus.

That would be sweet.

Another very satisfied First Direct customer here, been with them since they set up in the early 90's and have never had any complaints at all. I'd recommend them unreservedly (and I work for one of their competitors!!)

If only we could organise a global Santander exodus.

That would be sweet.

no it bloody wouldn't!! Santander are a bloody big chunk of spanish economy, if they start wobbling (and the spanish aren't in great financial health) then the spanish go to the European Central Bank, cap in hand and the UK along with all the others help them out...

back on topic - I work for the coop financial services so I can't be impartial, but I can assure you that the £1billion of business we said no thanks to because it was arms/fags/other dodgy money was real and not just a publicity stunt. Right now our privilege account is free for a year, just go back to the standard product when you are done