Bank recommendations please

[Onket]

Is that legit???

Experian anf the other main credit agency charge for the info, not sure I'd trust some site that does it for free without being reassured it wasn't a scam.

 

[moose]

They're all ok if you stick within their rules. They're all cunts if you don't.

 

[jonead]

Have been there. Cheers.

I got my credit report for free, but it costs £6 to find out my credit score. Should i do that too?

no don't. there's no meaning to the scores given to you except in very broadest terms.

if ya gonna spend money getting your credit profile go directly to experian (credit expert is the product i think) or equifax for thier equivilent report products, which cost about the same. at least then you're dealing directly with the credit agency, not this publisher/aggregator of data.

 

[Gromit]

Am getting fed up with Barclays and am looking at moving my current account.

Any recommendations? I've heard First Direct are quite good, but that was a while ago now.

I'm with First Direct. Supposidly they are the most recommended bank.

I have to admit they've been a brilliant bank as far as I'm concerned.

Their internet banking is well designed, i like the security, and it works like a dream.
Their telephone banking is pretty darn good too. They've treated me decent whatever the situation.
Need a branch then use any HSBC branch and there are hundreds of them.
Cashtill wise. Man take your pick. Use practically any cashtill. I don't know a machine that i can't use. 'Cept link. Well i can use em but they charge me.

They do have current account charges. But I have savings account with em that i put a small amount into each month so i don't get charged for the current account.

 

[Maggot]

Huuuge bump!

I am still with Barclays, but now my credit rating has improved I'm looking to switch. Is Smile still good? Where do I go to pay in money etc?

 

[Pickman's model]

Huuuge bump!

I am still with Barclays, but now my credit rating has improved I'm looking to switch. Is Smile still good? Where do I go to pay in money etc?

so nearly five years on you've still not taken the advice above.

 

[Maggot]

so nearly five years on you've still not taken the advice above.

If you read the whole thread, you'll see why.

 

[Cami]

so Santander, HSBC or Barclays?

 

[ddraig]

no they are all bastards

 

[Gromit]

Coutts maybe.

 

[Badgers]

Metrobank?

 

[pinkychukkles]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts

 

[fuck seals]

Depends what you want really. in many ways the current account products from the uk retail banks are much of a muchness - there are differences, but the product vary over time & there's no real clear winner.

Nationwide are my personal choice as a 'good bank to bank with', whatever that means.

Pros
. Low/ zero foreign interchange fees
. Low/ zero domestic fees
. Good call centres
. No shady investment arm
. Arguably the best european anti-fraud measures (possibly they come 2nd to otp ...)
. Mutually owned

Cons
. No private banking
. No/ little wealth management
. NBS credit cards are operated by TSYS, not NBS, so there is no escaping grasping us corps

 

[Onket]

They are the same company. They are tarring themselves with their own brush.

Anyway, I just left my account open with 1p in it. That'll learn em. Ho ho ho.

I've still got this account. When I moved house before Christmas they insisted on sending me a new bank card, so I got them to send it to Inverness, while my home address is on the South Coast of England, the fools.

LOL. etc.

 

[Maggot]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts

They don't even mention Smile.

 

[shakespearegirl]

Metrobank?

I have business and personal accounts with them and they are great.

 

[Maggot]

I have business and personal accounts with them and they are great.

Are they ethical?

 

[shakespearegirl]

Are they ethical?

According to this, they are number 4

http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/money/bankingcurrentaccounts.aspx

 

[cliche guevara]

HSBC are a massive bunts of cunts, but I couldn't move from first direct. They're really helpful, human, no IVRs, no passing you to different departments. Well worth it.

 

[shakespearegirl]

HSBC are a massive bunts of cunts, but I couldn't move from first direct. They're really helpful, human, no IVRs, no passing you to different departments. Well worth it.

I always rated First Direct, but I've found in the last few years the service has gone downhill a bit..

 

[pinkychukkles]

They don't even mention Smile.

Co-op is Smile innit? They mention Co-op with the caveat:

Important: Co-op's been in the news due to financial pressures over a hole in its finances - a rescue plan is under way. Yet the key fact is the first £85,000 of savings per person - including money in your current account - in the combined group (Co-op Bank, Smile, Britannia) is guaranteed by the Government-backed FSCS. For how this works, see the full Savings Safety guide.
Customer service: 75% great, 20% OK, 5% poor.

So they probably don't qualify in an article comparing the best banking accounts.

As for myself, been with First Direct since ~1997; joined them when I went travelling and it was just telephone banking, ideal when you're abroad. Have always kept my c/a & cc there but since 2005 have always been a bit of current a/c & credit card tart, opening and closing quite a few for offers/0% interest etc. Basically now, as long as they have internet banking and you can do all the stuff you want to do online and the site isn't a total shambles to use, they're all the same. Currently my main c/a is with Halifax and just closed down my N/Wide that I opened purely because they were one of the best accounts to have if you were spending abroad.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I like Smile.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Smile is the internet banking arm of the Co-op bank. They are really good and sort out all the hassle of moving your existing accounts, setting up new direct debits etc. We moved our current account to Smile from HSBC 5 years ago and I've never been in a bank queue since (but you can still use Co-op branches for cash withdrawals etc)

I also moved from HSBC. I was on their phone or in the bank all the bloody time, listening to their shitty hold music. They screwed my cards up and left me stranded in Tokyo once (the world bank my arse).

Smile gave me a crate of wine and £100 for joining and have been nothing but delightful ever since. Super friendly, super quick, and super casual, sorting out problems in minutes and letting me off several times (for my own mistakes) that HSBC would have charged me bucket loads for.
You can also use any Co-op bank branch if you need to.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

They're all ok if you stick within their rules. They're all cunts if you don't.

Some are bigger cunts then others. The ones that charge you a daily charge for being over your overdraft deserve a special place in hell.

 

[izz]

I always rated First Direct, but I've found in the last few years the service has gone downhill a bit..

whuuuuuut ? First Direct are the poodles plums of banking, I've been with them for years and they've always treated me rightly well.