What do people think of Lloyds?

SparciaM

I'm considering switching to Lloyds from First Direct and wanted to know what people thought of them for internet banking and service.

I currently have a Lloyds CC and find that side of the internet banking fine.

Do they do faster payments online?
Can you add and remove bill payments, one off transfers at will - or do they sit on your account for a year or so before dropping off?
What are the branches like?

I used to be with HSBC, but then moved after my student account expired and now after being with First Direct and having to complain on 6 occasions since November and having my personal data sent to a random address I'm thinking it's time to move.

Any other comments would be great. My parents love them. They've been with them for 30+ years and never once had to complain.

Milarky

SparciaM wrote: »

I'm considering switching to Lloyds from First Direct and wanted to know what people thought of them for internet banking and service.

I currently have a Lloyds CC and find that side of the internet banking fine.

Do they do faster payments online?

Yes

Can you add and remove bill payments, one off transfers at will

Yes

do they sit on your account for a year or so before dropping off?

Not as far as I am aware

What are the branches like?

Occasional queues but helpful staff

I used to be with HSBC, but then moved after my student account expired and now after being with First Direct and having to complain on 6 occasions since November and having my personal data sent to a random address I'm thinking it's time to move.

Shouldn't get these problems anymore when you've lived in the same place long enough

Any other comments would be great. My parents love them. They've been with them for 30+ years and never once had to complain.

Get the Classic plus account if you can - with an overdraft - it pays 4% interest if you credit at least £1000 per month. Cheque values up to £1000 paid in daily immediately attract interest. After two working days, you can withraw these amounts against your overdraft if you need to. After four working days the overdraft is 'freed up' in that case as the cheque clears. LTSB also say outgoing transfers will continue to receive interest where they go by BACS. I find the Faster Payments very easy to use but prefer to use HSBC (sending a FP from Lloyds) because I have all my payee sset up with them and they are very straightforward also.

Beware bank charges - I don't indulge, myself, but always operate my account based on the 'rules' as I undstand them to operate...

SparciaM

Well I'm going to open an account with them tomorrow - organised an appointment to do that.

I don't think I need to worry about bank charges, as I've never had one in the 17 years I've been banking, so I should be ok

dunstonh

For banking services, Lloyds are great. However, like the other banks you should avoid them for ancillary services.

The classic plus is a great account. The platinum plus account that they prefer to retail is a waste of money (in my opinion).

redkelly

I am moving away from Lloyds due to always having to queue in the branches for what seems like forever.....But the internet banking is great,

Biggles

SparciaM wrote: »

Can you add and remove bill payments, one off transfers at will - or do they sit on your account for a year or so before dropping off?

You may be thinking of direct debits, that seems to be normal with those whatever bank you're with.

MRS_TO_BE_2

I have moved to Lloyds over a year ago from HSBC and have found the customer service nothing but apalling. Even the complain I have made still hasn't made them improve.

TheEffect

I've been with HSBC, Barclays and Alliance and Leiecter and feel that Lloyds are by far the most pleasant to bank with. I've been with them nearly two years and have always found the staff to be pleasant and helpfull.

The only problem I've had was when I went to Australia. They blocked my card for security. I had to phone them, but it took all of 2 minutes and the block was removed. (I guess this is a good thing, in case my card was cloned).

I wouldn't leave Lloyds anytime soon. They've been great.

username

I've recently added a First Direct account alongside the Lloyds, so I am not a switcher as such, I think I may just 'mothball' them. I've been with Lloyds for god knows how many years, they were my first bank.

In-branch service varies from place to place - most of the time, they are friendly and helpful, but you do get the odd bad apples who don't have any clue as to what they are doing.

But when they do screw up, they screw up badly. I tried for about 3 weeks to get them to send me a copy of my credit card statement - they had continued to send them to my old address, when I had clearly stated at least 2 weeks before I was due to move out that I wanted the address to be changed to XYZ on a certain date - they even sent me a letter to say this had been acknowledged! Yet it didn't happen, and as it happens, after I asked for about the 4th time for them to send me a statement, I get 3 arrive at once, all in different envelopes! The original (which had been returned as undelivered) even came in amongst the photocopies!

Mind you, all banks seem to screw up in some form or another :rotfl: - Halifax managed to misplace my late mother's death certificate for 2-3 weeks, First Direct's courier didn't bother to ring the doorbell or leave a card and Natwest (when I forgot the password/username and ask them to reset it) kept sending me scratch off codes that had expired by the time I had received them! Took them about 5 attempts to send me one that hadn't expired by the time it got through my door.:eek:

What are the branches like?

The queues can be pretty bad at times (not as bad a Natwest ... god, every branch I have been in seems to have a queue snaking out the door ... nearly!). This isn't helped by the fact that they don't have any fancy technology like HSBC do, in the form of machines that can accept banknotes/coin deposits and credit it to your account straight away or machines that accept cheques. Apparently LTSB trialled them and they weren't popular with customers. So you have to queue.

If you want to phone them up, then use their geographical number - 020 77857654, and to skip all the pressing buttons crap, press 0 on your phone when you hear the "welcome to lloyds tsb" woman.

Thomas_Crown

Biggles wrote: »

You may be thinking of direct debits, that seems to be normal with those whatever bank you're with.

The OP is thinking of bill payments which appear on the LTSB online banking menu as ''Transfers & Payments''. This facility is first class as payees can be added/deletd as required. Payments can be immediate(ish) or timed for any day up to 31 days in advance.

LTSB online banking is excellent. Queues in branches can be long at times, particularly 12.00 - 2.00 pm. The Classic Plus current account pays 6% (gross) interest for 12 months & then drops to 4% (gross).

I have banked with Lloyds/LTSB for 26 years & I am happy to remain with them. I also have a Nationwide FlexAccount so I can use my NW debit card in ATMs abroad fee free. I also use there credit card for purchases abroad.

Biggles

Thomas_Crown wrote: »

The OP is thinking of bill payments which appear on the LTSB online banking menu as ''Transfers & Payments''. This facility is first class as payees can be added/deletd as required. Payments can be immediate(ish) or timed for any day up to 31 days in advance.

I realise that, but BPs don't drop off after 12 months without use, they remain there indefinitely. DDs, however, do drop off after 12 months without use, which is where he may have got the idea from.