Want to leave A&L after 2 months...

opinions4u

ajharris wrote: »

I would advise you to go with one of the big ones i.e Barclays, LTSB, Natwest or HSBC/First Direct.

To be honest, First Direct are a subsidiary of a "big" bank. They are not a big player on their own by any stretch of the imagination, although they have an enviable service record in the eyes of their customers.

Indeed, HSBC are, in UK retail banking terms, are a relatively small player, probably 5th biggest on the high street. Their size comes internationally.

The wannabe banks i.e Halifax, A+L and the dreaded Santander/Abbey seem to be constantly slated.

Halifax has been slated for its charging structure of late. But there seem to be significant numbers who love that same charging structure for the fiver it gives them.

There is certainly little evidence to suggest that the traditional "big four" give especially better service. Indeed, if you look at Ombudsman statistics, they are far more likely to rule against the likes of LloydsTSB than any other high street bank (I think it's something like 83% of their complaints are upheld, compared to 50% for the likes of Halifax).

In my opinion and that of many others on this site their customer service is poor. I made HSBC my main current account as I was very dissatisfied with Nationwide, the service with my new bank is better by a country mile. They deal with things far more quickly and are generally much more on the ball. The staff at Nationwide seem to have a siesta everyday and the in branch sercive is painfully slow.

Service covers many factors that are different for each individual customer. Slow branch service may be of no interest for the international traveller who loves his free Eurozone debit card transactions with Nationwide.

Unimportant as it may seem I like the idea of being with a Bank who has not ponced billions from the taxpayer. HBOS of which Halifax is part have had an astronomical amount from the government.

So why have you suggested LTSB or Nat West as suitable destinations for an account then?

ajharris

opinions4u wrote: »

To be honest, First Direct are a subsidiary of a "big" bank. They are not a big player on their own by any stretch of the imagination, although they have an enviable service record in the eyes of their customers.

Indeed, HSBC are, in UK retail banking terms, are a relatively small player, probably 5th biggest on the high street. Their size comes internationally.

Halifax has been slated for its charging structure of late. But there seem to be significant numbers who love that same charging structure for the fiver it gives them.

There is certainly little evidence to suggest that the traditional "big four" give especially better service. Indeed, if you look at Ombudsman statistics, they are far more likely to rule against the likes of LloydsTSB than any other high street bank (I think it's something like 83% of their complaints are upheld, compared to 50% for the likes of Halifax).

Service covers many factors that are different for each individual customer. Slow branch service may be of no interest for the international traveller who loves his free Eurozone debit card transactions with Nationwide.

So why have you suggested LTSB or Nat West as suitable destinations for an account then?

There is nothing contradicory about that. I simply said that for a better service one of the big ones would be better. The fact that I like the idea of being with a bank that has not been bailed out has no bearing on this.

Also note the word UNIMPORTANT

jambosans

ajharris wrote: »

There was me thinking that the Halifax was once a building society!

Keyword: "was".

I think opinions4u has succinctly explained that status as bank or size doesn't matter. To further expand on this, you tend to find the smaller organisations such as First Direct, Co-Op and Smile outperform their larger counterparts in customer service poles. Obviously the size plays a factor, and in the examples given, two of those three are internet/ telephone only operations. There are so many variables which can make or break a customer's experience of their bank/ building society, but being a "big traditional bank" has little to do with it IMO.