Which current account?

debtfreeeju

Right, I'm in need of a new current account. I'm currently with Nationwide, but since they're eradicating their only perk I feel like taking my business elsewhere.

Problem #1: I'm currently running an O/D with Nationwide; will I need to pay this off before any other bank will consider me?

Assuming I can open another account, can someone recommend one to me? I think I probably have a fairly good credit rating (god knows how) as I've just been accepted for a Nationwide Gold credit card with a reasonable limit, despite not meeting the criteria on their website (I earn over the required £25000, but am not over 25).

I was considering Lloyds, though have read negative things on here regarding internal 'bad' markers if you use the overdraft facility, or perhaps First Direct? I refuse to touch Halifax with a barge pole after previous dealings with them, and I'm a bit anti-HSBC (yes, I know FD are HSBC-backed) because they used to charge me practically every time I breathed anywhere near my account with them.

Any info/recommendations would be much appreciated!

ricky.patel89

I have a Barclays Account, so i can definitely vouch for them, good service whenever I goto the branch, the only problem being is that the Branch closes at 2pm so there's always a queue , otherwise no problems. Also I have a Santander Account despite what other people on the forum say I have always received great service from them, maybe I was just lucky.

debtfreeeju

ricky.patel89 wrote: »

I have a Barclays Account, so i can definitely vouch for them, good service whenever I goto the branch, the only problem being is that the Branch closes at 2pm so there's always a queue , otherwise no problems. Also I have a Santander Account despite what other people on the forum say I have always received great service from them, maybe I was just lucky.

Thanks for your reply; can I ask which accounts you have with them and what the terms/perks are? (i.e. any min. deposit per month, any interest-free O/D, etc? Oh, and do they issue Visa or Maestro debit cards? - do Maestro still exist? I've been Visa-only for years!)

pipsi_2

It's true about the internal markers for Lloyds but i recently went in to open a second current account and had a really interesting conversation wtih the lady who opened my account. She looked at the markers on my account and the only bad ones i have show where a DD or SO has come out of my account on say a Friday, my balance is in credit in the morning then for some reason whoever is processing the account takes out the DD and SO before crediting my account with money paid in that day, so it looks as if i'm overdrawn during the day but in credit again by close of business, she looked at these and admitted that it looked bad but wasn't because of the way my account was operating. If you get any financial products in branch the person dealing with it can see these markers and call through to the decision makers if needs be to push something through. The lady also said that it is easy to produce positive internal markers too and explained a few of these things to me, such as having a healthy balance spread across the account which exceeds what i owe on my Lloyds CC. Current my total balances are about three times what i owe on my card. They also score you favourably if you pay more than the minimum payment on any loans or credit card you have with them. She said if i continued to run my accounts smoothly i'd be likely to get offered other things such as overdrafts etc soon enough. It will be easy for them to see the times i've gone through though financial times such as when i was a student etc but now i have a healthy amount of money coming in and out of my account.

Edit: Just realised how bad my typing is in this post, it's been a long day!

Also, she also suggested that if i had lots of savings with Lloyds they would consider that when i want a new credit card with them (currently paying off my cc as it was put into an arrangement to pay by my uni as a condition of my bursary so although i have a credit card account i'm not able to spend on it, the arrangement is over and there isn't a great deal left to pay off the balance).

ricky.patel89

The one with Barclays is my Student Additions Account so I think i've got a pretty decent OD with them, but I've never had to use it. I use my Santander account mainly for my Saving as I have no DD set up with them, I just have my e-saver and a fixed rate monthly saver with them. I also have a Reward Halifax Current Account, they give me £5 every month I pay in £1000. They all issue Visa debit cards.

ManAtHome

Isn't the NW travel insurance offer any good to you - I don't believe it's worth £80, but how much foreign money-changing do you do each year? £1000 of ATM withdrawals will cost you £25 ish from November - get a card purely for overseas use and you could drop that to £10-15 (Halifax Clarity and FairFX Anywhere respectively).

debtfreeeju

The NW travel insurance isn't that important to me, as I only travel once or twice per year and usually get insurance for less than £10 each time (single person, Europe usually). I'd rather have a current account that did something in return for me depositing money, or had a linked savings account with a decent rate of interest, rather then NW's paltry 0.5% e-savings rate, or whatever it is now! I am aware that I'll lose the NW travel insurance 'perk' unless I deposit £1500 per month.

I think I'll keep the NW account as a 'bills account', i.e. somewhere to transfer money to from my current account and to have my DDs coming out of, but I'd like to find a new current account, though I'm not sure where to look.

Some of the Lloyds fee-paying ones look alright, but the internal scoring system has put me off a bit. Does anyone have any experience of First Direct? I used to steer clear of them as I don't like HSBC, but many MSEs seem to rate their current account (and their regular saver account looks pretty good, plus I like their 'sweep' facility - I'm a rubbish saver and anything that encourages me to save would be a good thing!)

ManAtHome

I know a few people with FD accounts and they all seem quite happy with them. I'm with The Dreaded HSBC (for more years than I care to mention), and unlikely to change - and their 'free' travel insurance is better than NW. Must admit to being a bit lazy with NW, but now push/shove has happened, I'm better off moving my savings out and using the Halifax Clarity for hols spending.

I have the 'sweep' thingy on the HSBC account - was great before they invented t'internet, but these days seems to sweep just when I'm trying to move cash through to a savings account - bah humbug!

Anyway, good luck with the search.

gt94sss2

debtfreeeju wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of First Direct? I used to steer clear of them as I don't like HSBC, but many MSEs seem to rate their current account (and their regular saver account looks pretty good, plus I like their 'sweep' facility - I'm a rubbish saver and anything that encourages me to save would be a good thing!)

Lloyds vs First Direct - the choice depends on what you want in a current account.

First Direct regularly come out first in banking surveys and for good reason. They are more strict than other banks about who they choose to have as customers.

You can get £100 for joining them and an interest free £250 overdraft, as well as being able to use HSBC branches to pay money in etc.

Regards
Sunil