Top Student Accounts 2010/11 MSE Guide discussion area

organic_wanabe

My DS is another one who has not heard any further from Nat West after going in to a branch to open his student account on 23rd August. I am not impressed! Various family members have subsequently opened 9 Lloyds TSB Vantage accounts (3 x 3 each) and received paperwork by return. Nat West don't deserve the business.

rev_henry

organic_wanabe wrote: »

My DS is another one who has not heard any further from Nat West after going in to a branch to open his student account on 23rd August. I am not impressed! Various family members have subsequently opened 9 Lloyds TSB Vantage accounts (3 x 3 each) and received paperwork by return. Nat West don't deserve the business.

Well, I've just had an email from NatWest saying Welcome to your account or something like that, so looks like they've now done it.

wikedguy

Just opened a student account with Bank of Scotland - surprised to see that they have a charge of £1 a day for using the overdraft - that's before you even go over the limit.

It's not mentioned in the article - is this just standard? Am I missing something, or should I ditch them and find a proper student overdraft?

MrsManda

wikedguy wrote: »

Just opened a student account with Bank of Scotland - surprised to see that they have a charge of £1 a day for using the overdraft - that's before you even go over the limit.
It's not mentioned in the article - is this just standard? Am I missing something, or should I ditch them and find a proper student overdraft?

If you've opened a student account the arranged overdraft (£3000 or less) is 0% interest. If you have an arranged overdraft of over £3000 you are charged at 0.58% per month. If you go into an unarranged overdraft you are charged 1.82% per month.

The £1 per day is for standard current accounts. see HERE

rev_henry

I went into a branch yesterday to sort out my new term time address and request the overdraft. All fine, but got a lecture from the Bank Manager about how I had to use it as my main account - pay bills out of it and student finance into it. Err, no I don't, I just have to make 3 debits a month and 1 credit every 3 months right? NatWest btw...

brookhaven

Hi,

For those of you thinking of the Natwest student account do ensure you get your rail card sent to you within 3 or 4 weeks of opening it. You only get one opportunity to get one and that is when you open the account. If you leave it till after Xmas you won't get one. (I know we fell foul of that when our daughter opened an account).

I also seem to remember it took a while to get up and running so it needs to be done sooner than later:-(

HTH

callum9999

rev_henry wrote: »

I've had a similar experience. Did the initial application online, received stuff through the post to send back - fine. Aforesaid stuff said I could take it into a branch and do it there and some nice person would talk me through the account etc etc. Took it to one branch - first question have you got the envelope to send it back. No, it says I can do it in branch. Ok... He goes away and photocopies and stamps my documents and comes back and tells me to put them in the envelope and send them back myself because 'I haven't got the staff to do it now.'

Second branch I go into are totally clueless. Girl on desk, after muttering similarly about the envelope goes away and asks someone, who eventually tells her yes it can be done in branch (really? the piece of paper isn't lying?) and that they'll send it off now and that's the end of it. That was last week, I'm still waiting for the account to actually open. Just called to ask what was happening and to get the docs sent to my term time address where I am now and they have no record of my existence! I was advised to give it a couple more days and see... mmm, when my stuff has been sent to my HOME address where I am not!

I'm fast beginning to think that no bank are actually competent to do what they say at all. Thus far this month I've had trouble with Lloyds TSB (apparently making an account joint is far too difficult, but now seem to have managed it), Santander/A&L (decided to cancel my card for no reason, and making a joint account is far beyond the realms of possibility) and now NatWest.

Same with me, I was told branches can't open Student accounts. And I discovered the branch here closes at 4.30 (when I turned up at 4.32!). I always thought Natwest advertised as being a customer-focussed bank. They've given me the worst service out of any bank I'm with - including Santander.

rev_henry

callum9999 wrote: »

Same with me, I was told branches can't open Student accounts. And I discovered the branch here closes at 4.30 (when I turned up at 4.32!). I always thought Natwest advertised as being a customer-focussed bank. They've given me the worst service out of any bank I'm with - including Santander.

Yup...and apparently it now takes about 3 weeks for a debit card to be sent out too.

rev_henry

Well I still haven't got the following:
1. My debit card
2. Some kind of activation code for online/telephone banking.

So basically after over 3 weeks I think it is now, I still have no functional student bank account, and I start uni tomorrow. Because I haven't activated telephone banking they won't discuss anything on the phone, but they did let slip that my card was ordered about 3 weeks ago but still hasn't been shipped. Off to my branch in the morning is the only way forward apparently.

If they can't sort it by the end of this week I'll go to another bank I think.

mr.brightside87

rev_henry wrote: »

Well I still haven't got the following:
1. My debit card
2. Some kind of activation code for online/telephone banking.

So basically after over 3 weeks I think it is now, I still have no functional student bank account, and I start uni tomorrow. Because I haven't activated telephone banking they won't discuss anything on the phone, but they did let slip that my card was ordered about 3 weeks ago but still hasn't been shipped. Off to my branch in the morning is the only way forward apparently.

If they can't sort it by the end of this week I'll go to another bank I think.

You only get your card when you have paid £300 into the bank. Thing is, you need the card to do that unless you have the paying in slips/cheque book.

My local branch is 11 miles away. Do not want to have to travel there and back several times. I have the money to pay in to get my card and my overdraft but the cheque book hasn't appeared yet :mad:

EDIT: That's if you have gone with co-op. Sorry my bad