Is Santander a good move?

scott_lithgows

jonewer wrote: »

Strange, the strife has been badgering me to switch from RBS to Santander. Can I ask why so many negative replies?

I take it you never got a valentines card either !

naked

I switched my current account from Santander to Halifax because Halifax were offering £5 a month for me to move and Santander were paying me practically nothing for having my money with them. The faster payments problem really is a problem.
I originally opened the account with Abbey when they were offering a good interest rate and before faster payments were widely implemented.

Things started going bad when I tried to get a mortgage with them. The call centre insisted I should do it on the phone rather than go into the branch.

• It took 8-10 weeks for them to send out an agreement in principle
• When I phoned to chase it they sent out a copy, however the 'copy' was for a completely different amount. It arrived before the first one did though
• In the meantime I phoned Halifax who did it and a paper copy was in was in my hands within 3 days

I have savings with Santander because the rate is good and they pay the interest monthly. If a comparable deal comes up elsewhere I'll be moving - purely due to the faster payments problem and having to phone up to make a payment which takes around 10 minutes for them to do after playing 20 questions.

BreamoreBoy wrote: »

Or send out your details to someone else.

Lloyds TBS sent me someone elses statements, demands for unpaid fees and solicitors letters for 6 months. Every time I got one I told them and they said I would get no more but it took that long before they finally did something about it.

Cmdr_Bond

I have to say that I used to think that all banks were as bad as each other - I am now of the opinion that Santander is as bad as the rest of them put together,

[Deleted User]

never ever the Santandeer!
just worsest bank ever

McCreary

Definitely stay away from them! I'm in the process of switching everything, including Direct Debits, to First Direct!

Gripper_Rod

I've had a current a/c with Abbey National/Abbey/Santander for about 30 years and never had a problem with them (so far!) but seeing the hatred towards them on MSE (& elsewhere on the internet) I'm beginning to think about finding somewhere else to bank. They are the only bank that opens on a Saturday in my town though & i'm uncomfortable with internet banking.

ZacColbert

Sorry, i don't know if this is the right thread, but I've got a Santander savings account and am thinking about switching it to an ISA, the tellers say it's got a better interest rate but i'm guessing they would say that, anyone know or got any advice? thanks in advance

izools

ZacColbert wrote: »

Sorry, i don't know if this is the right thread, but I've got a Santander savings account and am thinking about switching it to an ISA, the tellers say it's got a better interest rate but i'm guessing they would say that, anyone know or got any advice? thanks in advance

Depending on how you plan to save there are three options:

1. If you earn under £1,500 a month and plan to save beterrn £25 and £250 a month then an HSBC Current Account + Regulat Saver.

You will earn 4% AER on your savings

2. If you earn over £1,500 a month and plan to save between £25 and £300 a month then a 1st Direct Current Account + Regular Saver

You will earn 8% AER on your savings

3. If you want to be free to save however much you choose up to a maximum of £5,100 a year with no ties or penalties for using the account to withdraw, or not paying in one month, then the Halifax ISA Direct Reward

You will earn 2.8% AER on your savings

Having read this thread I hope you are also making plans to move your banking to a real bank rather than a papier mache one like Santander :beer:

southantrim3

I'm interested to know what the OP thought as they haven't replied yet. I'm also going by a definate no. Never used them but reading through a few threads on here, I aint going anywhere near them. Think I'll stick to the Halifax!

Spiggle

If you are after the £100 switching bonus you can get that from first direct.

I opened an account with santander last year and have ISA and CC with them. Personally, I have had no problem with them. BUT I check my account every day online and scrutinise all payments.

I suspect, but truly hope not, that I may start to encounter problems with them now I'm switching half our income and all our savings away from them. Having read many many threads related to the bank, that seems to be a major problem area. There are others though who have suffered really badly at the hands of santander in running their accounts as eveidenced above. I will be switching away from them entirely in a few months.

It's your decision ultimately but I highly recommend first direct who have actually answered the phone from me before the first ring and their customer service people are in the UK which is hugely beneficial.

Hope that helps,
Spigs