Advantages to sticking with one bank?

coolesticeking

rictus123 wrote: »

What bank is it with the good online budget tracker to show you where all your money is going?

It's Lloyds TSB and called Money Manager.

Rupert_Bear

iereboy wrote: »

Lloyds will show you no loyalty. These days, there is very little to be gained by being loyal to one institution -especially Lloyds.

You also have to do your own research to get the market leading rates and one institution will not have market leading rates.

Make sure you add Vantage to your current Lloyds account.

Also get a Halifax reward account for the free £5.

What do you want out of your bank? Interest rates? Service? Give us more info on your situation please.

Myself I find Lloyds brilliant. Always granted me loans with no problem and even during these austere times they have never reduced my £10,000 overdraft facility.

VJ_

coolesticeking wrote: »

Sorry I got it wrong it's £500/Month - The rule has been in force for a good few years now, maybe you have fallen through the net but as a general rule they are quite strict with this.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/bank-account-page

Account eligibility

If you can pay £500 or more into your HSBC bank account each month, you're entitled to apply for Bank Account.
If you do not pay £500 or more into your account each month, we will contact you to discuss your needs. Your account may be transfered to our Current Account service or we may give you notice that we will close your account.

Fair enough, they did downgrade my account from my old graduate account to a normal current account after I stopped using them as my main account, but it's certainly not been closed. As I don't use it for much, I'm happy with that.

pwuk

iereboy wrote: »

Lloyds will show you no loyalty. These days, there is very little to be gained by being loyal to one institution -especially Lloyds.

You also have to do your own research to get the market leading rates and one institution will not have market leading rates.

Make sure you add Vantage to your current Lloyds account.

Also get a Halifax reward account for the free £5.

What do you want out of your bank? Interest rates? Service? Give us more info on your situation please.

Rupert_Bear wrote: »

Myself I find Lloyds brilliant. Always granted me loans with no problem and even during these austere times they have never reduced my £10,000 overdraft facility.

I agree with Rupert Bear, I find Lloyds Branch staff to be very polite with a can do approach always - I realise that this is probably limited to my local branch but it works for me.

The telephone banking staff are also great with a friendly approach to dealing with telephone transactions.

Whilst Lloyds may not show loyalty, point out a commercial organisation that will. Lloyds is a bank, not a charity.

sweetilemon

Wonder if Lloydes have got rid of the bullet proof screen thats what put me off. very safe when behind them but when the staff stood the other side because they could not understand me and vice versa not so safe. were a bit old fashioned but that was before the take over.

adindas

This is what they say:
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/bank-account-page

"If you can pay £500 or more into your HSBC bank account each month, you're entitled to apply for Bank Account.
If you do not pay £500 or more into your account each month, we will contact you to discuss your needs. Your account may be transferred to our Current Account service or we may give you notice that we will close your account"

VJ_ wrote: »

Really? I only have around 70\month going through it, and havn't had any problems; admittedly I've also left a reasonable cash sum for emergencies in it as well.

dzug1

adindas wrote: »

This is what they say:
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/personal/current-accounts/bank-account-page

"If you can pay £500 or more into your HSBC bank account each month, you're entitled to apply for Bank Account.
If you do not pay £500 or more into your account each month, we will contact you to discuss your needs. Your account may be transferred to our Current Account service or we may give you notice that we will close your account"

It looks as though HSBC make a distinction between 'Bank Account' and 'Current Account'

Baldur

dzug1 wrote: »

It looks as though HSBC make a distinction between 'Bank Account' and 'Current Account'

HSBC's 'Bank Account' is a product name, it was formerly called the 'Current Account Advance' until 2009/10, from memory.

adindas

My current a/c with HSBC when I first opened it nine years ago did not need to be fed £500 a month. A few years ago I started upgrading it to become an Advance A/C where I paid about £12.99 (?) fee a month to take the benefit of their insurance and high interest regular saving.

Last year, I downgraded it again to become a normal account to what they call “HSBC Bank A/C” as I got another free trial offer which includes insurance from Co-op Bank.

At that time they already mentioned that it needed to be fed at least £500 a month otherwise they will close it. I think what they are doing here is fair enough as they do not want the people to use it a dormant account which add to their transaction cost.

dzug1 wrote: »

It looks as though HSBC make a distinction between 'Bank Account' and 'Current Account'

adindas

I am not suggesting here that we need to stick to one particular bank even it pays a rubbish interest rate. But to have a long standing bank a/c with a reputable bank is a benefit for reputation (CRA perhaps). This is especially true if we apply for a major credit such as Mortgage, etc.

Some people have the problem with CRA inaccuracy. There have been a lot of comnplain here regarding the inaccuracy of the data held by CRA. Some people just do not bother to correct them as they do not want to spend time dealing with CRA.

If we have a long standing relationship with a reputable high street bank, they will take into account this long-standing relationship and our good records that they are currently holding. It will be also a great help if we apply for another bank a/c with another bank.

enemysprout wrote: »

I've been with Lloyds TSB for 20 years, but was thinking of changing accounts, maybe to CO-OP for the £5 a month thing if it's still going. But is there any advantage to sticking with a bank you have a long history with?

I took out a loan once with them that I repaid, and have been in credit with them for about 8 years so I have a good history. No plans for mortgages or loans but you never know.

Ta