Halifax or First Direct? online usability

anandp

Hey all,

I'm opening a current account soon to replace my current. Wanting experiences on Halifax and First Direct as they're the ones I've narrowed it down to.

Interest rate wise, Halifax wins but as the money coming in, disappears only a day later, its not a huge criterion.

And apart from the £100 gift vs FD's £50, I cant see much in it.....

One major point for me is the online facility, is it good?

AP

bristol_pilot

I have been very pleased with Halifax online service, been with them for years. My Mother has First Direct, their online service seems OK but appears to be 'down' more often than Halifax and she has had to call them a few times about the website not working.

I have been happy with the Halifax current account too, but I do pay in more than the £1000 pcm and am never overdrawn. There have been some negative comments on these boards about Halifax for customers who do not run their accounts like this.

ManAtHome

Weren't FD introducing current account charges? Must say I'm not a big fan of Halifax either, but no complaints about their website (I have a websaver, but moved most of the funds out when they didn't increase their rates after the last BoE increase).

GjrBartlett

Good Morning,

Halifax or First Direct..........Good Question?

I'm currently in the process of opening an account with both, I submitted my Online application to FD on friday past, ** Quick note, there is currently an offer of £75 for opening an account with FD, this offer was only available to certain customers, who were targeted by a specific mail drop. (Note still need to pay in £1500 for one month direct from salary, not bank transfer). I wasn't targeted by the mail drop, however I enquired about it when opening my account & they very kindly agreed to give me the £75!!

I will be opening an account (High Interest Current Account) with the Halifax this week, transferring from my present account with LloydsTSB to take advantage of the £100 offer for switching + 6.17% on the first £2500 in the account.

FD have introduced an account charge of £10pm, however you can get around this simply by opening any saving account with them at the time of account opening.

I plan to pay my salary into FD until I get the £75, upto 28 days after my salary going in, then switch my salary to the Halifax to benefit from the excellent interest rate.

£175 for opening two accounts.... I'll take that any day!

If you require any further info, let me know...

Regards

GjrBartlett

watcherman

I find FD very good, been with them 6mths now and never known their online service to be down.

watcherman

I find FD very good, been with them 6mths now and never known their online service to be down.

watcherman

I find FD very good, been with them 6mths now and never known their online service to be down.

CopperPlate_2

FD every time. Halifax are a shower of incompetents. The headline rate might be good, but I have family who have gone to Bank of Scotland (same accounts really) to benefit from good rates and over the years (a couple) these have been eroded, reduced or altered significantly. Their site is okay, but nothing startling. When you phone them you get what you think is a good response to any problem or query, but I've found you end up having to phone them back heaps of times as the person you spoke to didn't deliver on what they promised at the time. Shambolic.

By contrast, FD pays lower rates of interest, but I know that when I ask for something it gets done, and done correctly and quickly.

Bill payments come out of my account immediately but I continue to earn interest on the payment or direct debit until it reaches the destination account which at least FD advise me of; if the other banks do this they don't tell me that they do. Staff are courteous and friendly when or if you have to phone them and in the whole time I've been with them - now getting on for 6 months - they've not once mispronounced my name or asked me how to spell it which, for me, is astounding. I just find them totally focussed on the customer and it's extremely refreshing to find an organisation like this nowadays.

The charge can easily be avoided, so don't be taken in by the hype of HFX's latest offering. It won't last overly long before a 'new improved' account comes out, charging a little bit more with a little more baubles added as temptation to upgrade, and the current 'new improved' account will be left to become uncompetitive.

FD's site has been down a couple of times recently - I know that they are upgrading their log in procedures from the start of March so that might have something to do with it. Otherwise, HFX/BOS site has been down just as often and the dreaded prospect of phoning and pressing numerous buttons just to get to speak to someone who won't do what I ask them, puts you off completely.

basill

I have found FDs online service easy to use, and reliable, the logon process is simpler than some others messages are replied to promptly as well.

There are changes on the way, the new service starting in March will use different security and will be accessable from any PC rather than just the one with your online banking cookies in place.

B

kenshaz

First Direct are not very competitive with rates and products but for customer service they beat Halifax hands down ,call centre staff are pleasant and helpful,I use them for internet plus and keep my money with Halifax . I also have a branch based account with Royal bank of Scotland ,and I use them for every day banking in and out transfer ,I can phone the bank and speak to the manager who knows me personally ,a plus.I just swop and mix take the best from each bank,the choice is yours ,but Halifax are impersonal and staff have attitude and are robotic ,but they are competitive and you will get better returns for your money.
I will probably never leave RBS ,but I ensure that I never allow them to charge me or leave any substantial amounts of money with them ,they are a transit bank,as I move funds to Halifax and check it online with First Direct internet plus.It helps to have a long relationship with a bank for your credit rating.

anandp

Some excellent replies - thanks all.

I think I'll be joining FD, which to be fair was my initial inclination anyway. I have an IF account, and their online service is a bit less intelligent than my HSBC one.

And if you follow that through, FD is owned by HSBC, and IF is owned by Halifax, then I would assume that the same comparisons apply.

Some of the IF issues:

1) they only recently started making savings account numbers visible online (they used to state security concerns, but 4 weeks after my online message, they changed it)

2) BACS payments only go through at 6pm on a business day, meaning if you send a payment at 11am, you're effectively losing another day in the transfer, so 4 days instead of 3 because of their sending time.

3) Payment references are not visible online or on the recepient's banking service, which makes me think, whats the point?

Now I'm hoping the FD service is more similar to HSBC and is probably the major reason for choosing FD.

And after comments on service here, Halifax looks one to avoid, though I appreciate the 1 success story.

Thanks - any other comments appreciated.

AP