Can i have 2 current accounts with santander?

Gromitt

To be honest though, 2.85% in the current environment is a pretty good rate.

It all depends on whether you trust Santander with 20K of your cash. I know I'd be nervous.

innovate

Gromitt wrote: »

I know I'd be nervous.

Why?

They are as safe as any of the others up to £85K. And got better ratings than many others, not least because their exposure to bad debt in Euroland and Ireland is a lot lower than that of the likes of RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. I could see quite a few others to go to the wall before Santander does (am not suggesting that any of them will) but if you keep within the £85K it doesn't really matter. And if they c**k anything up, they'll eventually pay you a lot more than you'd have got if they hadn't, before you have to even go to the FOS.

Gromitt

Yes, thats all fine, but time is money, and I don't really want to spend 2 hours on the phone or in the branch knocking heads together because they lost a payment I made, or fraud occurred and they forgot how to deal with it, etc.

So its not the security that worries me, its the customer service.

innovate

Well, firstly you are quite likely not to have to spend 2 (or however many) hours on the phone for them to sort anything out. Most of the valid Santander horror stories I have read fall into 2 categories - 1) problems with accounts migrated from Abbey and/or A&L, and 2) issues over use of overdrafts. Neither of which would apply if you wanted to park £20K now in an account that pays 3% AER.

But even if your money was mis-handled in some way, I reckon that your hourly rate for having to sort out any resulting issues would be extremely attractive. E.g. in the very early days of me being a Santander current account customer (pre-123 days), they stopped a larger faster payment "for security reasons". I realised the problem immediately, called them and they said the payment was now being processed. Unfortunately, it wasn't, so I had to call again next day. I did not get off the phone this time until the money had arrived the other end (payment was to one of my own accounts at another bank). Total time spent on phone was about 30 mins, and I accepted their offer of £175 for the incident. This certainly paid for my phone costs and my time, plus it somewhat softened the anger I felt at the time. The compensation was credited to my account within an hour, and the chap on the second call couldn't have been more apologetic and courteous.

I have since made many larger payments from and to my Santander accounts (now got an e-saver, too), and everything has gone smoothly (x fingers). Also, my 123 cashback and interest has so far been paid correctly on the dot.

robbo1948

I have to say that Santander are a real mixed bag. I've had no problems with their accounts or products, but whenever I need advice or have a query it's either a very long time on the phone, or not very knowledgable staff in branch.

When you do get through on the phone, the staff are quite friendly and helpful, and when you book an appointment in branch, the advice is better... but getting an appointment can be a real pain.

robbo1948

ses6jwg wrote: »

the branch are correct, however the funding on both must come from external sources.

Thanks, is this information published anywhere so I can go back to the bank with it?

I have a joint 1-2-3 account with my wife (salaries, house bills, the usual stuff)... but I need another joint account with my friend for property rentals we have together (income, mortgage payments, insurance and the like) - but we don't run as a business so don't need/qualify for a business account.

robotrobo

Gromitt wrote: »

Yes, thats all fine, but time is money, and I don't really want to spend 2 hours on the phone or in the branch knocking heads together because they lost a payment I made, or fraud occurred and they forgot how to deal with it, etc.

So its not the security that worries me, its the customer service.

.

hi gromitt.
i am new to santander with the 123 account! & would like to comment that the switch went perfect & the liason i have with the staff is perfect , i have sinced transfered our isa & opened this years allowance for isas & opened a bond , the interest rates are the near best 3.3% isa , 3% 123 & the new bond 2.96% for 18 months & while i might be lucky every move as been brilliant & i have a good contact tel no & i have never experienced the satisfaction or service that we have recieved from any other bank in 65 years . i am going to contact them next week to see if we can open a second 123 account.

innovate

robotrobo wrote: »

i have never experienced the satisfaction or service that we have recieved from any other bank in 65 years .

Don't mind me asking how old you are?

robotrobo wrote: »

i am going to contact them next week to see if we can open a second 123 account.

Why do you want a second 123? For the 3% interest?