Best bank for current account?

Dobbibill

gazfocus wrote: »

Not overly bothered about an overdraft or rewards, just a good bank with good customer service really.

That's going to be trial and error I think then.

As you have a mortgage with Halifax why don't you consider those given that you already deal with them and they are offering £100 via the switcher service and also give you £5 a month reward if you meet the criteria.If you use internet banking you would be able to view your mortgage too. If you don't get satisfaction when dealing with their customer service then you can look at doing another switch in due course but will have made a few £'s in the meantime. I've never had any problem dealing with them.

Good luck with whoever you decide.

DB

colsten

gazfocus wrote: »

Anymore thoughts?

If you couldn't find anything suitable in the article I linked to in post #2, you will find it hard to find a current account.

gazfocus

colsten wrote: »

If you couldn't find anything suitable in the article I linked to in post #2, you will find it hard to find a current account.

I'm asking for peoples opinions, not some bumf written by an editor

gazfocus

Dobbibill wrote: »

That's going to be trial and error I think then.

As you have a mortgage with Halifax why don't you consider those given that you already deal with them and they are offering £100 via the switcher service and also give you £5 a month reward if you meet the criteria.If you use internet banking you would be able to view your mortgage too. If you don't get satisfaction when dealing with their customer service then you can look at doing another switch in due course but will have made a few £'s in the meantime. I've never had any problem dealing with them.

Good luck with whoever you decide.

DB

Have Halifax improved recently? I have read a lot of bad things about Halifax as a bank, although, it would be good to see our mortgage balance online.

uselessmoneysaver

I've recently opened a reward account with Halifax as they pay £5 a month if you deposit more than £750, have two direct debits with them and don't go overdrawn.

I have found that customer service is shocking with everyone these days to be honest but the customer service I have had from Halifax so far has been good. I'd recommend them but only because a potential £60 a year is better interest than anywhere else.

mgdavid

gazfocus wrote: »

I'm asking for peoples opinions, not some bumf written by an editor

My opinion is that Barclays Platinum account is the best account (for me). But I don't fret over an overdraft, nor need to visit a branch on a Saturday (and cannot imagine why anyone else does). The online account management is good as it includes offset mortgage, savings, ISAs etc and there's a hotlink to Barclaycard too.

gazfocus

uselessmoneysaver wrote: »

I've recently opened a reward account with Halifax as they pay £5 a month if you deposit more than £750, have two direct debits with them and don't go overdrawn.

I have found that customer service is shocking with everyone these days to be honest but the customer service I have had from Halifax so far has been good. I'd recommend them but only because a potential £60 a year is better interest than anywhere else.

Thanks, I have just applied and been approved via Halifax, as has my wife. Now to open the joint account

mgdavid wrote: »

My opinion is that Barclays Platinum account is the best account (for me). But I don't fret over an overdraft, nor need to visit a branch on a Saturday (and cannot imagine why anyone else does). The online account management is good as it includes offset mortgage, savings, ISAs etc and there's a hotlink to Barclaycard too.

Well, unfortunately, when Christmas and Birthdays come up, we still get cheques off relatives. Also, if either of us sell anything on Gumtree or Preloved and the buyer collects, we end up with cash in the house that needs paying into the bank. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to work close enough to a barclays branch to 'nip in' during my 30 minute lunch break, so the only chance I have to go to the bank is on a Saturday.

Dobbibill

gazfocus wrote: »

Have Halifax improved recently? I have read a lot of bad things about Halifax as a bank, although, it would be good to see our mortgage balance online.

One person's expectations of customer service may be very different to yours so the only true way to see if it meets your expectations as a customer would be to use them. How long have you had a mortgage with them? How have you found the customer service regarding this product?
I don't have a problem with them but I use online banking and very rarely have the need to call (on the odd occasion I do ring I find them polite and helpful)

Good luck

DB

gazfocus

Dobbibill wrote: »

One person's expectations of customer service may be very different to yours so the only true way to see if it meets your expectations as a customer would be to use them. How long have you had a mortgage with them? How have you found the customer service regarding this product?
I don't have a problem with them but I use online banking and very rarely have the need to call (on the odd occasion I do ring I find them polite and helpful)

Good luck

DB

I completely agree, so have decided to give them a go (purely as I like the idea of being able to view the mortgage account online).

We have had our mortgage for 7 months now but after Christmas we would like to start overpaying the mortgage so seeing the account online would be a huge benefit. To be honest, I have been very impressed with Halifax regarding the mortgage. The mortgage application went very smoothly (much smoother than our previous mortgage with Leeds BS), and a week after we moved in, we received a 'Welcome to your new home' hamper from Halifax containing a bottle of wine and some other goodies...definitely unexpected. Other than that though, I've not had to contact them.

I'm not sure if Halifax tell you if you've been offered an overdraft during the application process but none of the 3 applications we've done mentioned an overdraft, but not overly bothered about that to be honest.

One thing that has concerned me though is I opened an account for myself which went through fine, my wife applied for hers which went through fine, and then I applied for a 3rd account and tried to convert it to a joint account but the application to convert it to a joint account failed (said something about taking ID in to a branch). Again, not sure if this is normal.

Dobbibill

gazfocus wrote: »

I completely agree, so have decided to give them a go (purely as I like the idea of being able to view the mortgage account online). I like being able to do that too

We have had our mortgage for 7 months now but after Christmas we would like to start overpaying the mortgage so seeing the account online would be a huge benefit. To be honest, I have been very impressed with Halifax regarding the mortgage. The mortgage application went very smoothly (much smoother than our previous mortgage with Leeds BS), and a week after we moved in, we received a 'Welcome to your new home' hamper from Halifax containing a bottle of wine and some other goodies...definitely unexpected. Other than that though, I've not had to contact them. [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]As I said, I rarely contact them, with online access I don't think the need is there unless there is a query/problem[/COLOR]

I'm not sure if Halifax tell you if you've been offered an overdraft during the application process but none of the 3 applications we've done mentioned an overdraft, but not overly bothered about that to be honest. [COLOR="rgb(65, 105, 225)"]Did it not ask you if you wanted an overdraft on the application?[/COLOR]

One thing that has concerned me though is I opened an account for myself which went through fine, my wife applied for hers which went through fine, and then I applied for a 3rd account and tried to convert it to a joint account but the application to convert it to a joint account failed (said something about taking ID in to a branch). Again, not sure if this is normal.

This could be due to 2 accounts in your name and 1 in your OH's name being opened in such quick succession of each other. Take the ID to the branch as suggested so that it can be sorted sooner rather than later and you will know how many accounts they have set up/allowed. Nothing worse than not knowing :mad:

Hope it all works out for you :A

DB