who is best to bank with?

tony101

after all the goings on with nearly all the major banks and building societies regarding charges i am asking WHICH IS THE BEST BANK OR BUILDING SOCIETY TO GO WITH.i am asking this as i have just recovered just over £3000 of lloyds tsb and i am sick and tired of getting charged £30-£35 for going over my overdraft limit by a couple of pounds.
i am sure i am not alone with this question.
regards tony

bengal-stripe

tony101 wrote: »

i am sick and tired of getting charged £30-£35 for going over my overdraft limit by a couple of pounds.

There is no bank in the UK, that does not charge you, for going over your agreed overdraft limit. (Although some might have a buffer of £10.00)

If that is your only criterion for 'best bank' - forget it. Stick to your agreed limit. (It's a limit, not a target.) Even better, never touch the last £ 100 of your limit. Then you have created a buffer-zone in case of some oversight.

Then ask for 'best bank' in terms of service, interest rates, overdraft limit etc.

gt94sss2

tony101 wrote: »

after all the goings on with nearly all the major banks and building societies regarding charges i am asking WHICH IS THE BEST BANK OR BUILDING SOCIETY TO GO WITH.i am asking this as i have just recovered just over £3000 of lloyds tsb and i am sick and tired of getting charged £30-£35 for going over my overdraft limit by a couple of pounds.

There is no 'best bank' as such - it all depends on your requirements.

If you are really over your overdraft limit by just a couple of pounds.. some such as HSBC will allow you be overdrawn by £10 (as a free buffer zone) and not charge you more than the amount you were overdrawn in fees, but the best advice is to live within your overdraft limit (or even better your credit balance...)

Regards
Sunil

Lavendyr

Hi What the others have said, basically. It depends on what you need - do you need an overdraft, and if so how much, do you need a credit card, do you want good in-credit interest rates...?

I hold my account with Alliance & Leicester, and they are actually quite good for me because they have given me a small interest-free overdraft (for the first year - goes up to 5.9% or something after 12 months) which acts as a buffer, just in case I need it, but also gives good in-credit interest, which is most useful for me as barring emergencies, I try to keep my account in credit where possible. I also liked the 12% Regular Saver offered, and the call centres have been very helpful (more so than those of my previous bank...).

I guess the best advice I can give is to try and recalculate your budget to avoid going over the limit by that one or two pounds, or else to arrange an overdraft with your bank manager which you know will cover your needs, and stick to it - and that could really be with any bank.

Best wishes,
Lavendyr

natweststaffmember

NatWest is the best bank to go with, but PLEASE REMEMBER I am biased

Mark7799

Whoever is the best bank to go with will depend upon how well you can manage and look after your own finances.

whitewing

Well, Mark, with the help of MSE, I am managing my finances okay, so who IS the best bank (and don't even bother recommending Lloyds)? I'm in need of a swap for my current and business accts and would preferably like the same bank for both

natweststaffmember

this sounds repetitive but NatWest do 2 years fee free business banking. Worth getting some info. COuld be dangerous to keep personal and business accounts at the same bank though.

gt94sss2

whitewing wrote: »

Well, Mark, with the help of MSE, I am managing my finances okay, so who IS the best bank (and don't even bother recommending Lloyds)? I'm in need of a swap for my current and business accts and would preferably like the same bank for both

The best accounts for you will depend on what you use them for.

For example - factors to consider:

1) Credit interest
2) charges
3) branches in your area
4) internet/telephone banking support

For business accounts, it also depends on if you deal in cash/cheques (and if so, how many per month) or make/receive most payments electronically..

Regards
Sunil

Mark7799

As has been said above, it depends upon what you want from the Bank

I would add to Sunil's post to consider what are the most important things to you/what services are you most likely to make use of. There is no one answer that X, Y or Z are the BEST bank.

Snow_Dog

Well the bank I use for the current account gives me an overdraft (not used in 15 years though).

No quibble loans (again about 15 years ago)

Loads of branches everywhere.

A really nice to use online banking system.

They have never ever tried to charge me for anything.

A really good regular saver (2 years at 8%)

Good customer service (opened reg saver in 10 mins etc)

In fact having had the account since 1985 I have never ever had cause to complain once about their service.

Guess what, its Lloyds.

I suspect that the OP would have had the same trouble with any bank/BS as they all take a dim view of you 'stealing' their money which is what you are doing when you are taking money you dont have and they haven't agreed to, which is why they do like to make a charge for this.

Would you, upon seeing a colleagues wallet quietly slip a tenner out of it, thinking that its OK? Especially as you are going to put it back when you get paid. Same thing. Whereas if you asked to borrow a tenner they might not get so uppity.