Natwest Savings Builder

ValiantSon

RG2015 wrote: »

Each to their own. I have 43 years experience and you have a week or two. Enjoy your £125.

That doesn't really answer why you think NatWest are so great. It was a genuine question: I would be interested to know why you think that.

RG2015

ValiantSon wrote: »

That doesn't really answer why you think NatWest are so great. It was a genuine question: I would be interested to know why you think that.

This post is about the savings builder and Alexland ignores this and says the biggest downside is that it is NatWest. Contrary to this opinion, my experience is that the bank is excellent for basic banking services which is what I said.

I have 43 years and Alex has had a couple of weeks to come to our conclusions. I have had banking experience with NatWest and Alex probably only has experience of the bank account opening process. Furthermore, this was gained at a time when thousands were opening accounts to get their £125 with customer services under much higher pressure than usual. Not an ideal time to be judged.

I accept that my view will be influenced by familiarity but here are some specific reasons for my view on NatWest. As noted earlier, my only comparators are Santander, Nationwide, Tesco and First Direct.

NatWest online banking has a well balanced, concise front page which lists all accounts with cleared and available balances and a drop down for recent transactions. The others I have mentioned are either more cluttered or need a drill down to a full transaction list.

NatWest has a transaction search facility going back 7 years. This allows several selection criteria including a text search. I believe only Tesco among my other banks has a text search.

The export/download to Excel facility is the cleanest and easiest of my banks with the others producing a very messy Excel file.

I have a very good experience of their telephone customer services and whilst I have had very few occasions to call them I have always got through quickly and had my issues addressed quickly, efficiently and courteously.

Staff in my local branches are always helpful and if I have a problem always take ownership to ensure that my problems are resolved.

Overall, whilst I have no complaints about NatWest banking services I am critical of other areas. I was overcharged for insurance for a couple of years before I realised and moved elsewhere. Instant savings rates are a joke and I have moved these as well. There is no interest on current accounts so I have to sweep any surplus on a regular basis.

Got to go now as the missus is dragging me out to shops. :eek:

gingercordial

RG2015 wrote: »

This post is about the savings builder and Alexland ignores this and says the biggest downside is that it is NatWest. Contrary to this opinion, my experience is that the bank is excellent for basic banking services which is what I said.

I have 43 years and Alex has had a couple of weeks to come to our conclusions. I have had banking experience with NatWest and Alex probably only has experience of the bank account opening process. Furthermore, this was gained at a time when thousands were opening accounts to get their £125 with customer services under much higher pressure than usual. Not an ideal time to be judged.

I accept that my view will be influenced by familiarity but here are some specific reasons for my view on NatWest. As noted earlier, my only comparators are Santander, Nationwide, Tesco and First Direct.

NatWest online banking has a well balanced, concise front page which lists all accounts with cleared and available balances and a drop down for recent transactions. The others I have mentioned are either more cluttered or need a drill down to a full transaction list.

NatWest has a transaction search facility going back 7 years. This allows several selection criteria including a text search. I believe only Tesco among my other banks has a text search.

The export/download to Excel facility is the cleanest and easiest of my banks with the others producing a very messy Excel file.

I have a very good experience of their telephone customer services and whilst I have had very few occasions to call them I have always got through quickly and had my issues addressed quickly, efficiently and courteously.

Staff in my local branches are always helpful and if I have a problem always take ownership to ensure that my problems are resolved.

Overall, whilst I have no complaints about NatWest banking services I am critical of other areas. I was overcharged for insurance for a couple of years before I realised and moved elsewhere. Instant savings rates are a joke and I have moved these as well. There is no interest on current accounts so I have to sweep any surplus on a regular basis.

Got to go now as the missus is dragging me out to shops. :eek:

I agree, RG2015. I think Natwest's account current opening systems leave much to be desired (having had issues opening a new joint account a year or two ago, and similar lack of organisation during the recent switch offer) and their savings products are generally rubbish but for current account operation I find them excellent.

I have almost every banking app out there as I have current accounts with nearly all of them for various reasons, and I do think Natwest's is the most user-friendly. I have also in general been very happy with their service over the years. Having switched donor accounts to nearly every other UK retail bank and kept them up and running as required, I have never been tempted to switch my main "working" current account from Natwest.

Alexland

I didn't say the biggest downside was Natwest - there may be bigger downsides on this product I don't know as it doesn't appear very attractive overall when there are so many 5% regular saver accounts.

Either way Natwest have 2 happy customers and 2 less than impressed new customers. Whatever your bank there will be a reluctance to switch your 'main' current account.

RG2015

Alexland wrote: »

I didn't say the biggest downside was Natwest - there may be bigger downsides on this product I don't know as it doesn't appear very attractive overall when there are so many 5% regular saver accounts.

Either way Natwest have 2 happy customers and 2 less than impressed new customers. Whatever your bank there will be a reluctance to switch your 'main' current account.

Hi Alexland,

Apologies for misquoting you. The OP asked for pitfalls and you said an obvious pitfall was that it was with NatWest. Clearly your comment was not as negative as I had implied. I also wouldn't have submitted the post if ValiantSon had not asked me for more details. In fact ValiantSon talked about the biggest drawback so I was mixing up posts and misquoting!

All banks have good and bad features and NatWest is no different. Nevertheless, as EachPenny has so eloquently outlined, the NatWest Savings Builder if correctly managed can be a very good option.

jimjames

ValiantSon wrote: »

For me the biggest drawback is that you only get 1.5% on balances up to £5,000. It is just a personal view, but I don't consider the difference in rate between this and a normal easy access account to be worth the effort of the messing around.

Same here. When I can get an average of 4.8% on up to £20k then I can't see the point messing about with an account like this.

Alexland wrote: »

Several weeks after the switch they are chasing me almost every day by email and text message for proof of identity. I have uploaded high quality scans of my passport and both sides of my driving license, they have taken copies of both at branch and even provided me with branch certified copies which I have also scanned and uploaded. NatWest don't seem to be able to explain why their systems are still hounding me and constantly reject my documents.

I've had similar problems opening my account. In fact my account is now open and being used but I'm still getting emails and texts telling me to verify my documents.
Natwest certainly hasn't been as bad as HSBC for the account opening process but much less slick than some others. Personally out of all the banks I still find Tesco to be the best with a very good app and online banking which is easier to me than other banks.

RG2015

jimjames wrote: »

Same here. When I can get an average of 4.8% on up to £20k then I can't see the point messing about with an account like this.

Yes, but there is no other instant access savings account that pays 1.50% on £5,000 from day 1.

surreysaver

RG2015 wrote: »

Yes, but there is no other instant access savings account that pays 1.50% on £5,000 from day 1.

But if you pay in £5k on day one, you won't get 1.5% pm after that unless you pay in £100pm after that which you won't earn 1.5% on

RG2015

surreysaver wrote: »

But if you pay in £5k on day one, you won't get 1.5% pm after that unless you pay in £100pm after that which you won't earn 1.5% on

This is correct so you can start with £4,500 and now that the monthly addition is reducing to £50, it will be 10 months before any adjustment is required.

You can also adopt EachPenny's method to further improve the return. Nobody would deny that is can be a bit fiddly but correctly managed, it is currently the highest rate for an instant access account.

The OP and others can make their own minds up as to whether is suits their requirements.

EachPenny

jimjames wrote: »

Same here. When I can get an average of 4.8% on up to £20k then I can't see the point messing about with an account like this.

Obviously it isn't going to be a good option for people who don't have the full set of 2%+ regular savers, but it is one of the best accounts for people looking for true instant access on up to £5k. Unlike some of the other 'instant' access rates, payments to and from the NatWest Savings Builder are done by FP, so no waiting around or having to plan withdrawals ahead.

In my circumstances I'm looking to get rid of my 123 account because my cashback DD's are having to move elsewhere due to the Tesco issue, and when that happens the monthly fee won't be worth it to get 1.5% on £20k.

The advantage of the 123 account is instant access, so when I have a bill to pay or need to fund a RS account I can do that instantly from the 123 account. So for me the Natwest Savings Builder will become my 'new' pot of money available immediately and earning 1.5%.

For people who have opened a NatWest current account recently for the switching bonus, opening a Savings Builder is almost a 'no-brainer'. If you've gone through the hassle of getting online banking set up and waited for the card reader, then opening a Savings Builder as well requires no significant effort. With the potential to have somewhere to keep up to £5k @1.5% when it is 'resting' outside of the normal regular savers.