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Any Halifax customers?

Hello all Halifax account customers, need your input please.


Had enough of TSB: want to switch. :mad:We are retired, both in our 70's, joint account and want to switch. We will qualify for the Reward Current Account, not attracted to the Ultimate version. Already using their Clarity Card, which came in very useful during our recent Danube cruise. We are registered for internet banking via the Clarity card, so it should be easy enough to switch. This will be our only current account and we have looked into all others, Halifax looks good and we have a local branch with helpful staff, which is what we had with TSB but their Internet banking is - well, we all know what that's like by now.:(


Would like the advice and experiences of Halifax customers here, please. All information appreciated.
I think this job really needs
a much bigger hammer.
«13

Comments

  • Zero_Sum
    Zero_Sum Posts: 1,567 Forumite
    Firstly its always good practice to have a 2nd bank account.
    Halifax is my main account & dont have any major complaints. Only real issue is that my local branch has big queues. So if i ever need to deposit cash i now just use one of my secondary accounts.

    I dont think theres currently a switching incetive with Halifax, so if there isnt theres better accounts to switch to in terms of rewards as the £2 is a bit rubbish.

    Id probably keep TSB as a backup, and just keep £1500 in it for the 3% interest.
  • YorkshireBoy
    YorkshireBoy Posts: 31,541 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They've had my 'main' current account for around 13 years. The account receives all my income and pays all my bills, other than cashback generating bills which are paid from Santander Lite.

    I've had dozens of current accounts over the years (and as many as 40 at the same time!) with just about every 'major' bank in the country, to exploit switching incentives, interest, rewards, and cashback, but never felt the urge or need to switch my 'main' account to any of them.

    In short, highly recommended for current account banking.
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    They're ok, and if they offer you the Branch that you want, why not give them a go. You won't get any interest but you might qualify for the monthly £2. They are part of the Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), and their systems are a carbon copy of the Lloyds system. It's not a million miles different from the TSB system, which also used to be the same as the LBG one.

    Having all your eggs in one basket isn't a good idea though. All banks can experience problems, even problems on the TSB scale. It's always a good idea to have two accounts, one each at entirely different financial institutions.

    If you do app banking, the LBG app is nice and easy to use. Like the Online banking, it's the same across LBG, just with a different appearance for Halifax and Lloyds.

    If you can get on without Branch access and just an app, Starling is a very nice account. Good for travelling, too, as they don't charge fees for withdrawals and payments abroad. They also pay a small amount of interest.
  • typistretired
    typistretired Posts: 2,099 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 20 August 2019 pm31 10:38PM
    First direct will give you £50 for switching and you can take advantage of their 5% regular saver. I have lots of current accounts (Halifax too) I could actually play snap with their debit cards but I keep first direct as my main current account because they have never let me down over the years
    "Look after your pennies and your pounds will look after themselves"
  • Katiehound
    Katiehound Posts: 8,075 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have had Halifax Reward as my main a/c for ... maybe 10 years now. We have a local branch but I don't use it very often. However the staff are always friendly & helpful.
    I use their telephone banking a lot.
    No complaints- it as good as any I have used and you still get a teeny reward.

    I 'have had' to sign up to internet banking with paperless billing to get the second part of the recent switch reward but as soon as the reward is paid I shall be back to paper statements. (It will be worth £85!)

    I managed to switch one of my now redundant Tesco a/cs into the existing Halifax. Easy money.

    I would be inclined to keep the existing TSB at present- it is earning something after all.
    Open a TSB classic and let that tick over, then when Halifax have a new switch offer (they have been fairly frequent) switch this a/c.

    As has been said before now is not a good time to have all your banking with one provider!
    Being polite and pleasant doesn't cost anything!
    -Stash bust:in 2022:337
    Stash bust :2023. 120duvets, 24bags,43dogcoats, 2scrunchies, 10mitts, 6 bootees, 8spec cases, 2 A6notebooks, 59cards, 6 lav bags,36 angels,9 bones,1 blanket, 1 lined bag,3 owls, 88 pyramids = total 420total spend £5.Total for 'Dogs for Good' £546.82

    2024:Sewn:59Doggy ds,52pyramids,18 bags,6spec cases,6lav.bags.
    Knits:6covers,4hats,10mitts,2 bootees.
    Crotchet:61angels, 229cards=453 £136.4spent!!!
  • I use Halifax as a secondary current account.



    In my opinion their branch network could use a lot of work - long queues, not very helpful staff, advisors over-running booked appointments with nary a muttered apology, and so on.



    Their online banking however is perfectly functional. I opened their Regular Saver online and recently started using their Sharedealing service too, using a combination of online chat and their phone helpline to resolve a small problem.
    : )
  • I have a Halifax current account along with a clarity card. The only reason I have kept the current account is you can pay cheques in by the app which means I don't need to visit a bank every time I get my Feed in Tariff cheque. If you do get cheques I think there's only Halifax and Lloyds that offer this at the moment
  • I have been a Halifax customer for over a year now and they have always been great with me, I have had slight issues with payments etc. as i'm sure everyone has but they have always sorted it straight away no messing. If your looking for a good bank then Halifax is definitely the right place. Never had a problem with their Savings accounts, Overdraft and Credit Card either!
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,380 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I have been a Halifax customer for over a year now and they have always been great with me, I have had slight issues with payments etc. as i'm sure everyone has but they have always sorted it straight away no messing.
    Depends exactly what you mean by 'issues with payments' that require action by the bank to 'sort', but that doesn't resonate with me at all so I'm not convinced that your generalisation is valid.

    Personally I can't think of the last time any of my banks had to do anything to resolve any payment-related issues for me, let alone multiple times within a year, so it's not immediately clear that this is something to be pleased about!
  • sal_III
    sal_III Posts: 1,953 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    I have a Halifax current account along with a clarity card. The only reason I have kept the current account is you can pay cheques in by the app which means I don't need to visit a bank every time I get my Feed in Tariff cheque. If you do get cheques I think there's only Halifax and Lloyds that offer this at the moment
    HSBC offer this as well.

    My main gripe with Halifax (only have the Clarity CC with them not current account) is that I need to re-register the app every couple of months if I haven't used it recently.
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