How bad/unreliable have Santander become?

Daliah

DeletedUser said:

Set up an account at another bank, just to pay in a cheque? Now you're being silly. Just what i expect from these forums tbh.

Having a second current account is a good idea for various other reasons, anyway. Not silly at all. The recommendations made on this forum are - with the occasional exception - very sound, and from experienced people.

Sea_Shell

No problems with them here...touch wood! 😉


I have, however, wondered how long they'll keep giving 2% cashback on utility bills, in the current climate?

It'll cost them a few bob, over the winter.

paul_c123

DeletedUser said:

WillPS said:

DeletedUser said:

(how do i deposit a cheque now?)

For the benefit of anyone else the answer is:

At a Post Office or if you don't mind the cost of a stamp by post.

Or get a Starling or LBG account just for mobile cheque pay ins then transfer the money across, which is what I'd do if Santander was my main/only account.

I have no complaint regarding my Santander account but then the only times I've used the debit card are when I have an offer to use. The app has some nice features like the home screen widget.

Main use of the account is for utility/council tax DD payments; I make about £1.50/month now in cashback after the £2 fee. It wouldn't be enough to attract me as a new customer but it is enough for me to leave those direct debits where they are (until they nerf it again or something better comes along anyway).

 A post office? The one near me closed last year. By post? As you say, the cost of a stamp, and the potential it goes astray.

Set up an account at another bank, just to pay in a cheque? Now you're being silly. Just what i expect from these forums tbh.

Can you take a photo of the cheque and send it to them?

[Deleted User]

Daliah said:

Having a second current account is a good idea for various other reasons, anyway. Not silly at all.

Really? In 50 years i've never needed a second account, please list those reasons.

Daliah said:

The recommendations made on this forum are - with the occasional exception - very sound, and from experienced people.

You're new, give it time.

pafpcg

DeletedUser said:

Daliah said:

Having a second current account is a good idea for various other reasons, anyway. Not silly at all.

Really? In 50 years i've never needed a second account, please list those reasons.

Here goes:

1. If my main bank account has a problem, I have alternatives.
2. There are advantages and disadvantages for every account - by having multiple accounts, I can exploit the advantages and avoid the disadvantages.
3. To maximise offers such as switching bonuses and introductory interest rates (plus providing a supply of donor accounts for switching).  For example, I needed a FirstDirect current account to open a FirstDirect regular saver (paying 7.5% interest at the time if I recall correctly). 
4. To spread my "savings" around multiple institutions - I'm fortunate that I have more than the FSCS £85k so I need more than one to be fully covered.
5. Then there are currect accounts which pay better rates than standard savings accounts eg VirginMoney's 2% on up to £1,000.

Will that help you realise that some of us really do find more than one bank account not only essential but valuable?

DeletedUser said:

Daliah said:

The recommendations made on this forum are - with the occasional exception - very sound, and from experienced people.

You're new, give it time.

I think you'll find that Daliah has been around rather longer than you might think...

WillPS

DeletedUser said:

WillPS said:

DeletedUser said:

(how do i deposit a cheque now?)

For the benefit of anyone else the answer is:

At a Post Office or if you don't mind the cost of a stamp by post.

Or get a Starling or LBG account just for mobile cheque pay ins then transfer the money across, which is what I'd do if Santander was my main/only account.

I have no complaint regarding my Santander account but then the only times I've used the debit card are when I have an offer to use. The app has some nice features like the home screen widget.

Main use of the account is for utility/council tax DD payments; I make about £1.50/month now in cashback after the £2 fee. It wouldn't be enough to attract me as a new customer but it is enough for me to leave those direct debits where they are (until they nerf it again or something better comes along anyway).

 A post office? The one near me closed last year. By post? As you say, the cost of a stamp, and the potential it goes astray.

Set up an account at another bank, just to pay in a cheque? Now you're being silly. Just what i expect from these forums tbh.

Seems highly unusual for a town to have a Santander until recently but no Post Office.

You make out like opening an account is a huge rigmarole. It takes about 10 mins (if you take your time!), and another 5 mins to set up the app and add your existing account as a payee. In the case of Starling all that would usually be instantaneous.

Very unwise to rely on one bank.

[Deleted User]

DeletedUser said:

Daliah said:

Having a second current account is a good idea for various other reasons, anyway. Not silly at all.

Really? In 50 years i've never needed a second account, please list those reasons.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 
Even with your demi-century, you've never have heard that one?!

[Deleted User]

Deleted User said:

To be fair, I don't think these transactions were intentionally blocked as such; just random flakiness. I can understand frustration if it's your main bank and expecting a semblance of robustness

I was never intending to make them my main bankers so random flakiness was/is a minor irritant and easily mitigated.

I had the pleasure of another Santander ATM at the weekend - not sure if their touchscreens are crap or the ATMs themselves are just really slow to respond but was definately an experience.

Noted elsewhere in the forum that the switch incentives have started to flow so will be able to end my Santander experiement shortly 

[Deleted User]

pafpcg said:

Here goes:

1. If my main bank account has a problem, I have alternatives.

2. There are advantages and disadvantages for every account - by having multiple accounts, I can exploit the advantages and avoid the disadvantages.

I don't ever recall having a 'problem' with any bank account, other than a bank not offering me the functionality i require.

pafpcg said:

3. To maximise offers such as switching bonuses and introductory interest rates (plus providing a supply of donor accounts for switching).  For example, I needed a FirstDirect current account to open a FirstDirect regular saver (paying

7.5% interest at the time if I recall correctly). 

That's fine if you want to do that, i don't.

pafpcg said:

4. To spread my "savings" around multiple institutions - I'm fortunate that I have more than the FSCS £85k so I need more than one to be fully covered.

Lucky you.

pafpcg said:

5. Then there are currect accounts which pay better rates than standard savings accounts eg VirginMoney's 2% on up to £1,000.

Will that help you realise that some of us really do find more than one bank account not only essential but valuable?

I'm sure there are, but £16/24 ? Every mickle makes a muckle, but i don;t want to jump through hoops to get a couple of pints thanks.

pafpcg said:

I think you'll find that Daliah has been around rather longer than you might think...

Looks like you know something i don't. Another shell account?

All that is really rather meaningless, as the original point made, was that i should set up another bank account, just to enable me to pay in a cheque to Santander. No thanks. I've just checked their site, and other than at a branch, and by post, i don't see any other options.

Ed-1

Ed-1 said:

WillPS said:

DeletedUser said:

(how do i deposit a cheque now?)

For the benefit of anyone else the answer is:

At a Post Office or if you don't mind the cost of a stamp by post.

Or at at ATM.

Which ATM's?

Thinking about it, it has to be a Santander ATM.