Bank Accounts - Why Do We Bother?

The_Affs

Over numerous threads throughout the MSE boards, we see a hell of a lot of complaints about the banks we use, the way they treat us and the way they charge us too much and give us too little in return.

I know as much as others do that it is far easier to complain than it is to compliment but are banks really that bad?

I know they are generally a necessary evil as so many companies require you to have a bank account in order to get a job, and the only alternative is to keep your rolled up notes in a sock under a creaky floorboard.

I just wondered whether a bank has ever truly impressed you through a product or their service. Is it possible that a decent bank exists out there? Or is the whole financial services industry more crooked than Mr Crook the career criminal?

skyrider007

This forum represents a very small minority of bank customers therefore you may find complaints excessively outweigh compliments. Many people just don't care about their bank and will not be bothered to complain even if they've received bad (or even good) service so long as they don't encounter any problem. When the problem arises then it is feasible that the angered customers will seek resources from the web (i.e. MSE) and this is one of the places where you will find complaints and reports of bad experiences.

I bank with HSBC, NatWest and Citibank and they all have been "okay" to "good" with me. I just don't seem to run into any sort of problem!

PROLIANT

Well I need facilities like VISA and BACS, I don’t have a problem with them at the moment, if I did I would deal with it accordingly, they provide a key service free of charge (at the moment), just like my mobile phone provider O2 who give me multimedia mobile communications where ever I go they are providing a vital service to me, but I pay for that one of course, but saying that I wouldn’t mind paying say £5 per month for my banking services, not complaining at present cos I am getting the service F.O.C, I am sure some will disagree with me, usually the "compensation brigade" but I can handle them no probs.

The_Affs

Maybe it is because banks can come across as such faceless corporate entities that they are usually so loathed. They don't come across as hugely "local" either, seems that the days of knowing your local bank manager by name are long gone.

Does anyone think that social banking is the way forward, borrowing off peers to cut out the big FS players? Seeing the amount of scammers/rip off merchants out there I have less trust in the man on the street than I do a bank!!!

PROLIANT

Yea I can see how social banking could be misinterpreted easy, "Erm darling I just off down my mates house for a bank"

nearlyrich

I have NO complaints with First Direct my bank for over 16 years, they have never made a mistake on any of the accounts I have with them. Previously I have fallen out with Natwest, Halifax and TSB (pre Lloyds).

ManAtHome

Many moons ago, we did pay for banking and credit cards - if anything the service has improved as the cost has gone down (my first ATM card let me draw out a quid, worked 10 times, then back to the bank for another one...).

Have been with HSBC for donkey's (from when they were Midland), occasional glitches, but no real problems.

ShelfStacker_3

I've been with Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Alliance and Leicester and HSBC and HSBC have been by far the best. The other day I was on the phone asking for a FlexiLoan to pay off my overdraft, and the bloke on the other end was quick to point out that it would actually cost me more money that way and I should probably just use my overdraft for a bit longer. Might sound like a small thing, but it's a bank trying to persuade you to save yourself money rather than make them money, which was impressive as far as I'm concerned. That and their general level of service and professionalism has been top-notch.

Banks aren't all that bad, they exist to make money anyway and will charge or whatever in order to do so so I can at least understand that, but then there's no excuse for poor service or excessive charges (Lloyds TSB, Barclays, A&L... (50p a day for an agreed overdraft? Go away!)). I suppose it also comes down to your individual affairs and how willing you are to not just let the bank take the strain, but also take an active interest in your finances as well.

paintpot

I had a nightmare with Natwest a number of years ago and changed to Barclays because I couldn't cope with Natwest's incompetence any longer. I have generally found Barclays to be quite good, I have a number of accounts with them. I was bank charged recently due to a simple oversight recently but they wrote to me before I had chance to notice to say that they had credited it back as they could see the account had always been in funds previously. I have a business account with them too but my "business manager" doesn't inspire me one bit, but then I am managing quite fine without them. I also had to cancel a paid service I use with Barclays and it was as though I was the only person in the world ever to want to cancel it. It was confirmed as cancelled in writing but then they took the money out of my account which I queried. Fair enough, it was in the T & Cs that they could charge up to 30 days after cancellation but they agreed to refund me that also which I thought was rather good . If my business was in dire straights though, I think my business manager would probably be the last person I would want to speak to :rolleyes:

The_Affs

Maybe it is because of Internet banking that we now put up with banks a bit more. There seem to be very few Internet services that aren't up to scratch these days and banks must've paid a fair whack to get them into a decent state for the customer, allowing us to do everything from applying for a card through to paying the direct debits and transferring cash into a relative's account.

[Deleted User]

I've been with Yorkshire Bank for years now and they are fantastic. Counter service is a bit slower than most, but the service is fantastic. I had some card transactions I didn't recognise and the person I spoke to at the contact centre to block the card phoned my branch to let them know and make sure they had all of the forms ready for me to go in and take it from there.

Last week I had to cancel two direct debits that were going to be coming out in a few days, previous banks haven't been willing to cancel them with such short notice but Yorkshire did and there was no problem.

If you play the game then you don't get any grief from the banks.