possibly switching from barclays to A&L or other?, advice needed

ewokuk

I am considering changing from barclays (I have a platinum current account) to a new current account after the ISA fiasco which is still ongoing. Possibly to an A&L current account. I am wondering how good their internet banking is, I assume it has all the same functionality as the barclays one, set up/remove standing orders, make payments etc. Also it seems people have an 8 digit number now that they use to log in for A&L, are there a load more numbers to log in or just the usual security memorable word etc? i.e. is it a pain in the !!!! to log in when not at home without carrying a load of details around with you. Also is theA&L debit card a visa or switch? Im thinking visa is better as you can use that anywhere in the world that has a visa sign right?

I will be paying in something like 2800 a month, probably 2k of which will be put straight into my savings account so im not particularly bothered about the interest on the account, more how good their internet banking is and anything else that is beneficial like commission free purchases abroad (i do not want a packaged account imo these are a waste of money, you can get better deals getting the various bits separately).

first direct also seems ok with the £100 for setting it up, but what do you get after that? no interest at all it seems, but perhaps there are other advantages to them? I cant seem to find any.

i dont plan on switching accounts again for the foreseeable future.

Night-owl_6

ewokuk wrote: »

I am considering changing from barclays (I have a platinum current account) to a new current account after the ISA fiasco which is still ongoing. Possibly to an A&L current account. I am wondering how good their internet banking is, I assume it has all the same functionality as the barclays one, set up/remove standing orders, make payments etc. Also it seems people have an 8 digit number now that they use to log in for A&L, are there a load more numbers to log in or just the usual security memorable word etc? i.e. is it a pain in the !!!! to log in when not at home without carrying a load of details around with you. Also is theA&L debit card a visa or switch? Im thinking visa is better as you can use that anywhere in the world that has a visa sign right?

I will be paying in something like 2800 a month, probably 2k of which will be put straight into my savings account so im not particularly bothered about the interest on the account, more how good their internet banking is and anything else that is beneficial like commission free purchases abroad (i do not want a packaged account imo these are a waste of money, you can get better deals getting the various bits separately).

first direct also seems ok with the £100 for setting it up, but what do you get after that? no interest at all it seems, but perhaps there are other advantages to them? I cant seem to find any.

i dont plan on switching accounts again for the foreseeable future.

A&L are great.
There online banking is very upto date and you can do everything like you state.
There online service is rarely down for service and there 24hr customer support is great.
I would highly recommend them, the only down side is there are very few branchs around but you can do everything online, over the phone.
A & L can match your O/D and set you up a linked savings account at a high intrest.
They can also move all your D/Ds over to your new account for you and standing orders.

ewokuk

they can match my O/D ? I currently get 1250 interest free overdraft right back from when i had the barclays student account, if they can match that then im there (and this page says they will match it!! http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/premier-direct/index.asp?page=page3&ct=premdirectguide ). My account says (PLATINUM BANKING O/D N/P), not sure what the N/P means but if I can find out then it may be something else I can get them to match, whatever it is..

doubt ill bother with the linked savings, i cant see it being better interest than the likes of kaupthing or icesave.

i was thinking lack of branches is a pain in the butt, especially on the odd occasion i need to pay in a cheque.

barclays have an option now where if you are going abroad you can select the country and the dates so they the card does not get stopped thinking its fraud which I thought was pretty good, does A&L have something like that?

Night-owl_6

ewokuk wrote: »

they can match my O/D ? I currently get 1250 interest free overdraft right back from when i had the barclays student account, if they can match that then im there. My account says (PLATINUM BANKING O/D N/P), not sure what the N/P means.

doubt ill bother with the linked savings, i cant see it being better interest than the likes of kaupthing or icesave.

i was thinking lack of branches is a pain in the butt, especially on the odd occasion i need to pay in a cheque.

You can post a cheque to them and soon as they receive it they will process it the same way, so it adds around another 2 days tops.
Yes, they will match your O/D, BUT whatever you do, do NOT close the account with Barclays until they match it, you may need to take 3 recent bank statements into a branch or send them copies with it clearly showing your current O/D limit but they will match it for you.
This is what they say:

0% EAR typical overdraft. No interest on agreed overdrafts. Usage fee of 50p a day (£5 max per month) applies if agreed overdraft is used. Maximum overdraft limit is £2,500


So your O/D should be matched no problem.
Try them, they have an online application.
They are a great bank but as before, just very few branchs

ewokuk

well thats a bit of a con "usage fee of 50p per day"....so its NOT an interest free overdraft at all really. they like to bandy about this 0% EAR then slip in a "fee" when ya not looking. So unless they will FULLY match the barclays one, with it being totally free and no "fees" permanently and not just the first year, I may not bother.

I do sometimes go overdrawn when transferring money around, im not going to pay 50p a day for the privalege! I may go £100 overdrawn for say 4 days, thats instant £2 fee, so a 2% charge for 4 days. now i dont know what EAR that works out to be, but its damn high.

Night-owl_6

ewokuk wrote: »

well thats a bit of a con "usage fee of 50p per day"....so its NOT an interest free overdraft at all really. they like to bandy about this 0% EAR then slip in a "fee" when ya not looking. So unless they will FULLY match the barclays one, with it being totally free and no "fees" permanently and not just the first year, I may not bother.

I do sometimes go overdrawn when transferring money around, im not going to pay 50p a day for the privalege! I may go £100 overdrawn for say 4 days, thats instant £2 fee, so a 2% charge for 4 days. now i dont know what EAR that works out to be, but its damn high.

I see what your saying, but I guess its good if your overdrawn for afew weeks/months even.
Its capped at £5 but if you only go O/D for 4 days I see what your saying, contact them and see if theyll go a intrest free O/D for the first 12 months

ewokuk

it is interest free and fee free for 12 months, I will ask them if they will waive the fee permanently, but I doubt it. doesnt seem to be any way to email them on the website so probably have to phone, of course they may agree over the phone but i also obviously want the £25 for being recommended to them which means if i then go and apply online using the link you get when someone recommends them, there will be no record of them agreeing no fee. gah

Night-owl_6

ewokuk wrote: »

it is interest free and fee free for 12 months, I will ask them if they will waive the fee permanently, but I doubt it. doesnt seem to be any way to email them on the website so probably have to phone, of course they may agree over the phone but i also obviously want the £25 for being recommended to them which means if i then go and apply online using the link you get when someone recommends them, there will be no record of them agreeing no fee. gah

Yeah, makesure they dont set the account up over the phone.
Goodluck with it.
By the way there is no E-Mail for them, you need to ring or go in to a branch

khalid

I have been an A&L direct current account holder for a couple of years now and also have/had accounts with many other banking institutions (including Barclays). I would highly recommend A&L for there online service and for anyone interested in savings. However as explained above, they may not be the best for anyone that goes overdrawn.

If you do decide to go for an A&L current account, make sure you use quidco and get the free £50 on offer

http://www.quidco.com/alliance-leicester-current-accounts/

They also offer £20 to open an e-saver account

http://www.quidco.com/alliance-leicester-esaver-account/

The same offers are also found in Topcashback & CashbackKings


Hope my advice is helpful!

Night-owl_6

khalid wrote: »

I have been an A&L direct current account holder for a couple of years now and also have/had accounts with many other banking institutions (including Barclays). I would highly recommend A&L for there online service and for anyone interested in savings. However as explained above, they may not be the best for anyone that goes overdrawn.

If you do decide to go for an A&L current account, make sure you use quidco and get the free £50 on offer

http://www.quidco.com/alliance-leicester-current-accounts/

They also offer £20 to open an e-saver account

http://www.quidco.com/alliance-leicester-esaver-account/

The same offers are also found in Topcashback & CashbackKings


Hope my advice is helpful!

A & L are very good

PROLIANT

Yes I find Alliance and Leicester very good also, what more could you ask for, UK call centres with "real English people" and not an advisor called "Abhaydatta" working under the alias "Mick", good interest rate, low overdraft usage facility, Visa debit card and cheque book and an state of the art secure and reliable web site.