Banks

Having been pissed about by Lloyds Bank for over a week while trying to
spend some money on line I am contemplating shutting down my accounts
and taking my business elsewhere.

Who do ukrm recommend as a decent bank with competent levels of customer
service with human beings resident in the uk rather than electronic
systems that require 50,000 button presses on phones?

Note I am not interested in web or phone banking - waste of time given
the way I run my accounts and I do not trust the banks to handle
internet banking properly.

 

First Direct. No brainer.

 

Usually, LTSB.

 

Which part of 'not interested in web or phone banking' didn't you
understand?

 

(SteveH) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying:

The part where any other bank on the face of the planet (this bit of it,
anyway) came even close to fitting the requirement.

"not interested in" plays second fiddle to "incompetent, lying bunch of
goat-felching twats" any day.

 

I would not shut the account I would instead keep it for work for which
it is cheap or like a piggy bank or something.

One with a human presence that you walk past monday to friday.

All of them do techno banking, ever the ones with a shop in your high
street.

 

(Well, that, and I seem to have missed reading "phone" in the original. I
noticed "web", but...)

 

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1193206368227,CFSweb/Page/Bank-CurrentAccounts

basic counter services are available in Co-op stores & Post Offices
which might prove useful, especially when travelling in the UK as they
don't have branches in many small towns.

If my memory is functioning correctly there's a branch not far from
you at E17 3AN but only 9 others inside the M25

 

First Direct are still cunts but I've had an account with them for 20
years and am not planning to change.

 

By absolute, normal human standards - or by bank standards?

 

Nationwide.

 

First Direct by a country mile. We've been with them for 10 years and
found their service exemplary. IIRC they consistently come top in bank
customer satisfaction surveys.

Ah. Up to you of course.

 

Given the problems my brother had with them I put my money under the
mattress before I used them.

 

I've not had any problems with Halifax or First Direct.

Oh, well ignore my advice then, because that's how I've solely[1] done
my banking for the last 10 years.



[1] Except for recently, where I found the account I opened online for
my son, and paid into for a year online, can only have withdrawals
made using a pass-book in the branch. So very quaint.

 

<boggle>
The worst pseudo bank in Britain, if only for producing an ad
containing;
"Let's talk about ISAs" followed by singing "Ice Ice Baby"

 

I'm intrigued by this. What do you differently to most people that
rules out doing it online or on the phone?

I thought TOG was the only bank techno-luddite around here.

 

First Direct.

*boggle*

In that case: Santander - you deserve each other.

 

I was going to recommend RBS, with whom I've had many years of good
service, including the fact that when I call my bank I call _my_ bank,
and speak to someone physically there in the branch.

Sadly, they're being dragged into Santander's empire in a few months.
I may have to close down my UK banking altogether.

 

I don't blame you.

Especially as the shit really will hit the /ventilador/ when Spain goes
the way of Ireland, Greece & Portugal.

 

I think that's the same with any bank if you pay a bit for a premium
account.