First Direct > Reviews (135)

I have been with First Direct for three and a half years, and I must say their customer service and range of products has been brilliant.

In the early days of online banking there was a frustrating long wait while First Direct set up their Internet Banking service, but the facility is now running smoothly, and offers me access to my latest balance and statement at home and work. I would strongly recommend First Direct as an Internet Bank; my experience has shown their service to be totally secure, reliable and very user-friendly indeed.

You can manage all your First Direct accounts from the same web page - your ISA, current account, Visa card, etc. Moving money between different accounts is a breeze. It gives you a wonderful feeling of control over your hard-earned money.

I am also pleased to say that First Direct's Internet Banking works perfectly on an Apple Macintosh, unlike the Internet Banking provided by some other high-street banks who seem quite happy to alienate 15% of their customers by failing to offer a cross-platform service.

First Direct have also introduced a text messaging service which sends your latest balance and last five transactions to your mobile. This service is totally free. I actually find it a bit irritating, but that's only because I check my balance online every day. If I didn't have regular internet access I would probably find the text messaging really useful.

Although I rarely use First Direct's telephone banking anymore, since I can do everything I want online, I always found their staff to be helpful and friendly. And, yes they do answer the phone within thirty seconds, even at 4.00am on a Sunday morning. Many other companies could take a leaf out of First Direct's book when it comes to running a call centre.

First Direct really stand apart from other banks when you have a problem with your account, for instance a Direct Debit that's gone through twice, or an overcharging on your Visa card. We all get these annoying little problems from time to time, and the response from your bank can make all the difference. First Direct have always sorted out my occasional problems with the utmost efficiency, and where relevant they have compensated me with no quibbles whatsoever. You don't have to explain the problem twice, or keep pestering them for a progress report - they really do sort things out as fast as is humanly possible.

And whenever they promise to call you back at a specific time, they keep that promise.

On one occasion there was a mix-up regarding a replacement Switch card, and First Direct credited £75.00 to my account as a gesture of goodwill to say sorry for the inconvenience. Now I very much doubt there's many banks who would treat their customers so well.

OK, they might not have the very best interest rates out of all the Internet Banks, but they come pretty close. They pay me a very healthy 2% on my current account, which is excellent considering that interest rates are rock bottom at the moment. And although their Visa card has a pretty average interest rate, it won't cost you a penny if you pay off your balance in full every month.

First Direct regularly encourage their loyal customers to take out extra services, with offers of free cash. Some are too good to refuse - like £25 for opening a savings account (which you can then immediately close), and even an enticement of £5 to try out their free text messaging service. They also gave me £50 when I took out their buildings and contents insurance, which was ironically the cheapest policy I could find anyway!

Inevitably you get your fair share of junk mail as a First Direct customer, although it is sophisticated and somewhat minimalistic junk mail (thoughtfully produced on unbleached recycled paper). Clearly they aim their marketing at a specific audience: the under 40 professional VW Golf-driving homeowner who shops at Gap. At times I have felt a little patronised by their "special" offers of six bottles of Merlot for "only" £90 (but I daresay I would be more insulted if they were offering me three bottles of Blue Nun for a fiver).

Perhaps the most redeeming quality of a First Direct bank account is that you can still use all the over-the-counter services offered by the HSBC Bank (like paying in big bags of coins!), so you're really getting the best of both worlds.

Overall, you get the feeling that First Direct have a great sense of value towards their customers - something that you don't find very often in modern companies.